Hi, I have noticed an increase in the number of companies offering to be property advisors, mentors or coaches.
Two of them seem legit, however I reviewed seem mixed as to whether they are or if they are indeed scams.
Is there a way I can find out, they are positive real estate ( ie Sam saggers) and property coach
Thank you
Hi @jazziyas, welcome to the community.
Businesses and individuals promoting themselves as property investment coaches or advisors are not regulated by the government. Buyer beware?
We chose to discuss whether direct property investment was a suitable strategy with our independent financial planner. It would be wise to also discuss with your tax accountant and solicitor what you will need to do and how they can assist in their respective roles.
I always ask why anyone offering to help me invest is bothering to do so. If they are as good as they suggest, why are they not billionaires never needing to work again. They should be able to offer all the support I require for zero cost, free, gratis. I suspect that what is being sold is what provides their income. Nothing more. Excuse the cynic. Iâve seen what can go wrong.
P.S.
Iâm assuming a genuine interest in buying a first investment property, for someone who has zero prior experience in any property dealings.
Thanks for your response, the company states they are a choice winner for property education. However I havenât been able to see this on the choice website reviews. image|381x500
That might be because they are not!
The linked image suggests a play on words âInvestors Choice Winnerâ?
Nothing to do with Choice the Consumer not for profit. When I see tricks like this it reinforces the need for caution. There is a business called âInvestors Choice Groupâ. A quick search of the net left me doubtful of their intentions.
Looking at the About Us their website
It is very light on details about the professionals they claim to provide investing advice. It indicates the professionals have been successful in investing in real estate and their education team includes real estate agents and those which can assist in providing credit (credit representatives).
It is also worth looking at the licenses they hold. They are real estate agents and some with credit qualifications providing âeducationâ. There are no professionals one would usually associate with investment advice (accountants, financial planners/advisors etc).
The âAbout Usâ should raise oneâs scepticism to what the educational motives are. Real estate agents sell properties while those with credit licences find loans/credit for purchases. The education could (will most likely be?) be a hard sell property roadshow as their educators donât appear to be independent nor have those professions that provide independent advice on all investment options (property, shares, listed and unlisted assets, bonds, cash, superannuation etc) to determine what may be in the best interests of the client.
Timeshare companies often run similarly named investment education and information sessions which are about hard selling timeshares. While Positive Real Estate donât sell timeshare, their motives are possibly similarâŠto sell the products they have to those who get educated.
This is educational for those not yet educated. I have long suspected at least some of these âinvest in real estateâ come-ons include an element of âExample 1â albeit with a twist leading the naive into the risky world of flipping.
Thanks for this, I am not sure what to do. I feel that I need a property mentor/advisor as I am time poor and do not have the expert knowledge they have, therefore happy to pay a specialist for that purpose. I also feel that the positive real estate investment group are a business and naturally need to make money. They have not put any pressure on using their affiliated companies to purchase properties through but it is an option they have and yes Iâm sure they would get a cut from me buying through them. But I cannot see another way than to trust someone at some point if I want to go down the investing path
Does anyone know much about positive real estate or Sam saggers ?
I donât know much more can be said than that above. Other than their website statesâŠ
We have developed strong relationships with Australiaâs leading property developers. This enables our Clientsâ to access high quality properties at all price ranges and keep them secure and on track with their investing.
The majority of these properties are provided exclusively to our Clients and are not made available to the wider public through mainstream real estate channels.
What does this mean? It appears they work with property developers to sell their propertiesâŠand such properties arenât marketed in the usual way. This means one doesnât know if the information provided through the education is on sound basis or what they wish to tell their clients to force/hard sell the properties. This raises alarm bells as the education may not be independent Just based solely on this, I would be very reluctant to use their services.
Do you have a relationship with them as it appears you have or know about how they operate?
There are many other ways to get advice which is independent and has a solid basis. This ranges from using an independent financial adviser experienced in the property sector to independent propery agents (which have no ties to developers or like a real estate agent, have properties for sale)âŠ
There are many reports of individuals relying on âexpertsâ which have a conflict of interest in the investments they offer, finding out at a future time that the âadviceâ was not in their interest but the interest of those selling the advice. This website provides some things to look out for. The key wording isâŠ
Knowledge is power and education is a great thing, especially if youâre thinking about investing a considerable amount of money in property. Unfortunately, not all property seminars are on the same level. In fact, some of them are downright scams run by professional property spruikers.
No there isnât any information indicating they are a scam, but information on their website gives enough to know that there will be risks of using such âeducationâ services and it is possible these risks will be not be fully outlined to their clients, based on each individualâs circumstances. There is also a risk that the information will not be independent and in the interests of their clients since they have relationship with developers to sell properties offmarket from the development industry.
If one chooses to go to one of their education session, it possibly should not be treated as independent advice. One should seek out their own independent advice external of Positive Real Estate to see if the risks and investment option is right for their financial future. It does raise the question if independent advice is still needed, is the education provided also necessary.
Go see a Registered Financial Advisor. They are licenced and regulated by the Govt Regulators, they have insurance to cover bad practices and they must by Law deal ethically with you.
Property coaches mostly are just a non licenced means to take and make money for them, the few that hold a licence to offer financial advice are unsurprisingly Licenced Financial Advisors.
If you develop a good working relationship with your Financial Advisor (FA) then you can possibly at some point appoint them to look after your investments on your behalf. Ensure you have a very good contract that sets out the responsibilities and authorities very clearly and offers you the maximum protection plus be very involved in the oversight of both the choices and results. By taking the step to use a FA you will gain a financial education that you want, always asking questions is the best practice to learning and will help lead you to financial literacy and help you undertake risk assessments.
The Investors Choice Winner is just Puffery. It doesnât mean CHOICE awarded them anything. The use of Choice without the use of all capitals (and/or underlining of the word Choice) or the failure to use © or âą or Âź with the use of Choice indicates it is purely the word choice ie the action/result of choosing, in that it is some Investors who have chosen it as a winner in some competition (which investors, how chosen or what they won is anybodyâs guess as there is no link to substantiate that claim) and has no affiliation with anything ©CHOICE has done.
You might begin googling for âBuyers Agent real estateâ in your locale to find an independent who is not into puffery, and will work for you for a fee, not work for the sellers or developers, and who can be verified as trustworthy from local references.
It is illegal for estate agents to represent more than one party in any transaction. There are substantial fines and possible de-registration if it can be proved.
That may be true but in 2002 (?) I was privy to an arrangement (commercial build and tenancy) where an agent represented both sides, fully disclosed and accepted by all. Iâll not cast opinion on which side was better served.
