Case study · Delamore Street, Liverpool L4
Delamore Street: no refurbishment, no uplift, £1,500 a month
Every other study on this page creates value through building work. This one deliberately does not, and it is here because that is a legitimate strategy and the one a first-time investor most often actually wants.
The numbers
| Purchase price | £112,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase costs | £5,000 | |
| Refurbishment | none | |
| Licensing and furnishing | £6,000 | |
| Total invested | ~£123,000 | |
| Valuation | unchanged | no works, so no uplift |
| Gross rent | £1,500 / month |
Strategy: Buy an already-performing property — no works, no forced appreciation
What made it work
- No refurbishment means no refurbishment risk — the part of a project where budgets overrun and timetables slip. The trade is that no value is created, so the capital stays in.
- It had been well looked after. A previous owner who maintained the gutters and the roof is worth real money, and it is visible on a viewing if you know to look.
- There is a basement that could be converted, and a space already framed for a window. Noel is explicit that this is not automatically worth doing — on a basement the relationship between cost and benefit often does not work, and money can go in without coming back out.
- £1,500 a month on roughly £123,000 invested. Modest against the conversions on this page, and considerably less work and less risk than any of them.
The full walkthrough, in Noel’s words
Transcribed from the video and edited for readability.
This property has been taken care of. The previous owner was a good landlord — somebody who looked after the gutters, the roof and the rest of it.
Another important part of this property is that it has a basement, and that basement could be converted if you wanted to. But with basements the relationship between cost and benefit needs looking at carefully, because sometimes you put money in and do not get it back. It can be done, and the space is definitely there to be used should the investor want it — there is even a space for a window.
The numbers are very simple. It was bought at £112,000, with purchasing costs of £5,000. There was no refurbishment. Licences and furnishing came to £6,000. The final valuation did not change, and the monthly cashflow is £1,500.
So: very simple, and very low risk.
If you want to do something like this, let us know — we can find a property like this and even cheaper. We recently found one for an investor at £86,000. Those prices change over time, but there is still a great deal to do in Liverpool and across the north of the UK.
If you want a property that does this, we source and develop them in Liverpool and the Wirral, and manage them afterwards. Or run your own numbers first on the buy-to-let calculator — free, no sign-up.