COVID-CLOAKED PROPERTY CROOKS

THESE GUYS CAN DESTROY YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE.

By Neil Jenman

An old property scam in a new disguise is about to target the public.

Over the past 25 years or so, this scam has destroyed – yes, literally destroyed – the financial futures of thousands of Australians.

Here is the scam: ‘SELLING DUD INVESTMENT PROPERTIES FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MORE THAN THEIR VALUE.’

The crooks behind these scams are among the most evil people in our society. And no, they are rarely mainstream agents. They are the quintessential wolves in sheep’s clothing. They come in a variety of disguises. The more credible they appear, the more dangerous they are.

These crooks go to inordinate lengths to create a cloak of credibility. Including threatening their critics or anyone who dares to expose them.

Here are ten ways they catch you.

1. They have a credible sounding name. Some of the names sound so solid you’d be forgiven for thinking you are dealing with a multi-national. Indeed, one of these crooks (who I interviewed when he was in maximum security prison in 2008) once had a map of the world on his website showing fake locations in many of the world’s cities.
2. They prey on your fear. In typical crook style, they scare you with a problem, such as you’re destined to be old and broke; and then offer you a solution. They sing the praises of real estate and how it goes up in value. But not their real estate. It has already been increased in value by the amount you are being ripped off. It can take years for these properties to ever appreciate to the price at which they are sold. Right now, they are using the COVID-19 pandemic to prey on the increased fear in the community. They are saying now, more than ever, you need a real estate portfolio to secure your future. Yes, maybe, but not properties from these guys.

3. They claim to be philanthropists. This is truly sickening. They talk about the charities they support. Sometimes there will be a ‘front man’ who comes across as a real darling. He will grab your heart strings with stories of how he struggled and how he now wants to “give back” to others so they don’t have to suffer as he once did. This is not donating, this is marketing. True givers seldom want their generosity made public and they never use it as part of their sales pitch.
4. They have won awards. Oh, look out for this one. You will see them promote themselves as the “most awarded” or a member of an organisation that seems credible (and yes, sometimes the real estate institutes).
5. They ‘buy’ credible people. They will use a person who is well known to the public to promote their business. Or they will bring in a ‘credible’ guest speaker for a ‘webinar’. Or they will ‘partner’ with real estate researchers or identities who vouch for their ethics. Watch out, the people promoting these crooks have either been duped themselves or are part of the scam. With enough money, you can buy a lot of people. There is a saying: “Everyone has their price”. In real estate, except for a rare few, this is so true. How can you tell which credible people have not been bought? Easy, they never align themselves with investment experts.
6. They claim to be experts. They will talk about their years in real estate and how they know the “secrets” to accumulating wealth. They will claim to do extensive research into “growth areas” where they claim property has the best chance of appreciation. In truth, they flog properties wherever they can make the most money – usually on fringe areas of the major capitals. This is where there are veritable production lines of properties built purely for the investment scam markets. It’s an industry in itself.
7. They have testimonials. If you think ‘Rate My Agent’ is often dodgy by forbidding comments from unhappy sellers, you haven’t seen anything yet. The testimonials from these guys are not just ‘sus’, many are fiction. Or, if they are real, look carefully at what they say. They will talk about the company’s “great service” and how XYZ Company “made the process so easy”. None say: “I bought three properties which doubled in value and I am now enjoying my retirement”.
8. They are a “one stop shop”. The three words you most need to beware of are “one stop shop”. This simply means they have found people in other professions – mortgage brokers, lawyers, valuers – who are just as crooked as them. Back in the 1990s, one journalist referred to this as “the gravy train of deceit”.
9. They use soft pressure. They don’t want you to think they are putting any pressure on you, oh no. But these current prices from the developer are not going to last after this month. Or this is the last lot in this section. It will not feel like the high-pressure that, say, car salesmen or auction agents use, it’s softer. But it’s still pressure. Never ever succumb to pressure. Bad deals are never scarce.
10. They acknowledge crooks and scams. This is the greatest chutzpah in the real estate world. It is laughable to those in-the-know. These investment advisors claim to be aware of the crooks in the real estate world which, they say, is why they offer an honest investment service. Yea right. No, what it means is: They saw how much money could be made in scamming gullible investors and they couldn’t resist jumping aboard.