Sucking-in thousands of naive investors.
by Neil Jenman

Over the past decade – and the new century in particular – an entire industry has sprung up with the sole purpose of convincing wanna-be property investors that certain companies, clubs or groups can show us all how to get-rich in property.

Many (no, make that ‘most’) of these outfits have become so sophisticated that they are convincing tens of thousands of Australians to invest in their so-called ‘carefully-selected’ properties.

These companies go to great lengths to paint themselves as legitimate. They seldom use terms such as ‘get-rich’. Instead, they talk about retirement planning or wealth creation or tax minimisation. They will produce dozens of glowing references from seemingly happy and prosperous investors. To the inexperienced investors (which represents the majority of the Australian population) these companies seem like the answer to their investment prayers.

Such companies, however, are often nothing more than mammoth selling machines. They make their money – and it’s big money – by selling over-priced properties to over-anxious families.

As well as their glib lines, touching testimonials and their aura of authenticity, all trot out the same-old-same-old mythical statistics – such as, most retirees will struggle financially and property prices have always doubled every seven to ten years. More…..

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