Warning by Financial Experts as New Research Shows 1 in 4 TikTok Property Investment Advice by Influencers is Found to Be Misleading
There are 1.4 billion people using TikTok worldwide, with an estimated 39% of millennials facing the pressure to get on the property ladder. Hashtags #realestateinvesting and #property have been viewed over a billion times.
Misleading Investment Advice On TikTok
Q2 2022 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
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- 1 in 4 TikTok influencer videos in the property investment space was found to be misleading - 64% were not transparent about their qualifications in the property and investment space
- The misleading videos wereviewed over 10 million times with over 900k likes
- 99% of the videos were found not to have any disclaimers for their audience - 1 in 20 suggested that their audience would be guaranteed to have a profitable return
The influencers in the analysis were found to have a combined 11.8 million followers, with an average reach of almost 500k. The research analysed 624 videos from 25 different top property influencers and flagged any content that contained the following:
1. telling people to invest in or purchase property
2. telling people how much to spend on the property or where to buy it
3. indicating that purchasing property guarantees a profitable return
Pete Mugleston, MD of Online Morgage Advisor shares his insights on what (and what not) to do when you're looking to get on to the property ladder.
Do Your Research Before Committing To Buying A Home
"Whether it’s your first home or an addition to your investment portfolio, buying a property is a huge financial decision that needs to be researched thoroughly beforehand.
Recent research has shown that nearly two-thirds (64%) of millennial homeowners in the US have regrets about buying their home, ranging from regrets over the size, location, and how much was spent – demonstrating just how important it is to really think about your options before making the leap."
Seek Out Property Investment Advice From Experienced Industry Professionals
"Worryingly, our research revealed a considerably high proportion of videos giving property investment advice on TikTok, an app that’s most popular in the UK with those aged between 18 to 34.
Of these videos, we flagged one in four as misleading, and the majority (64%) of their creators didn’t mention having any qualifications or professional experience in real estate – something you should certainly look for when taking financial advice."
Avoid Viewing Property Investment As A 'Get-Rich-Quick' Scheme
"One of the most common types of content we found on TikTok’s #realestateinvesting corner – a hashtag with nearly 1.5bn views – were influencers boasting about how much money they had made by investing in properties.
One money-making strategy that influencers espoused was ‘house hacking’, the term for buying a multi-unit property and living in one unit while renting out another to pay the mortgage. While the promise of profits using this method can be enticing, the reality is that property investment will never be a guaranteed source of income."
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