Instant Access Properties and sister company Inside Track come under the spotlight in BBC Radio 4's Face The Facts, at 12.30pm (UK time). According to this, the BBC will accuse Instant Access - which sells investment properties off-plan, claiming impressive discounts - of being dishonest in its valuations. Undercover reporters have appointed independent surveyors who have claimed even IA's "discounted" values have been "optimistic". Personally, I think we all need to grow up a little about this kind of thing. Valuations of new builds are notoriously difficult at the best of times... the room for disagreement will be even greater when employing surveyors to retrospectively value properties in the middle of the credit crunch. But - more importantly - if all it takes is a phone call to a local estate agent to learn that a discounted price is, in fact, in line with or above market value, doesn't the responsibility for a bad deal have to be faced by the buyer?

Inside Track folds [April 29, 2008]

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