A property spruiker is someone who presents as a property investment expert while selling a particular development, a scheme or a course, and who is usually paid by the seller rather than by you. The signs are consistent: pressure to sign quickly, vague answers on risk and cost, and a bundle of their own brokers, conveyancers and tax advisers. Liviti is a property investment advisory firm accredited with Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) and the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA).
- Spruikers give tips on making money from property while promoting properties in a particular development or area.
- Their income often comes from developers, brokers or other providers, and is not always disclosed.
- Regulators list consistent warning signs: rushed decisions, side-stepped questions, downplayed risks and costs, and bundled services.
- Anyone recommending an SMSF to buy property needs an Australian financial services licence. ASIC's professional registers show who holds one.
- An independent buyer's agent works for the buyer and searches the wider market, not one development.
What is a property spruiker?
The Queensland Government describes property spruikers as people who give advice and tips on how to make money by investing in property, and who promote properties for sale in a particular development or area. WA Consumer Protection warns that spruikers have a financial incentive to profit at the buyer's expense. A spruiker's income depends on you buying the property or product in front of you, so the advice is built around that sale rather than around your income, equity and goals.
Where spruikers find property investors
Free seminars are a common starting point. The Queensland Government notes they may offer free seminars, sign-up discounts or credit to pay for training fees, and that free seminars are often used to sell further seminars or materials. It also notes that if no goods or services were indicated for sale at a seminar, a 10 business day cooling-off period applies to purchases over $100. Check the rules with your state's fair trading office.
Nine warning signs of a property spruiker
These signs come from guidance published by Queensland's Office of Fair Trading and WA Consumer Protection.
Pressure to decide fast. You are rushed into a decision or a contract.
Questions side-stepped. Direct questions about the property, the numbers or their own role get vague answers.
Risks and costs played down. The Queensland Government names property in tourist areas and mining towns as examples.
Bundled services. The same group offers the property, the mortgage broker, the conveyancing, the settlement and the tax advice.
"Government approved" claims. The scheme or system is described as government approved, with nothing you can verify.
Interstate or off-the-plan only. The properties are in another state or not yet built, which makes them harder to check independently.
Your home put at risk. The strategy uses the equity in your current home to fund the investment.
Growth figures you cannot verify. Capital growth claims come without an independent or credible source.
Personal loans or credit on offer. The spruiker offers to lend you money or arrange credit to buy in.
A firm offering several services is not a warning sign on its own. What matters is whether every fee and commission is disclosed up front, in writing. The Queensland Government also warns that a presenter's own success may reflect market conditions at the time, and does not mean you will see similar returns.
How property spruikers get paid
Spruikers may receive commissions or other inducements from developers, mortgage brokers, conveyancers, tax agents, financial planners or finance providers, and these are not always disclosed. When that happens, the advice may not be independent, because the adviser earns more if you choose the product that pays them. One test is to ask who pays the adviser, when, and how much, and to get the answer in writing.
Queensland's Office of Fair Trading also lists the schemes spruikers may promote: property bought through a self-managed super fund, land banking (land sold before development approval), high-risk loans for buyers with poor credit or unstable work, and rent-to-buy schemes, where the buyer is not on the title until the property is fully paid for.
How to check a licence before you sign
Different kinds of advice need different licences, and the public registers show who holds what.
Financial advice and super: advice on financial products, including setting up an SMSF to buy property, requires an Australian financial services (AFS) licence. ASIC's professional registers list AFS licensees and their authorised representatives. Individual financial advisers are listed on the Financial Advisers Register on Moneysmart.
Home loans and credit: ASIC says a business giving credit assistance generally needs its own Australian credit licence or authorisation as a credit representative of a licensee. Both appear on ASIC's professional registers.
Buying and selling property: buyer's agents and real estate agents are licensed at state level. Your state's fair trading office can confirm a licence.
Industry memberships: if an adviser names an industry body, ask which one and confirm the membership with that body directly.
On ASIC's register you can search by name, licence number or ABN, then open the entry to check its status, what it is licensed to provide, and any conditions.
In 2015 the NSW Supreme Court ruled in a case ASIC brought against property promoter Park Trent Properties Group. The court found Park Trent had been carrying on a financial services business without a licence for over five years, advising more than 860 people to set up or switch into SMSFs. ASIC's Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said property spruikers who recommend people invest in property via SMSFs without an Australian financial services licence "are breaking the law".
Liviti does not give advice on super or SMSFs. For that, speak to a licensed financial adviser about your situation.
How a spruiker differs from a buyer's agent
A licensed buyer's agent and a spruiker can look alike from the outside. Both talk about property, and both are paid when you buy. The differences sit in who they work for and how wide they look.
Who they work for. A buyer's agent is engaged by the buyer. A spruiker is usually paid, at least in part, by the seller.
How wide they look. A buyer's agent searches the wider market against your brief. A spruiker sells the stock in front of them.
The pace. A buyer's agent works to your timeline. Pressure to sign quickly appears on every regulator's list of warning signs.
Liviti runs a licensed buyer's agency with off-market access, engaged by the investor.
If you have already dealt with a spruiker
If a contract has not settled, get independent legal advice on your cooling-off rights and the contract terms before anything else. If you believe the conduct was misleading, you can lodge a complaint with your state's fair trading office, and the Queensland Government notes that many consumers have taken legal action to recover losses. A licensed financial adviser or accountant can help you understand where the investment leaves you.
Choosing a property adviser you can verify
One way to rule out a spruiker is to check the things a spruiker cannot show: licences on a public register, memberships an industry body will confirm, and a fee you can see before you start. Liviti holds accreditations with QPIA, MFAA, MBA, AICD, REBAA and PIPA. See Liviti's accreditations or take the strategy scorecard to see where your portfolio stands.
Frequently asked questions
What does spruiker mean?
A spruiker is someone who promotes something loudly to draw people in. In property, it describes a person who presents as an investment expert while selling a particular development, scheme or course. Their income usually depends on the sale, which is why regulators warn that their advice may not be independent of the property they promote.
Are free property investment seminars legal?
A free seminar is not unlawful in itself. The risk is in what follows: pressure to buy, undisclosed commissions, or advice the presenter is not licensed to give. In Queensland, purchases over $100 made at a seminar where no sale was advertised beforehand come with a 10 business day cooling-off period.
Is a buyer's agent a property spruiker?
No. A buyer's agent is licensed by the state, engaged by the buyer, and searches the wider market against the buyer's brief. A spruiker typically promotes a particular development and is often paid by the seller. Asking who pays the adviser, and getting the answer in writing, separates the two quickly.
How do I check an adviser's licence?
Search ASIC's professional registers by name, licence number or ABN to confirm an Australian financial services or credit licence, including credit representatives. Individual financial advisers are on the Moneysmart Financial Advisers Register. Buyer's agents and real estate agents hold state licences, which your state's fair trading office can confirm.
