Scroll property social media for five minutes and it is hard to escape the feeling that the industry has tilted. There are plenty of genuine investors quietly building portfolios, but there also seems to be a growing wave of “property millionaires” whose main income appears to come from selling courses, not from property performance.
You know something is off when the loudest voices in the room are monetising mentorship more aggressively than they are managing assets. In some cases, you are not even sure they still own property, or ever did at scale. The business model looks less like long-term investing and more like selling the idea of investing.
This matters, because property is not a game. It is leverage, legal responsibility, regulation, tenants, compliance, cashflow risk, and real-world consequences.
The “coach economy” and why it has exploded
Property education is not inherently bad. There are experienced operators who teach responsibly and add genuine value.
The problem is the incentives. Coaching is scalable. Property is not.
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A portfolio grows steadily and is constrained by finance, refurb timelines, planning, regulation, and management.
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A course can be sold repeatedly with minimal marginal cost.
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A social media funnel rewards confidence and certainty, not caution and nuance.
That is how you end up with “millionaire” branding built on course sales, and a feed full of certainty even when the underlying strategy is fragile.
Sensationalism sells, but it can push people into risky strategies
Many newer coaches push people toward strategies that sound exciting in a reel or a webinar, but can be high-risk in practice, especially for beginners. Common examples include:
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Flipping
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Rent to rent
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Rent to serviced accommodation
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Serviced accommodation
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Deal sourcing
These strategies are not automatically wrong, but they are often presented as easy, repeatable, and low risk. That is where the danger starts.
When a beginner is coached into a strategy that relies on perfect execution, optimistic assumptions, and zero mistakes, it can go wrong quickly. A small shift in demand, costs, or regulation can turn a “great deal” into a liability.
The real danger: poor information spreads downstream
One of the most damaging parts is how poor guidance multiplies.
A coach teaches a simplified version of a strategy.
A mentee repeats it, often without understanding the risks.
Then that mentee becomes a mentor, deal sourcer, or “property educator” themselves.
The result is a chain of misinformation where confidence increases and competence decreases.
That is an incredibly dangerous game, because the people taking the risk are usually not the coaches. They are the beginners signing leases, borrowing money, taking on refurb projects, and committing to obligations they may not fully understand.
A market full of vultures creates unrealistic expectations
When the loudest messaging is built around hype, it shapes how new investors think.
You start to see a brainwashed generation of people who believe:
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Every deal must be massively below market value
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If it does not meet a mentor’s target yield, it is “bad”
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The only good deals are “unicorn deals”
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Normal property investing is too slow, too boring, or “not real investing”
This mindset is damaging because it disconnects people from how property actually works.
Good property investing is usually built on:
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Buying sensibly in areas with real demand
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Adding value where you genuinely can
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Managing risk
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Running the asset well
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Letting time and consistency do their work
It is not built on hunting for mythical bargains that do not exist at scale.
Why “everything must be below market value” is a trap
Below market value purchases do happen, but beginners are often coached to believe they are normal and plentiful. In reality, consistently buying far below market value tends to require at least one of the following:
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Specialist local knowledge and years of networking
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High volume sourcing capability
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Complex problem-solving (legal issues, title issues, structural issues)
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Speed of funds and ability to complete quickly
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The skill to add value through refurbishment or change of use
If a beginner is taught to expect deep discounts as standard, they can waste months chasing deals that are either unrealistic or only achievable by taking on risks they do not understand.
The cost of chasing unicorns
Chasing unicorn deals has a hidden cost: inaction.
People spend months attending webinars, analysing deals, messaging agents, and waiting for “the one” that meets a spreadsheet target. Meanwhile, they do not build any real experience.
And because mentors often set one-size-fits-all targets, investors reject deals that could work perfectly well in their situation, with their budget, time, and risk tolerance.
The outcome is often frustration, blame, and another course purchase.
What good education should look like in 2026
If you are learning property investing, a healthier framework is:
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Ask how the mentor makes most of their income today, property or courses?
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Look for proof of long-term ownership and operational experience, not just “deal” screenshots
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Expect risk to be explained clearly, not brushed aside
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Learn the basics properly: finance, compliance, tenancy law, refurbishment reality, contingency planning
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Focus on building repeatable systems, not chasing quick wins
Good education makes you more cautious and capable. Bad education makes you more confident and exposed.
A more grounded conclusion
Are there now more property coaches than property investors? It can certainly feel that way online.
The bigger issue is not the number of coaches, it is the number of people being pushed into fragile strategies through sensationalism, and then repeating that advice as if it is universal truth.
Property can be an excellent wealth-building vehicle, but only when it is approached like a business and a long-term plan. If the guidance you are consuming makes it sound fast, easy, and guaranteed, treat that as a warning sign, not a selling point.