“Property is a hot topic now and with prices escalating, some people are shying away from investing,” reads the opening line of the media release. “Property Investment expert Nathan Birch from Binvested.com.au says there's no need to be cautious of investing in times like this – and he should know – the 30-year-old has over 150 properties at a value of more than $35 million.”



Birch’s Binvested features in other stories published in recent years about young property tycoons.

“Sydney couple in their 20s go on home buying spree, picking up 19 properties in a single year,” read the headline on a piece in The Daily Telegraph in September 2015.

The story pointed to Binvested as an inspiration for young couple Emily Sharp and Luke Rogers.

“[Mr Rogers’] research led him to Nathan Birch of Binvested, a Western Sydney native who bought more than 150 properties before turning 30. They decided to mirror Mr Birch’s approach.”

A profile of Sydneysiders Melissa and Andrew Matheson for Your Investment Property magazine was headlined “From Zero To $2.6m Portfolio In Under Two Years”.

The story said the couple “had to get over the notion ‘debt is bad’ to create their $2.6m portfolio including purchasing four properties in a month and some they’ve never even seen”.

Melissa Matheson is quoted as saying: “Nathan Birch and Daniel Young [of Binvested.com.au] took us through how to set ourselves up to ensure we were protected. It was a no-nonsense approach.”

After unsuccessfully requesting an interview with Birch, BuzzFeed News sent a number of questions to Binvested regarding its business model; what advice it has for people taking interest-only loans; and discrepancies on the Binvested website about Birch’s wealth. A detailed response was received from a nameless person tagged as “Marketing Consultant”.

In phone conversations with BuzzFeed News, two spokespeople for Binvested requested prior copy approval on this story before publication, however BuzzFeed News declined these requests.

Binvested earns part of its revenue by charging people about $10,000 to “find them properties that are in line with their goals and budgets”.

“We charge a fee for our Buyer’s Agency service which involves more than simply ‘recommending properties to investors’,” the marketing consultant said.

Asked about what sort of warnings or disclaimers Binvested provided potential customers about the risk involved in buying multiple properties, the marketing consultant said: “We do not think it business wise to discuss our Intellectual Property. We have spent a large amount of money and put in a large amount of effort into developing our documents.

“We have all appropriate licenses and registrations as required and we comply with the law at all times. We encourage all of our clients to get independent advice from lawyers, accountants and finance strategists and we will not work with clients if we don’t deem them to be a good fit, either from a mindset perspective or capacity wise.”

BuzzFeed News asked Binvested about the worst case scenario for property investors if the market heads south or stagnates.

“We are unable to comment on a hypothetical situation where we don’t have any details about the investor’s personal circumstances,” the response said. “However, we always ensure our clients have sustainable and recession proof portfolios.

“Binvested has always stressed the importance of what we feel are the three key elements of building a successful property portfolio - buying below market value, making sure there is an upside for growth and making sure there is a strong cash flow. Most of the properties we source are neutral geared after all expenses and before any tax deductions.

“We do not advise high-risk strategies, nor do we suggest people can accumulate property wealth overnight – quite the opposite in fact.”

In mid April Birch’s biography on the Binvested website says he owns more than 150 properties, and that he is worth $20 million. However, further down the same web page the biography says he owns more than 200 properties, and is worth $30 million.