By John Lindeman August 8, 2020

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Don’t be duped by dodgy property dealers

Property Investment
Don’t be duped by dodgy property dealers

One of the biggest mistakes that property investors can make is relying on the wrong experts.

One expert is urging you to invest in central Queensland, another says buy in Melbourne, still another tells you that Port Hedland is about to boom again, while another urges you that Perth is set to go gang busters at last.

So who is right?

Australia The first thing to check is why they are making such predictions.

The property market is largely unregulated, which allows unscrupulous players to operate with some impunity by running free webinars, workshops and intensives, often masquerading as “training” or “education” opportunities.

When the restrictions on movement and assembly are finally behind us, these dodgy dealers will quickly spring up again.

Watch out for free events designed to entice you with offers and promises of near instant property investment success.

Check their motivation

Why do they do this? Because many of these people are actually sellers agents or project marketers who obtain handsome commissions, finders fees or other financial rewards for encouraging you to buy certain properties, even if the properties they recommend may not achieve your property investment goals.

Well, there’s an easy way to test them.

The internet makes this simple.

You can check the motivation of so-called experts by checking their websites – do they claim to have “acquisition experts” on their team?

Do they have access to “unlisted”, “off market” or “investor approved” properties?

Are these available at “below market value” prices?

This code language means that they could be getting rewarded for pushing particular properties on to you.

In such cases, the property you purchase with their assistance will certainly be in their best interests, but may not be in yours.

Check their credibility

Many dodgy dealers claim to be accredited, even though they have no recognised quals, little professional experience and offer scant evidence of their personal expertise.

Credibility You have a right to know what gives them the authority to call themselves experts.

You should also check to see what others are saying about these experts.

Google the person’s name, together with words such as “scam” or “spruiker” and see what pops up.

Have they been investigated by ASIC, the ACCC, or government watchdogs such as Consumer Affairs or Fair Trading?

You might be surprised!

Check their past accuracy

Even if their motives are pure and they seem credible and trustworthy, you still need to test their past accuracy.

Don’t simply accept their claims that they made certain predictions which turned out to be correct.

Using Google, go back in time and compare what they publicly said some years ago about the property market to what actually happened.

Of course, not everyone can be right all the time, but at least by testing their claims you can avoid getting duped by the dodgy dealers.

About John Lindeman John Lindeman has well over a decade of experience researching the nature and dynamics of various types of assets at major data analysts and is a leading property market researcher, author and commentator. For more information visit Lindeman Reports.