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.
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