'I grew up on a rough council estate - but now I own 17 of the houses on it'

Shirleyann Haig, originally from Huyton, Liverpool but now living in Wirral, has become a successful "ethical property investment" entrepreneur after growing up in a 'chaotic household'

A mum who grew up on an impoverished estate is now buying up the area where she was raised to help people "struggling with housing".

Shirleyann Haig, originally from Huyton, Liverpool but now living in Wirral, has become a successful "ethical property investment" entrepreneur after growing up in a "chaotic household". Now, she owns 17 properties in her home area of St Johns and manages an additional 60 - refusing to work with "greedy landlords". She also provides ethical property management and lettings with low management fees.

Based in Heswall and with a new branch in West Kirby she says she purchases properties at full market value without any hidden charges, ensuring a swift sale, and also specialises in buying from landlords - allowing tenants to stay in their homes.

Speaking of her tough childhood, she told the LiverpoolECHO: "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. One day I’d been caught robbing and had my mugshot and fingerprints taken at 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."

However, a charity initiative at her school called Nacro (National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders) that ran homework centres helped Shirleyann turn a corner after she had a "lightbulb moment". She said: "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 the 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 leverage. 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 in 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."

In just four years, Shirleyann had established Home Property Solutions - a company specialising in ethical property investment and assisting others to invest in the same manner. The mum says that integrity is important to her, in her field of work. She added: "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." And now, the proud mum-of-two'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.

She also co-founded Inspiring Minds — an organisation that helps people cope with neurodiversity and financial freedom. This was after Shirleyann found out that everyone in her family was neurodivergent. She said: "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."