There are property scams around every corner
I’ve been involved in real estate markets and investment for more than 20 years, and it constantly surprises me not only how property scams start and then develop, but also how investors are suckered into giving their money away.
I’ve spent my whole career working in industries that revolve around high value sales. From personal coaching, seminars, marketing consultancy, mortgages and property investment, I’ve seen just about every get rich quick, money making scheme on the planet (of course I know that’s not entirely true) but being in industries that are prone to corruption and working with 1000’s of clients across the world, it’s given me a unique perspective on the subject.
Through all this I have been able to largely navigate through and avoid almost every scam, Ponzi, and bad business model around. Not because I have some gift for spotting them (although I now have a good grasp of what goes into one) but more because I have been very conservative in my approach, measured some may say, others may call me ‘tight’ but regardless having been in the business of investment with other people's money has given me a great insight into what works, what doesn’t and what clearly should be avoided.
That's why my new book is aimed at helping beginner investors spot the signs of property investment scams before they're suckered into one. How to Avoid Property Fraud, a Ponzi Scheme, Scam or property or Bad Business Model will help you learn from other investors' mistakes so you can avoid becoming a statistic yourself.
In this book I hope to give you an insight into what makes up a scam, Ponzi or bad business model. I believe with enough research you can largely avoid them. Some you will get caught in, as a good business model turns bad and then potentially turns into a Ponzi. I think these are the ones that are hard to avoid.
I’d like to say that I have never lost money in any of these but I, like millions of others, have lost money through the good business turned bad.
As I travel the globe meeting clients and strategising their portfolios, it is amazing the scope of scams and the number of people impacted by them. For most it's frustrating but not fatal, but I have seen plenty of fatalities where they invested their entire (or a large portion) of their capital into a sure thing, with insider knowledge that couldn't lose, only to find out it wasn’t.
Based on the research done by Office of Fair Trading in December 2006, almost half the UK adult population (48 per cent) – some 23.5 million people – is likely to have been targeted by a scam. Some eight per cent of the adult population – 3.9 million people – would admit to having been a victim of a scam at some time.
Consistently, it was reported in 2014 by the Citizens Advice Bureau that 4 million people in the UK become scam victims with increasing number every year. In 2013, £168 million was lost to investment fraud in the UK. In 2014, the number hit £212 million in 2014, up by 25%.
These aren’t all victims of property investment scams, of course, but property scams tend to be the ones that cost the most money. Investors were the largest victims of fraud in 2014.
Scams come in a variety of disguises, and are increasingly conducted without the victim and scammer ever meeting! In fact, nearly three quarters of scammed people don’t know the scammer.
That makes it even more difficult to recover any money, which has usually disappeared out of sight long before the victim even reports being scammed.
After reading this book, you will feel more confident that you know what investments to choose and which companies to work with. It'll also help you maximise your returns by minimising your risk of a bad investment decision.
Live with passion,
Brett Alegre-Wood
