An interesting episode happened yesterday.
While applying the "free" membership for a customer (the rewards point "hook" to seduce customers to come back), I was surprised another person is using the same HDB address.
It could be the previous owner.
So I asked the customer whether she recognise the name.
Nope. But wait. That's her property agent!
I can see my customer not happy. Of course anyone can see she got "conned" by her property agent.
No wonder the property agent insisted cannot get a lower price... My customer fumed...
It reminded of a similar case quite a few decades back.
Although this time, the property agent is the actual buyer..
The property agent probably realised his client is a bei kambing. The owner of the condo along the Singapore river had no clue how much his condo was worth???
Everything trust the agent!? Agent says what, believed hook, line, and sinker.
Let's just say the condo was probably worth $1.8 or $2 million, but the property agent told his client that the market price is around $1 to $1.2 million (its just an example I came up but you get the picture).
Remember, this was a time where property listings on the internet was not common.
And it worked!
His client sold the property to the wife (of course pretend to be just another buyer) of the property agent without knowledge of the conflict of interest.
And the property agent made a handsome profit by flipping the property to the next genuine buyer.
Stealing candy from children. Easy!
Thankfully there's justice.
The bei kambing condo owner found out he was conned months later and took his property agent to court.
The condo owner is a bei kambing when it came to property matters... But he is no bei kambing when it came to his securing his rights and knowing how to seek damages and redress!!!
This condo owner is probably someone who not interested in financial matters as he was preoccupied with his career or business... (Shocker! Not every so money minded like us)
And the funny thing, the property agent turned out to be the CEO of his own property agency!?
Talk about leading from the top!
Make a guess.
When you attend property classes, workshops, seminars that "shrill" certain properties, are there conflicts of interests?
And if it can happen to properties... Can it not happen to forex, options, equities, insurance, and what not?
How to gain street smarts fast?
If you are between jobs, waiting for exam results, or having school holidays, just join any insurance or property agencies for "fun" and you'll get the insider view.
Who knows? You may enjoy being a snake-oil!
You may also want to join those adult education "academies" as "volunteers" or minimum wage "helpers".
This one you may need to join a few.
Then you'll realise there's a set pattern or modus operandi which they all practice to channel bei kambings into their sales funnels.
It all starts from the "free" seminar or viewing. Wink.
Of course anyone in sales, purchasing or have your own businesses already got "crash got sound" experiences with "conflicts of interest".
Some give; some take.
Like they say in the Army,
"Can do anything you want, just don't get caught!"
Big daddy made it clear some years back to their civil servants, and shepherds of big daddy linked companies, even if no money is involved, getting "free" sexual services is also a conflict of interest!
And you thought that sort of thing only happened in the entertainment industry...
