How to avoid a dodgy property developer
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
According to The Age’s article “The preacher who preyed for gain”, it is alleged former church pastor Glenn Duker graduated from a “boot camp” run by the disgraced Henry Kaye. Glenn Duker set up a business which was into “prestige boutique developments”. He had some success, at least superficially, but the company is now in liquidation and the mum and dad investors are facing tax bills of up to $70,000 as a result of Duker allegedly convincing them to place their own names on property titles. Some may lose their homes.
This is a great tragedy, but happens on a small and large scale every day. There are a number of things you can do to avoid being scammed by a dodgy property developer. This is just general common sense, but that can all go out the window when the offer of some big bucks is up for grabs:
- Step 1: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If a deal looks absolutely fantastic, if it looks all too easy, if it’s “a guaranteed winner”, then you need to switch on your warning lights and check things out thoroughly.
- Step 2: Get everything in writing.
No matter how smooth that property developer sounds, no matter how close your relationship with him or her is, get it all down in writing - the terms of the deal (including when you will get any funds back), the costs involved, and where your name will appear on any loan repayment forms.
Pastor Glenn Duker also should have had papers signed to protect himself from these types of allegations. If he had everything in writing, then he could simply go back to those papers to support his claims of innocence.
- Step 3: Get a second, third, or fourth opinion.
It’s a big step to make an investment in a property or a company, so make sure you check everything out, and then get a few other independent people to be just as thorough with it all. You don’t want to miss a thing in the rush … you might pay for it later.
So if you want to avoid being taken out by a shark, do your homework, get it writing, and don’t be afraid to get some help from suitably qualified people.