Thousands hit as 'buy to let' firm goes bust
By Ian Gallagher

The property company at the heart of the buy-to-let boom has collapsed because of the credit crunch.
Instant Access Properties said it has given thousands of investors, mainly middle-class professionals, the chance to build lucrative property portfolios.
It boasted how they could ‘start from scratch, live on easy street instead of struggling for a living’.
But the controversial firm, which was founded by property tycoon Jim Moore, has gone into administration leaving 4,500 exchanges uncompleted.

It blamed the turbulent international financial conditions and ‘fewer mortgages provided by the banks’.
Last night, Mr Moore claimed to have ‘rescued’ IAP – now trading as IAP Global – by providing ‘significant further funding to take the business forward’.
A company spokesman said: ‘The 4,500 exchanges needing completion are being attended to by IAP Global and its staff are working to achieve this.’

But it remains unclear whether the company’s 10,000 clients buying off-plan properties will be reassured by the latest development.
In the past two years, The Mail on Sunday has featured stories from several investors who, far from becoming property millionaires, have lost thousands after signing up with IAP.

Many paid up to £8,000 to belong to the firm’s property club, which promised to select and recommend suitable homes for investment.

Bubble burst: The collapse in the buy-to-let market has led to a surge in repossessions of apartments across the country
Janet Lay, a 54-year-old divorcee from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, was among those hoping to set themselves up in retirement when she attended a course in 2004 run by IAP’s sister company Inside Track, which went into administration in April. She was persuaded to sign up to two unbuilt properties – one in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and another in Bahama Bay, Florida.

By 2006, when the Basingstoke flat was completed, its value was far lower than the price she had agreed to pay, despite a supposed discount and booming market.

She could not afford to complete the deal because no mortgage lender would stump up the price. She puts her losses, including the cost of pulling out of the Florida deal, at £40,000.

The bursting of the bubble fuelled by a stampede into buy-to-let investment has caused a surge in repossessions of city-centre apartments across the country.

Many housing experts have pointed out that such flats should have been built for people to live in, not for investors seeking to make a quick profit.
Mr Moore, who lives in Marbella, first came to prominence in the late Eighties for his role in L’Arome, a pyramid-selling perfume company.

After a lawsuit brought by Chanel, L’Arome went bust, owing £6.5million and leaving 180,000 distributors with unsellable scent. But just a decade later, he was earning millions from the buy-to-let dream.

He said last night: ‘We appreciate this has been a worrying time for everyone, and so I’m encouraged we’ve been able to find a solution that offers our members ongoing service and support, with minimal interruption or disruption.’