A strategy, built on assumptions. The two flats named below were live listings in August and September 2026 and show how the numbers work; neither is secured, and either may since have gone. We source live equivalents for you. Costs and the 5.5% mortgage rate use our standard appraisal assumptions; the nightly rate and occupancy are our assumptions. None is a quote.
Unit A is the asset. Unit B is the engine.
Unit A is bought with a tenant in place and stays an ordinary let: no short-let permission, no fit-out, no guests to manage. Unit B carries no mortgage; it is rented from a landlord and let as furnished corporate stays. Its profit goes onto Unit A's mortgage every month.
1-bed flat, Furness Quay, Salford M50
Example: Northill, 65 Furness Quay · let on an assured shorthold tenancyCosts a month: interest £533; letting and management 12% (£132); maintenance 8% (£88); voids 8% (£88); insurance £50; service charge £183 and ground rent £29, from the listing. Roughly break-even. Gross yield 8.5%.
2-bed, 2-bath flat, MediaCityUK, Salford M50
Example: Pink, MediaCityUK · rented from a landlordNet of the landlord's rent, 15% management, 5% contingency, cleaning and changeovers, bills and insurance. Cash in covers set-up, the landlord's deposit and our £4,000 sourcing fee. No mortgage and no purchase.
On its own, never. With Unit B, about 9.4 years.
Asset build
Unit B's £790 a month goes onto Unit A's mortgage; Unit A roughly covers its own costs (about £2 a month short, which you top up). As the balance falls, so does the interest, and that saving goes onto the balance too. Cleared in about 9.4 years.
If costs come in lower
If the service charge is the building's lower figure (£1,611 a year) and insurance is £20 because the service charge already insures the building, Unit A nets about £76 a month. Put that on the mortgage too and it clears in about 8.7 years. Both are checked before purchase.
Without Unit B
At 5.5%, Unit A makes no surplus, so on its own the mortgage is never paid down. Unit B is the plan.
Afterwards
£155,000 owned free and clear, plus about £15,800 a year from both units while Unit B's agreement runs: 24.2% a year on the £65,535 put in, before tax and before any growth in value.
Unit B occupancy: what it changes
Years to clear the mortgage
Unit A alone: never. Years are counted from when Unit B is trading at that occupancy. Allow two to three quarters on top to set Unit B up and build its bookings.If Unit B slows, the plan slows rather than stops.
Unit B does the work
HighUnit B pays the mortgage down. Below about 45% occupancy it stops contributing and the paydown pauses. Unit A runs at about break-even; the timeline lengthens.
Short-let permission
MediumUnit B only. We take a unit only where the head lease allows short letting, checked at heads of terms; the landlord's consent alone is not enough. Unit A needs no consent.
Unit A breaks even
HighAbout £2 a month short after all costs at 5.5%. It holds the asset; it is not the return. The example's advertised tenancy was £975 a month to May 2026; at £975 it would run about £92 a month short. £1,100 is the rent on a live let in the same building, so the tenancy and rent are checked before any offer.
Corporate nightly rate
Medium£150 a night for two guests is our assumption. We confirm achieved rates with a corporate-stay operator before you commit.
Agreement renewal
MediumA rent-to-rent agreement will need renewing two or three times over the term. We secure the longest initial term available and keep a replacement unit in view.
Interest rates
MediumModelled at 5.5% interest only, our standard appraisal rate; not a quote. Each 1% on the rate costs Unit A about £97 a month. The plan also needs a lender that lets you overpay beyond the usual cap of about 10% a year: it goes over that from about year 3 (cap on the current balance) or year 5 (cap on the original loan), a year or two sooner if costs come in lower. If not, the timeline stretches until a refinance to a lender that does.
One location
LowBoth units sit in Salford Quays, around one large employer cluster, deliberately, for the depth of corporate demand. Section 24 limits mortgage-interest relief on personally held property; a limited company avoids it. Take tax advice.
What is fact, and what is assumed
- From live listings (Aug–Sep 2026): Unit A's price, tenure, EPC, service charge (£2,190.80 a year) and ground rent (£345 a year), with other units in the building paying from £1,611; the £1,100 rent on a let in the same building; Unit B's rent, size and availability.
- Calculated: stamp duty at additional-property rates, the 25% deposit, the mortgage and every repayment time on this page.
- Our standard appraisal assumptions: 5.5% interest only; letting 12%, maintenance 8%, voids 8% of rent; insurance £50 a month; solicitor £1,800, survey £750, buildings insurance £600 and a £2,495 lender fee, all paid in cash.
- Our assumptions, to verify before you commit: the £150 nightly rate, 70% occupancy, and Unit B's set-up and running costs.
- Not included: income tax, capital growth, rent rises, and any cost of renewing Unit B's agreement.
Everything behind the numbers.
Ask for any of these and they come straight to you. Live units are sourced to your brief.
From brief to a flat owned free and clear.
- 1
Your brief
We agree budget, ownership structure and how you want to run it.
- 2
Unit A
We source a tenanted flat and check the tenancy, lease and service charge.
- 3
Unit B
We secure a flat whose head lease allows short letting, on the longest term available.
- 4
Set-up
Furnish, list and build bookings: allow two to three quarters.
- 5
Pay down
Unit B's profit goes onto Unit A's mortgage every month until it is cleared.