No matter how it begins, the goal is always the same: to get a foot in the door. That leads to an office appointment, where victims face hours of high-pressure tactics. First comes a slick presentation on rising life expectancy and looming budget crises. Then dramatic graphs warn of the bleak future awaiting those who don’t self-fund retirement. Then comes the sting. The so-called secret to wealth? Negative gearing into residential property. Next come baffling charts showing how rental income will supposedly pay off your home faster. The clincher? A massive tax refund at the end. Given today’s property prices, most people can’t imagine buying an investment. But the spruikers have the solution: start a self-managed super fund, roll in your existing super, and you’re off. But picking your own property is hard, and they tell you that older properties lack the tax benefits of new ones. The fix? The spruiker finds a block of land and builds a property for you. What they don’t tell you about is their hefty commissions hidden in the price.