Property Spruiker Warning Signs in Queensland

The regulators' signs, set out as they word them, then FAA Property's own model put against the same list.

By Kayla Dale, Senior Property Manager and Sales Agent, FAA Property. Last reviewed 7 October 2026 against the Queensland Government property spruikers page and ASIC Moneysmart. Reviewed against ASIC MoneySmart and Queensland Government guidance, 7 October 2026. Credit assistance is provided under Australian Credit Licence 388789, which authorises credit services only. FAA is not a lender. General information only, not financial, credit or legal advice. FAA Property does not provide personal financial, tax or SMSF advice.

The signs below come from the Queensland Government's property spruikers page and from ASIC Moneysmart, both read on 7 October 2026. Some describe how FAA Property itself works. FAA Property is paid by builders and developers when a purchase proceeds, and its wider group offers finance and accounting. So the second section puts FAA Property's own model against the list. The last section is a set of checks you can run on anyone recommending a property, FAA Property included. You can put the same questions to FAA Property directly.

How the pitch usually arrives: free seminars and on-the-spot offers

A free seminar is often the first step. The Queensland Government says spruikers use it to try to sell you further seminars or materials, and it recommends you don't attend. Moneysmart describes the same pattern: a free first event, then a push to buy reports and books and sign up for pricier courses.

Once you're in the room, pressure does the work. Moneysmart says these events often use high-pressure sales tactics to rush you into big property investment decisions. Its seminar warning signs include these:

• Limited details about qualifications or licences
• Being unclear about costs, fees or commissions
• Encouraging quick decisions or on-the-spot sign-up
• Limiting your time to review information or get a second opinion

The Queensland Government adds two offers to watch for. One is a discount if you sign up on the spot. The other is a personal loan or credit to help pay the enrolment fees for a training course. A loan for a course is still a loan.

If you do go, don't sign anything until you've done your own research and had independent financial and legal advice from licensed professionals with their own professional indemnity insurance. The Queensland Government also says that if a seminar gave no sign anything would be sold, you're entitled to a 10 business day cooling-off period on purchases over $100. That's the seminar rule. Cooling-off on a Queensland sale contract works differently.

FAA Property's position against this list

Here's FAA Property's position first. FAA Property earns a commission from builders and developers when a property purchase proceeds. The strategy session itself costs you nothing. Because we're paid by the supply side, you should weigh our recommendations with that in mind.

That puts FAA Property inside at least one of the Queensland Government's signs. The panel sets each sign beside the FAA Property fact it meets. Whether that matters to you is your call.

FAA Property Pty Ltd holds Queensland real estate agency licence 4220395, which expires on 5 June 2027. That licence lets FAA Property act for buyers, but FAA Property doesn't act exclusively for the buyer and isn't paid by the buyer. Look the number up yourself on the Office of Fair Trading register rather than take it from this page. See how buyer's agents and property investment advisors are licensed and paid for how those roles differ.

FAA Property doesn't provide personal financial, tax or SMSF advice. Financial advice sits with other FAA Group companies, which are authorised representatives of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd (AFSL 229892). Any credit assistance also comes from other FAA Group companies, not from FAA Property. Credit assistance is provided under Australian Credit Licence 388789, which authorises credit services only. FAA is not a lender.

Run the checks at the end over FAA Property the same way you'd run them over anyone else. Then, if you want to ask us directly, book a free property strategy session with the disclosure above in mind.

Hard-sell signs: pressure to sign and the risks nobody mentions

The first signs on the Queensland Government's list show up in a single conversation. Be wary of a spruiker who tries to rush you into making decisions or signing contracts, or who avoids your questions. Moneysmart adds seminars that focus only on the benefits and leave out the risks.

The Queensland Government warns about spruikers who downplay the risks of investing in developments or areas where the investment may not hold its value. Its examples are areas that rely on seasonal visitors, like tourist spots, and areas that rely on employment levels, like mining towns. The checks on the property itself are where you test it.

Costs are the other blind spot. Be wary of anyone who downplays the costs involved. If the pitch is a new build, see what a house and land package costs before you compare it with anything else.

Then there's the promise. Moneysmart calls promises of high returns with little or no risk a warning sign. A rent figure in a pitch deserves the same test; see cash flow claims.

When the people around a deal recommend each other

Moneysmart's guide to buying an investment property says it in two sentences: "Be wary of property investment advice from groups of service providers. Property developers, accountants, lawyers and mortgage brokers might recommend each other's services."

The Queensland Government's version follows the money. A property spruiker may be receiving commissions or inducements to bring in business for property developers, mortgage brokers, conveyancers, tax agents, financial planners and advisers, and finance providers. When that's the case, the advice may not be independent. Where FAA Property sits on both signs is in the panel above.

