An influencer, freestyle footballer and property developer has hit out at vandals who targeted a property used to help women escape domestic abuse.
Liv Cooke, who is from Leyland, refurbished the property in Greater Manchester as part of her project to help women get out of dangerous situations.
“No HMO” was written in grey paint across the property twice – on the front door and windows – in November 2025.
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Liv told Blog Preston: “I think HMOs attract a lot of assumptions, a lot of wrong assumptions, but most of the criticism and hate comes from misunderstanding.
“For them, it isn’t an HMO, it’s a second chance at life.
“And when the people that are vandalising or hating on my HMOs finally understand this, rather than running into assumptions and jumping on a hate bandwagon, they actually support it.”
Liv, who began investing heavily in property in 2023, shifted her focus when she “completely retired” from the world of freestyle football.
HMOs can be controversial for a number of reasons, including potentially attracting anti-social behaviour, providing poor living conditions for residents and the amount of revenue it allows landlords to extract in exchange.
However, in areas where the cost of property has increased dramatically, they can be the only way that young workers especially can afford to live and work.
In an upcoming Amazon Prime programme, Liv told Blog Preston that she saw her work in property development finally being recognised.
The Dragon’s Den-style show, which will air later this year, has welcomed Liv Cooke as its youngest investor to continue growing her property career.
Liv talked about the opportunity she was given through the programme.
She said: “It was a recognition for a decade of work she has put into the property.
“I’m so excited, not just for the show, for myself, but also the impact that we are going to be able to make.”
The filming for the programme will start next month, and Liv said she’s looking for hungry operators with similarities to her.
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