From Maternity Leave to Around 35 Properties: The Ghost Investor | Sarah Harman | PCN Podcast #44

Property investing while working full time: how Sarah Harman went from maternity leave to around 35 properties, and the checks she now runs on every deal. People call her the ghost investor, and it fits. Sarah doesn't really post on social media, works full time in tech sales and has only been to see one property she owns. She wrote her car off on the way back. If you work full time and want to build a portfolio through sourcers without taking everything at face value, this episode is worth your time. Sarah started in February 2025, on maternity leave with a six-month-old. She owns SIH Investments with her husband, who is very much a silent partner, and because they both work full time they take no income from the business. She's on a portfolio of around 15, with two portfolio deals in legals that should take her to around 35 by the end of October, and there's another baby on the way. She's honest about what went wrong. She was told a flip in England would value at 250k after the refurb, but when it went to market the values came back at 190 to 200k, and the 250k turned out to be a desktop valuation. A seven-property portfolio in Stirling came in under its expected revaluation. A short-term let licence in Kirkcaldy took six months, and on a guest house refurb in Lochinver on the NC500, the first slot a painter decorator could offer was December. There are wins too. One flip in Alloa made about £35,000 profit, and the portfolio is bringing in probably about 17 grand a month, gross not net. Sarah and David also get into how lenders stress test on the valuer's market rent rather than the rent you actually get, what she now expects from sourcers, how she checks a deal before she buys, why quick growth can feel painful even when the cash flow is good, and why she probably won't go back to her job after her next maternity leave. In this episode: • How Sarah started investing on maternity leave in February 2025 • Why she funds it herself, with her husband as a silent partner • Her first deal: an Aberdeen BRR and the lender's stress test • A seven-bed NC500 guest house in Lochinver, bought with no ADS to pay • The only property she's been to see, and the car she wrote off on the way back • Six months waiting on a short-term let licence in Kirkcaldy • The desktop valuation behind a flip she was told would value at 250k • What she wants from sourcers, and her due diligence checklist • About £35,000 profit on an Alloa flip, and why flips take longer than you expect • Her three bits of advice for anyone building a portfolio Chapters: 00:00 Meet the ghost investor 01:28 Building a portfolio on maternity leave 06:30 Why property, and why she self-funds 12:32 How she started, and her biggest lesson 14:17 First deal: the Aberdeen stress test 18:59 Refurb costs and an NC500 guest house 24:32 The only property she's been to see 26:27 A six-month short-term let licence 28:20 Desktop valuation and a botched refurb 31:55 Stirling portfolio: the down valuation 34:19 Using deal sourcers: her pet peeve 39:50 Her property due diligence checklist 43:09 The Alloa flip: about £35K profit 44:43 Cash flow: about £17K a month gross 48:03 Replacing her salary with property 54:33 Her 3 bits of advice for new investors Subscribe for weekly conversations on property, business and investing in Scotland. Would you buy a property you've never seen in person? Tell us in the comments. 🌐 Join Property Coaching Network: https://propertycoachingnetwork.com 📚 Property Coaching Intensive (PCI): https://propertycoaching.com/ 📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david_smart_property/ 📲 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@davidsmartproperty 📲 LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/david-smart- 📲 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.smart.7393/ 🏠 Sarah Harman / SIH Investments 📩 Business: team@propertycoachingnetwork.com