A mortgage broker has duties of their own. Brokers must act in your best interests when suggesting a loan, and they must give you information about the commissions they may receive. Before you meet one, check they hold a licence to give credit advice or are a representative of a licensee, using ASIC's Professional Registers Search. Ask who referred them, and whether anyone's paid for it.

The stakes rise when your own home is involved. The Queensland Government says independent advice is especially important if a contract puts your current home at risk by using its equity to borrow money to invest. For the mechanics, see how borrowing against your home works.

Stock lists and rent guarantees: offers that are hard to check

The Queensland Government says to be wary of spruikers who offer only interstate or off-the-plan properties, because it's harder for you to do your own independent checks on them. A home that isn't built yet, or one in a market you've never visited, leaves you leaning on the seller's information. If you're weighing one anyway, buying off the plan in Queensland and house and land package contracts cover what the contracts say.

Moneysmart flags a related offer. Some seminars promote property deals with rent guarantees or off-the-plan discounts, and these offers often include hidden fees and commissions. You may also be asked to pay too much for the property. So a guarantee or a discount is worth pricing on its own before it sways the decision.

Two more signs come from official-sounding language. A spruiker will often promote a property investment system. Be wary of any claim that a method or scheme is government approved when there's no evidence for it. Moneysmart lists government-approved investments among the seminar promises to be careful with.

Schemes the Queensland Government singles out, and what regulators have done

The Queensland Government names four kinds of scheme a spruiker may promote:

• Investing in property through your self-managed super fund. For the current lending position, see the SMSF borrowing rules from 10 August 2026.
• Land banking, where blocks of land are offered before the land is approved for development.
• High-risk loans for buyers who can't get a regular bank loan because of poor credit history or unstable employment.
• Rent-to-buy, for people who can't get mainstream finance. The Queensland Government calls these particularly high-risk, because the buyer isn't on title until the property is paid out.

Regulators have acted on this conduct before. In release 15-300MR (2015), ASIC reported that a court found a property business had unlawfully carried on a financial services business for over five years by advising clients to buy investment property through an SMSF. ASIC said spruikers who do that without an Australian financial services licence are breaking the law.

In release MR 135/17 (11 August 2017), the ACCC reported that the Federal Court found a promoter had made false or misleading representations about wealth creation strategies involving real estate. According to the ACCC, consumers weren't sufficiently told the strategies could realistically work only for someone who already owned real estate or could get a bank loan.

The Australian Consumer Law prohibits misleading, deceptive and unconscionable conduct. Even so, the Queensland Government says you shouldn't rely entirely on a property spruiker's advice. If you've had unsatisfactory dealings with one, you can notify the Office of Fair Trading.

What to check about anyone recommending a property, FAA Property included

These checks work on anyone who recommends a property to you. Run them on FAA Property too.

1. 1

   Property agent licence

   In Queensland, a person who, as an agent for someone else for reward, does work that a property agent licence covers must hold that licence, unless the law otherwise permits it. The Office of Fair Trading's online register shows whether someone holds the licence their job needs, and it's updated overnight. FAA Property's number is 4220395. Search it.

2. 2

   Financial advice

   If someone gives you personal advice on investments or super, look them up on the Moneysmart financial advisers register. An adviser who isn't on it can't legally give that advice. Personal advice weighs your circumstances; general advice doesn't. This article is general information, not advice. At a seminar, check the presenter or provider holds an Australian financial services licence before acting on anything they say.

3. 3

   Bans and past action

   Search ASIC's Professional Registers under 'banned and disqualified' and the ACCC's undertakings registers, and check whether a state consumer agency has acted against the people involved.

4. 4

   How they're paid, in writing

   Ask for a detailed written explanation of the investment. Ask what commissions or incentives they receive, and how they choose what to recommend. A financial adviser's Financial Services Guide sets out their services, fees and any links to financial products.

5. 5

   Advice nobody in the deal arranged

   Get independent financial and legal advice before you enter into any contract with a property spruiker. Moneysmart suggests a financial adviser with no link to the seminar, and a second opinion. Find them yourself.

A clean result proves less than it seems. In Moneysmart's words, "A clean result in these checks does not prove the scheme is legal or safe." For how licence titles and fee models differ between advisers, see how buyer's agents and property investment advisors are licensed and paid.

Questions about property spruikers

Where to next

• How buyer's agents and property investment advisors are licensed and paid
• Cooling-off on a Queensland sale contract
• The SMSF borrowing rules from 10 August 2026
• Checks on the property itself
• What a house and land package costs
• How borrowing against your home works
• Buying off the plan in Queensland
• House and land package contracts
• Cash flow claims