Rented normally, it costs you £655 a month. That is £7,855 a year, every year you hold it.

Will it pay?Calculator

You top up £655 a month — the mortgage takes 96p of every pound of rent

Borrowing £125,672 less would close that shortfall — which is £125,672 more cash at the start, on top of the deposit.

+£1,723−£1,660−£717−£655

Rent inMortgageRunning costsShort by

The rent covers £1,723 of that — you cover £655

□ service charge not published2 empty weeks a year assumed

What if I change my assumptions?The dials

At the asking price, 25% deposit, 6.25% charged

Try your own numbersLive

You keep-£655/mo

All-in cash£182,581

PaybackNever

Offer−+

Deposit−+

Mortgage rate−+

Rent−+

Worked at 6.25% — 5.50% quoted plus a company premium.

◧ worked out from local rents

What will it cost me to buy?Breakdown

£148,650 + refurb costs

And about £39,273 more over five years, because it loses £655 every month you hold it — before any repair. That already assumes the rent never falls.

£148,650 to buy it

deposit · stamp duty · solicitor · fees~£33,931, unseen

□ works not inspected

What would have to be true?The working

£165,000 off and it stops losing money

At the asking price you feed it £655 a month. At £257,407 the rent covers everything — leaving stamp duty of £15,741 at that price.

offer £257,407

asked £425,000

◧ worked back from the rent■ stamp duty re-bandedrounded down to £5,000 — the rent it works back from is an estimate

What will the rent borrow?Lender test

The rent carries £182,812 of the £318,750 loan

That £135,938 is yours to find on top of the deposit. Tested at 125% instead of 145% — a company or a basic-rate taxpayer usually is — the gap is £106,688. Lenders test the rent at 7.5% and need it to cover 145% of the payment.

£2,889 needed

more than the £1,657 rent

stressed at 7.5%, 145% cover

◧ rent after empty weeks £1,657PRA-style test

Who has to say yes?Council record

Trafford council approves 71% — 51% on a cautious reading

A council-wide rate across 24 HMO decisions, not a forecast for this address.

71%

0%50%100%

never approvesalways approves

the band is the cautious reading of the same 24 decisions — as low as 51%

■ Article 4 — planning permission requireddecision record held for this authority

How big is it, really?The plan

Room to grow 1,567 sq ft

The area comes off the plan, not a survey. Open for what that means.

□ area off the floorplan — not a survey

Is it a good location?Open the map

Old Trafford, M16 7QX

1 of 2 schools in this postcode area rated Good or Outstanding and flood risk checking… — open for the map, the schools and the rest.

Article 4Planning permission required to let by the room

■ postcode area, not this address

What could kill thisThe checks

The council here has taken away the automatic right to rent this out by the room

You would have to apply for permission first, and the council can say no.

2 problems found · 1 came back clear · 6 we could not check

■ from the Article 4 maplisting last seen 16 Sep 2026

Which strategy wins?The ways to run it

Every way loses money — Short-stay let loses least, at £334 a month

Your controls are set to Standard rental — £321 a month behind Short-stay let.

Short-stay let−£334 · £182,581 in

92 nearby short-lets within 5.5 km · low confidence

Rent by the room−£531 · £204,155 in

Standard rental−£655 · £182,581 in

Housing-benefit rent−£1,346 · £182,581 in

Each row: money kept a month, then the cash it ties up. Not compared: Do it up, then remortgage (pays back at the remortgage) · Guaranteed council rent (no scheme in this borough) · Buy, improve & sell (pays out on sale)

◧ 4 ways, one measureranked on money kept each month, at the asking price

What would you walk away with, after 5 years?The five-year sums

−£62,628 after five years on the cash you put in, before tax on the sale

Less than the same cash would have made in a savings account, after tax on the interest. The savings account’s capital is not at risk; the property’s is. A fall of about 27% in the price would leave nothing from a sale after selling costs, and you would still owe the lender any shortfall. That is the £182,581 you put in. The 5-year fix runs past this 5-year hold, so the rate reset comes after it.

−£182,581+£493,585−£12,340−£318,750−£42,543−£62,628

Cash you put inSale valueSelling costsMortgageRent lossesYou are down

◧ 2.0%/yr growth assumed

Could you let it by the room?Room by room

−£531 to +£311 a month at 5 rooms two models disagree, before tax, once converted

The floorplan supports 5 lettable rooms and £29,505 of work gets you there — but the two ways this page prices them do not agree on whether they pay.

Room-add modelSite's engine

-£868-£110£648

-£868£648

the £842 gap between them is tax

◧ room-add model · medium confidence□ no district room benchmarkDwelfy’s room-add model, before tax