PHOTO: FILE
If you’re preparing to unlock the door to your next property in 2026, pause that key-jiggling moment. The real estate world is a glamorous carnival, but hiding between the fairy-lights and candy floss are a few dodgy characters lurking with tricks up their sleeves.
The Property Academy podcast team, Ed and Andrew, have pulled back the curtain to expose the Top 5 Property Scams creeping through the market right now. Their mission: not to frighten you, but to arm you like a well-prepared financial ninja.
✅ Your goal: financial freedom
❌ Their goal: your wallet
Let’s protect your hard-earned dollars.
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🕳️ 1. The “Lifetime Coaching” That Disappears Overnight
A smooth-talking “mentor” promises life-changing coaching, insider tips, exclusive deals. $50,000 later…
💨 Poof! Coaching gone. Withdrawal request declined. Phone number disconnected.
All that remains is a sad bank statement and a fizzled dream.
How to avoid:
✔ Check credentials
✔ Confirm real clients exist
✔ If they can’t put answers in writing, run faster than the Auckland property market in 2021
🏗️ 2. Developer Funds That Don’t Exist
Developers sometimes ask buyers for “project support fees” or “fund contributions” that look official.
Except they’re not. You might basically be donating money to someone else’s holiday in Ibiza.
Golden rule:
If you’re paying into anything that isn’t a trust account managed by actual adults…
🚫 walk away.
🏘️ 3. The Rental Guarantee Too Good to Be True
A developer promises:
“Guaranteed rent for two whole years! Passive income paradise!”
But after the guarantee ends, the market rent might drop faster than a broken elevator.
🎭 The scam: Inflate rent now… then tank your investment later.
Always ask:
What happens after the glitter finishes?
🏚️ 4. Mis-Selling Hidden Lemons
Some agents dress up average properties like they’re runway-ready supermodels
✔ “High demand area!”
✔ “Next big development zone!”
✔ “Rental goldmine!”
Reality:
✘ Low-growth suburb
✘ Tiny rental pool
✘ Tenants harder to find than a park in Ponsonby on Saturday night
📊 Property data can be twisted into balloon animals. Don’t fall in love with the marketing.
💸 5. The Revolving Credit Dance (aka Debt in a Pretty Hat)
A banker waves dazzling numbers.
“Just shift everything to revolving credit! You’ll pay off your mortgage faster!”
Truth:
If you don’t have the cashflow discipline of a monk…
That credit spins like a washing machine, always tumbling, never draining.
🤯 You’ll pay more interest
💥 You’ll stay in debt longer
😬 And you won’t know why
🧠 The takeaway: Knowledge = Protection = Wealth
Real estate is one of the most powerful wealth-building tools in New Zealand.
But scams thrive wherever excitement clouds judgment.
✅ Do your research
✅ Ask tough questions
✅ Seek unbiased advice
✅ Subscribe to reputable experts like Opes Partners’ Property Academy Podcast
(🎧 Daily episodes here: https://linktr.ee/Thepropertyacademyp)