As a marketer specialising in property over the past fifteen years I have been privy to many sometimes unethical techniques used by developers and agents to market and sell property. I have no doubt that these techniques will unfortunately still be a part of the next cycle, and anticipated boom in property - yes boom! It kind of sounds ridiculous in the face of the near economic disaster that has and still is effecting many lives, but in my opinion another boom is seemingly unstoppable. The industry really needs to be more ethical in its approach.
In the UK I have seen many reports stating that demand is now outstripping supply, especially in the more popular locations. I remember this back in the nineties and although it took a long period of time for confidence to kick-in, the property boom came with a vengeance. My prediction is in 2010 we will start to see the signs of a boom again. Call me an optimist, but when you have read and experienced what I have in this industry, it's certainly feasible and most definitely possible. I am in total agreement with Mr Trump, this is now the time to buy!
What will create the change practices and recovery?
I think this is pretty obvious to everyone involved in this wonderful industry, and the answer is very much the same regarding the recovery in the economy - 'our wonderful financial institutions ability to lend to businesses once again, and to increase percentage borrowing for mortgages'. I spoke to a senior figure and good friend at one of the leading UK property developers. His statement was, yes we have to offer some pretty special packages for our buyers, but the banks have to start lending 95% to borrowers. This wil kick-off the first time buyers market. This statement really rang the bells of change with me, and although economists have stated how different and how bad this recession has been compared to the last, first time buyers coming back into the market is exactly what nurtured a return to normality in the early nineties. Yes it took time, but that was the start!
So, where am I going with this? Yes, green shoots are just breaking earth and a new property boom is predicted, but I truly believe that attitudes need to change. I have seen numerous television programs about unscrupulous developers running off with investors money, and although I am probably thinking the same as many night time couch potatoes - 'my god, I think he saw you coming', the professional property marketer in me also says, 'this isn't good for the industry', and an industry I have been so proud of belonging to. The good thing, is that these programs will hopefully make a difference in future, and consumers will be wiser and understand how to protect themselves.
Many who have read my previous articles would have seen that I am one of the founders of www.millionaire-
Who are the developers, and what does this agent know about these developers. Could they be one of the developers features in a documentary or are they a professional organisation. I would never state that all developers are dodgy, but my guess would be 1 in 1000 are, and in fairness to the term property developer, they do not fall into this category. Fraudsters is much more appropriate. If you look at the last property boom, over 65,000 people in the UK bought overseas property. Take the average development at 30 units, this equates to nearly 2000 people who have experienced unscrupulous developers. OK, my figures are purely based on gut feeling and pretty broad, but 200 victims is still too many. So what needs to happen!
At Millionaire Investments we have two rules. The first is one is an individual property can only be listed once, and by one agent or developer. The agents and developers who join Millionaire Investments are vetted or known to us. Also many of the agents are in direct touch with the developer or vendor. This means that a buyer has the ability to find out more about the investment they are considering. At MI we have the same disclaimers as any other portal, but we have gone some distance to protect our members and constantly look to ensure that only high quality professionals are involved and provide the investments. Our agents are some of the best in the business, and reputation is very important in this business.
What else do we do to protect investors. Of course we cannot guarantee the quality of investment, but our professional team at MI vets every property before it is listed on the portal. Each property is put in a holding section, and if we are not happy about the content, but also the actual quality of the investment, we do not list. MI is about quality. But the quality of our listings extends in the manner of how we support our investor members. If an enquiry is made by a member, they can choose for us to handle the initial enquiry, or to have direct contact with the agent. This for us is a professional approach, and something that has been welcomed by our agents. Some agents have looked to join, but put off by this process, and for me that is great, and for very obvious reasons!
The other big difference - and why property portals need to change
We are talking about one of the largest purchases an individual will make, and they need to be confident about the process, and have trust in the system. They want details to be factual rather than experience iffy sales techniques, and need to know that the property, the agent and the developer stacks up. At MI we can never guarantee everything, but I am extremely confident that if the 2000 figure is repeated in the next property boom, none of them will have purchased through Millionaire Investments.
My comments really relate to overseas purchase. Having worked with certainly most of the largest property developers in the UK, and many of the smaller ones, I believe the UK has a role to play in educating other European countries in the importance of looking after its European citizens when it comes to buying property. If we are to become one big economic 'States of Europe', the risk to buyers needs to be reduced, with a level playing field for all buyers who wish to migrate around this wonderful continent.
At MI we will carry on with our own ethics, and look to protect our members as much as due diligence and knowledge allows, and hope for the changes to happen elsewhere.
