TALL STORIES" - 4 CORNERS MONDAY 21 APRIL
www.abc.net.au/4corners
"Bill Gates uses software. I use property." - Real estate guru
"You can go broke quick but you can't get rich quick." - Real estate sceptic
Property messiahs, wanna-be millionaires and the promise of riches...
Despite the forecasts of flagging interest, Australians' love affair with
property shows few signs of cooling...
In Melbourne alone, 100,000 new apartments will hit the market in the next
four years. Most of these are being snapped up not by people who will live
in them but by investors who believe they can't lose on bricks and mortar.
The real estate obsession has spawned a new phenomenon - property messiahs
who organise huge seminars and work their crowds with religious intensity.
"Dreams absolutely do come true!" one tells his audience.
Wanna-be millionaires are flocking to hear property gurus tell them how to
get discounts from developers, or how to buy using deposit bonds that can
be paid for later. The key message: you don't have to have money to make
millions.
Typically, a thousand people pay about $60 each for an introductory
lecture. More intensive courses may see hundreds of people paying anywhere
between $5000 and $50,000.
The seminars are often just the front window on a network of marketeers,
financial advisers, valuers, law firms and financiers. While these groups
trade on an image of respectability, all too frequently there are conflicts
of interest that remain hidden from the buyer.
While some have made money, thousands of investors have fallen victim to
schemes based on inflated valuations and two tier marketing - one price for
the locals, another for outsiders - especially in Queensland.
Four Corners discovers that despite belated action by Queensland
authorities, many of the sharp operators are thriving - and that their
focus has shifted south, and to Melbourne in particular.
Stephen McDonell reports on "Tall Stories" - Four Corners 8.30 pm Monday 21
April (repeated Tuesday 1 pm).
www.abc.net.au/4corners
"Bill Gates uses software. I use property." - Real estate guru
"You can go broke quick but you can't get rich quick." - Real estate sceptic
Property messiahs, wanna-be millionaires and the promise of riches...
Despite the forecasts of flagging interest, Australians' love affair with
property shows few signs of cooling...
In Melbourne alone, 100,000 new apartments will hit the market in the next
four years. Most of these are being snapped up not by people who will live
in them but by investors who believe they can't lose on bricks and mortar.
The real estate obsession has spawned a new phenomenon - property messiahs
who organise huge seminars and work their crowds with religious intensity.
"Dreams absolutely do come true!" one tells his audience.
Wanna-be millionaires are flocking to hear property gurus tell them how to
get discounts from developers, or how to buy using deposit bonds that can
be paid for later. The key message: you don't have to have money to make
millions.
Typically, a thousand people pay about $60 each for an introductory
lecture. More intensive courses may see hundreds of people paying anywhere
between $5000 and $50,000.
The seminars are often just the front window on a network of marketeers,
financial advisers, valuers, law firms and financiers. While these groups
trade on an image of respectability, all too frequently there are conflicts
of interest that remain hidden from the buyer.
While some have made money, thousands of investors have fallen victim to
schemes based on inflated valuations and two tier marketing - one price for
the locals, another for outsiders - especially in Queensland.
Four Corners discovers that despite belated action by Queensland
authorities, many of the sharp operators are thriving - and that their
focus has shifted south, and to Melbourne in particular.
Stephen McDonell reports on "Tall Stories" - Four Corners 8.30 pm Monday 21
April (repeated Tuesday 1 pm).
