'The penny dropped after getting my mugshot and fingerprints taken at a police station... now I own 17 houses on my childhood street'

Shirleyann Haig grew up grappling with poverty and bullying on a council estate, but her "lightbulb moment" brought life back to the area she once called home. Based in Wirral but raised in Huyton, the mum has become a successful entrepreneur in 'ethical property investment'.

Now owning 17 properties and managing another 60, Shirleyann refuses to work with "greedy landlords". In the aftermath of 2008's financial crash, while the property market was still unstable, the enterprising 48 year old began buying up "all the boarded up, empty properties that were being repossessed and nobody wanted to buy" in her childhood estate.

Shirleyann purchases properties at full market value without any hidden fees, ensuring quick, fair sales, and focuses on buying from landlords to keep tenants in their homes. Providing ethical management and lettings services with low fees, Shirleyann now operates from Heswall and recently established a new branch in West Kirby.

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The road to success was not smooth; her childhood was riddled with turmoil within a "chaotic" family environment, as she revealed: "My mum and dad split up when I was a baby and I was raised by a single mum with mental health problems. When I was one, we had to move in with my grandparents in a council estate in Huyton.

"My childhood was not very nice; I had a lot of love from my family but there was quite a lot of chaos and there was no money. The estate I grew up on was rough and I went to a school where I was very lucky to come out with any qualifications."

During Shirley's early years, she found herself on a downward spiral. She continued: "My predicted grades were all Ds and Es; I was a bit of a rebel, I was out clubbing when I was 14 and drinking and all that kind of stuff," reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Shirleyann's turning point came after a brush with the law: "One day I'd been caught robbing and had my mugshot and fingerprints were taken in the police station. At the police station they told me it was my last chance and that if I was caught again, I'd get a criminal record."

A pivotal moment occurred thanks to an intervention at her school. She explained: "There was a charity called Nacro (National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders) which came to do some work in our school. The charity ran these homework centres in school and I had a lightbulb moment when they convinced me that I only have one shot at life.

"I didn't want to be a statistic and I wanted to do better, I wanted to be better. I buckled down and went to this homework centre and ended up getting some of the highest marks in the school.

"That project was funded by the Prince's Trust and when they got wind of my success, they took me on a roadshow across the UK and Ireland. We ran these roadshows to teach people how these homework centres could help people like me who came from disruptive backgrounds. After that, I went on to get my A Levels and a degree."

After earning a postgraduate degree in pharmacology and securing a high-profile job in the industry, Shirleyann ventured into property investment - offering fair prices for properties, refurbishing them to a high standard, and then selling or renting them out. She said: "What got me into property was reading a book named Rich Dad Poor Dad written by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

"It taught me about passive income, good debt, bad debt and leveraging. I then embarked on a full-on training programme with something called the Rich dad Poor dad academy in around 2007.

"My first property was in St Johns estate in Huyton, where I grew up. I bought that property for around £60,000 in 2008. While the property market was crashing and everyone was jumping ship, I basically stepped in and went back to the housing estate which I grew up in and was literally buying all the boarded up, empty properties that were being repossessed and nobody wanted to buy. I brought the area back to life and in a space of three years I bought 17 properties which I fully refurbished to a high standard."

Four years on from her humble beginnings, Shirleyann has successfully launched Home Property Solutions, a firm that champions ethical property investment. The dedicated mum emphasises the role of integrity in her work, saying: "For me, it's all about integrity because I've lived the life of someone who has struggled and I've seen how difficult it is."

"Everything in my business is about balancing the needs of the tenant and the landlord while keeping the property in a really good condition. It's important that we have that balance. I don't work with greedy landlords; I refuse to work with people who have low standards and high expectations.

"We also work with homeless teams to prioritise vulnerable people who are struggling with housing. I was once that vulnerable person so I want to help others get to a comfortable place in life."

Today, Shirleyann's ethical property business is thriving and she is using her story and journey as a vehicle to help and inspire others. She has founded Inspiring Women Wirral - a female entrepreneur group that empowers women.

Additionally, after discovering her family's neurodiversity, she established Inspiring Minds CIC, an organisation dedicated to supporting those coping with neurodiversity and aiming for financial independence. On her family's own challenges, she shared: "My mum, dad, brothers and sisters were all ADHD. So, all the arguments, the fighting, the robbing and the drinking, it's all related to neurodiversity.

"Inspiring Minds is a not-for-profit organisation which I set up last year. I realised that there are children out there like myself, who need support where conventional schooling isn't always suitable for people. There's a lot of, especially neurodivergent people, who are entrepreneurial."