Should I sell up in London and move to Liverpool?

[totolouise]

So, me my 6 year old little one and our elderly rescue dog spent a week in Formby a couple of years ago, and I have been considering moving up that way ever since, even though I have no family or friends there. I grew up in Yorkshire and moved down to Greater London over 10 years ago.

We are very fortunate to live in a very green and affluent area here, but would probably be classed as a ‘JAM/Just about Managing’.
I now have a chronic health condition and so currently do not work. This may or may not change in the future, but there is a possibility that I may recover somewhat, although not fully, and so may never work full time again.
I have always had a desire to get into the property business, since around the age of 10-11. It is something that has never left me.
If I sold up here, I would have around £300-£350k to make the move, and would want to buy at least two properties to start with.
The one to live in would need to have at least three bedrooms, so that one or more could be rented out via Airbnb or similar, in order to provide a source of income. I wouldn’t want to have to do too much work to this one if possible. I would also rather have a small garden, rather than a yard out back, as my little one has grown up to date with no immediate outside space at home, just the local park!
The other properties I would consider buying from auction, although I expect competition to be high. These could be further afield, but within say 30 minutes driving distance.
We all love beach walks and so I’m thinking somewhere like Waterloo, Brighton-le-sands or other similar areas along the coast.

Any suggestions of other nearby places would be welcomed please.
Formby was a bit too quiet I think for us, but I could perhaps be persuaded!
I would also need to be a short, say 5-10 minutes, from a beach.
Has anyone made a similar move already???

I lived in Liverpool for several years and love the city so I'm not being disparaging about it but you have to know the market very well to make money flipping houses there - the margins can be quite small unless you really have an eye for it and can see what you're taking on. I'd also say that my friend made the same move to an upmarket part of Merseyside from London a few years ago and hates the weather compared to London - much windier, wetter and more overcast.

I was happy in Nottingham until I discovered Liverpool. I love it! I would move there in a heartbeat if I didn't love the peri work with.

I live right by Waterloo in Crosby and absolutely love it. There are lots of parks, cafes and independent shops plus we have the beach and it's only twenty minutes into the city centre on the train. The housing market is going a bit mad here at the moment, but I think it's the same in most places right now.

Ah thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them.
Yes I have thought that the weather could be a challenge, as we are so lucky that it is quite a few degrees warmer down here and probably not so rainy.
I am wary of the property margins being so small too, but figured I have to start somewhere, as don’t see how I can start my dream in London, as I just don’t have the necessary finances to do so, unless I win the lottery that is, and then I’d probably never move areas at all!
Crosby is lovely and just about the right amount of bustle for us I think. I just figured I might get a better deal moving to Waterloo, as I heard it is up and coming.
I’m interested to know what the ‘upmarket’ part of Merseyside is?
Probably out of my initial price range, but perhaps good to know for the future, if my long-term dream comes to fruition 😀

I would not start property development in an area you don’t know or have any trade contracts with. As PP have said the margins are tight and you could get stung badly.

You would need to do thorough due diligence on the whole process, costs and commercial viability.

However I think it’s a wonderful area and you could potentially have an enhanced lifestyle.

Maybe move to have a mortgage free home based on the educational and lifestyle aspirations of your family and invest the rest of your capital in a less risky way for a few years until you build up experience, expertise and reliable contacts in the area.

A less glamorous or creative option in that area is student houses if you want a revenue stream rather than capital growth. Again it’s not for the faint hearted and there is significant H&S legislation around HMOs - and I have no idea of the supply and demand equation but as an example the house my son was living in cost £140k - it was 10 bed @ £400/month for 11 months - so £44k / year income - looks like a stonking yield.

I’m very very long in the tooth in the property and construction industry and sorry to bring you back to earth with a bump but
The people who make money on it got into it way before tax changes made it ridiculously hard to do so.
They have a huge portfolio of properties so as to spread risk.
They (generally) have long standing connections to help, be it they were an estate agent for 20 years, were or have a building connection in the family, were a construction “professional” (QS/architect etc)
Even with all this in their favour some of these still loose money or operate on tiny margins. If you just had one property I think you’d be really lucky to make anything at all.

Also I would not recommend student housing to a first time landlord. HMOs are a minefield and the legislation and guidelines get updated every 5 minutes.
The wear and tear on those houses is immense also.

I'd be letting your London place via AirBNB. Then renting or even a longer AirBNB let in Liverpool- even just a month or 2. You'd make far more on the London property if its fairly central (zone 1-2). There are companies than can manage it for you too (I've done this when I worked abroad). That way you'd get some income, but also get a feel for living in Liverpool.

Ah thank you again for comments.
I should have perhaps mentioned before that I used to work in the property development industry (for a new build construction company) so do have quite a bit of knowledge under my belt re the whole process, but more so on the purchasing of land, build costs, finishes etc.
I totally appreciate that there would obviously be hurdles that would come up along the way though.
I also totally appreciate that it could be tricky in an area that I do not know well, or have contacts in. I have been doing online research on the area for the last couple of years, and do have friends down here who are originally from up there, whose brains I have been picking too!
There will always be a risk in anything in life, but there is a saying “Take the risk or lose the chance.” that keeps coming back to me. In my gut I feel that I should take this risk, as I wouldn’t want to always regret not trying it.
I suppose I’m thinking what’s the worst that could happen, it doesn’t work out, so we just move back down to London.
From what I have researched to date on HMO’s, that is not a route I want to go down, definitely not to start with anyway.
I had thought about renting out my place here, and renting out a place in Liverpool for a month or so this Summer, so I can get more is a feel for a specific area there. However, the process of packing everything away here, in order to get my place ready for essentially a short term let for someone, almost doesn’t seem worth the hassle. Maybe I’ll just take the easy option and book for us to go and have an extended stay in Liverpool over the Summer to get a better feel for things.

I would also consider renting your London place and renting in Liverpool for a year or so. Your rental income would be higher as i presume your mortgage is lower after 10 years ownership. You can ask your lender for permission to let without switching to a BTL product.

Having said that, you really need to know the legal ins and outs of being a landlord, especially now. Don't rely on an Agent to do due diligence.