New Zealand is still bathing in the golden glow of the Paris Olympics. The games launched many new heroes (and consolidated the reputation of some existing ones) and we can bask in the reflected glory of our amazing athletes.

If not for a horrific accident in 2021, Storm Harris could have been one of those contenders. A highly experienced and talented eventer, Harris was eventing every weekend and aiming for the Olympics. But it wasn’t to be.

A fall saw her break two vertebrae, crack eight ribs, split her liver and spleen, sprain her shoulder (the list goes on) and spend two years in rehabilitation. Three years later, she has moved on from this dark time and is excelling in her role as a property manager. The 25-year-old is also growing a great portfolio of rentals and is passionate about property.

Struggle and Push

Harris was brought up on a sheep and beef farm in Waikato, with her parents and younger brother. Her parents had worked hard to buy their farm: “Mum wanted to own a farm, and she always struggled and pushed – working three jobs, around the clock. They were always struggling to get ahead – I got my grit from my parents.”

And they were always open about money. “They would talk to us about mortgages, finances, overdraughts, from when we were about 10.”

Harris started working for her parents at a young age. She and her brother signed a contract outlining how they would look after calves until they were old enough to be sold; they were able to keep the money left after paying back their parents for grazing.

They would get up each morning, make sure they were fed, and care for them until they reached 100kg. At market they would make between $50 and $250 each – she would save whatever they made.

“We weren’t allowed to spend the money,” says Harris. “It really set us up with great saving habits.”

By the time she was a teenager, Harris had started another job. This involved taking thoroughbreds that didn’t make the grade in racing (her family had contacts in the industry), training them, and selling them on as competition horses. It was another way to work and make money while doing what she loved.

‘I Had A Dream’

After finishing school, Harris studied at Waikato University. She had a dream of becoming an actor, so focused on screen and media. She was there for two years, studying during the week and competing every weekend.

“Mum’s an amazing rider and she would exercise my horses during the week when I was at uni,” she says. “Dad would drive my horse to the event; and I would meet them wherever it was taking place – it was a bit crazy!”

But after two years she had an epiphany. “I wasn’t doing very well at university, found it boring as s..., so I decided to leave.”

And it wasn’t long before she found a completely new, and rather unexpected, line of work.

She was having a drink in a local country pub when she met a man who made her an offer. He was looking for people to drive tractors for earthworks and asked if she was keen. “Yes, I’d love to drive tractors,” she told him.

It wasn’t without its challenges. She was the only female in the team and most of the other drivers were decades older than her. But they took her under their wing and she enjoyed the work – and it gave her the opportunity to save.

Harris had always known that property could build wealth. She had been saving towards that goal for years, and by the time she was 21 she had enough money for her first venture. “I was really scared. I didn’t really know what I was doing,” she says.

With $34,000 in the bank, Harris didn’t have much to play with. It was 2019, before the property boom, when she discovered two two-bedroom flats in Piopio near Te Kuiti on the market for just $140,000.

It was all they were worth. “They were terrible. Even the real estate agent told me ‘they’re not very good’.”

The stucco units had been a gang pad, used for growing weed, and “you wouldn’t put a dog” in the kitchens. But they had good bones, were dry, and her dad was a good handyman, so she realised she could make a go of it.

She only needed to use part of her savings for the deposit, which left her with money to spare for the reno. And an early discovery made her realise her investment had been a sound one. “We ripped up the vinyl and found native wood floors ... it was an amazing discovery.”

The units were essentially gutted, floors sanded and polished, the whole place repainted, and new kitchens and bathrooms installed. “I had a broken arm (from a riding accident) at the time, and I wasn’t working, but I was able to paint the walls,” she says.

She got the properties into a liveable condition and then started looking for tenants. But at this early stage she had a somewhat cavalier attitude to tenant selection. “I kinda thought I’d take whoever came along. I learned the hard way.”

She had some difficult situations – tenants digging holes in walls, rubbish in cupboards, but she made it work, all while continuing to drive tractors and show horses.

Property Journey

By 2021, when Harris was 23, she was ready for new property purchases. She discovered a three-bedroom home in Piopio, with good bones, dating from the 1930s. “When I went to look at it, it appeared really messy, but when the owner moved out and took all his stuff, I realised it was pretty reasonable.”

The weatherboard home cost $239,500 – it just needed a scrub, a fence fixed and a new oven and extractor fan. “I have a long-term tenant in that place, and there’s never been any problems,” Harris says.

Soon after she made another purchase; the neighbouring property to the three-bedroom. This one was built in the mid-1950s, and she bought it for $275,000.

But shortly after her life changed forever.

It was November and she was competing in cross country on a young horse that she’d trained herself. They were approaching a log with pumice in front of it; the horse thought he was meant to jump the pumice, so took off early. He ended up on the log, doing a flip, and landing on top of Harris.

“It broke all my bones,” she says. “It was incredibly serious. I was wearing a new back protector, fortunately, because the doctor says if I had had my old one on, I would have broken my spine. If I hadn’t been wearing one, he said I would have died.”

With a litany of ailments (including the broken spine, cracked ribs, and split liver mentioned earlier) she was airlifted from the event in Taupo to Waikato Hospital. “They saved my life. I can’t remember much, but I know there were different groups of doctors working on different parts of me.”

Once the immediate injuries were treated, she spent nearly a week in hospital, and then two years getting back on her feet again. “I moved back home. The rehab took a really long time, and it was awful. I was so angry all the time. But I was determined to get better.”

She was told she would never go to the gym or ride again ... but the grit and determination she’d developed over the years helped her make it through.

“I now go to the gym every day; it’s what keeps me going. I don’t ride anymore, but my horse survived the accident and is now with an amazing showjumping family.”

Learning Curve

Understandably, property investment has been “on a back burner” since the accident. At 25, she is living with her partner on a farm outside Te Kuiti, which they rent. And she has a new job, working as a property manager for Property Brokers.

“I had bought my houses from Mary Tapu, who is the Property Brokers agent for Te Kuiti. She thought I would be perfect as a property manager.”

She’s learned a lot since she started the job. “You can’t beat the knowledge you gain from managing properties. I manage around 90 in the region. Some are easy, some are challenging. The most rewarding part is finding homes for tenants who really need somewhere to live.”

She plans to buy two more rental properties at the end of this year (she has a buy-and-hold strategy, and her current properties are neutrally geared) and she ultimately wanted to buy her own farm. But given the capital gains and passive income that will arise from the rental properties she already owns, Harris may have changed her mind.

“With farming, you are reliant on the weather; it can be so uncertain. It’s challenging to be a landlord, sure, but if you have the knowledge and know-how it works ... rental investment provides consistent returns.”