Beware of Property Investment Gurus- Temples of Doom

There are three things that we need to achieve happiness in life; someone to love, something to believe in, and someone to blame when things go wrong.

Enter the property investment guru…

Cashing in on these major needs, this dashing species has all of the hallmarks of success

A rags to riches story that is difficult to verify, the ability to arouse emotion previously only realised in religious cults, and a sound message:

“If I can do it, you can do it”.

This combination of popular psychology and extreme promises hypnotically encourages us to pay copious amounts of money for seminars – in pursuit of investment happiness.

More recently these gurus have taken on some nasty characteristics.

Just like sharks, confined to a fishpond, they are gnashing their teeth and showing signs of aggression.

To encourage seminar attendance, they are making outrageous advertising claims.

How to Spot a Guru

The flowing swami robe has now been replaced with an Armani suit.

Here is a list of indications that your property trainer may have their heart in the wrong place.

Be wary if they tell you:

1. “You’ll be able to buy 10 properties in 10 years”

A quick reality check…  unrealistic benchmarks will sell a seminar, but they will set you up for catastrophic losses.

2. “I’ve been investing for the last 5 years”.

Don’t confuse brains with a bull market.

Even the worst investors can make astounding profits if the market conditions are right. Find someone that has weathered a few property cycles and knows how to make money in all types of markets.

Five years is a blink of an eye in the context of the share market.

3. “Here is a no-risk strategy.”

The search for the no-risk strategy has achieved Holy Grail status in the property market.

Novices believe that it exists.

Professionals know that it doesn’t. If there is no risk, then there is no reward… simple as that.

 The Bottom Line:

Natural selection dictates that for a particular characteristic to evolve, it must be ‘attractive’ to those we seek to impress.

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

The gurus have emerged because we have encouraged them to do so.

In our desperate and pathetic pursuit of a higher authority, we willed them into existence.

Unfortunately, the guru of yesterday is the despised charlatan of today.