What is a property spruiker?

We know what property is, but what is a ‘spruiker’? A spruiker as listed in the online dictionary is: (intr) Austral archaic slang to speak in public (used esp of a showman or salesman).

I believe that many property investment advisors are trying to offer financial & planning advise. Not all, but certainly some can be considered spruikers.  And this is where some of the confusion arises between a buyers advocate and a property investment advisor.   Property investment advisors are groups that often have several arms to their business, and they benefit from you using all their services.   You start with their planner, you move onto their finance broker then you move onto their buyers advocate and they get a clip every step of the way.   You may get the result you want from this method of service – but it’s not necessarily in your best interest.

It’s important to be able to differentiate what is being sold to you and if that ‘spruiker’ perhaps has his/her hand dipped in many pots. The best buyer’s advocate is unlikely to be focused on your finances and future planning. They will be a trained negotiator out there to find you that cracking home, and to go head to head with the selling agent in negotiations.

So how can you tell if your dealing with a property sruiker?  Here are some key questions to ask your potential adviser to cut out the good from the bad:

1. Have you sold real estate before?
2. Are you a REIV member?
3. How many properties have you purchased?
4. Are you a licensed agent?
5. Do you have a purchasing model and why do you believe that model works?
6. If you are also after finance & planning advice you MUST ask for their qualifications

At Infolio, it’s simple. We only offer advise on buying property.  Not how you should buy it, i.e. in super or not, or how much you can loan. However, we do put you in touch with independent professionals to offer a strategy and a plan.  Your accountant or the one we refer to you may recommend that you purchase your property in super but that’s for them to advise on – if that is what you decide to do then it’s our job to ensure the property we purchase for you meets the requirements of purchasing within a SMSF.   Your conversations with us will relate to what we are looking at and why; what method of negotiation we will use and detailed comparable analysis on property.