AMATEUR property developers hoping for rich pickings after being encouraged by reality TV shows could be heading for financial disaster.
Thousands of wannabe developers are being misled into thinking that making money from property is child's play.
But the real reality is that copying what they see on the small screen can set them up for big-time heartache, a Bolton-based construction consultancy has warned.
The success of the programmes has created an army of amateur developers keen to make money from renovating old houses.
"These shows make it look like making money out of developing property is a piece of cake," said Peter Vinden.
"So many people are watching these programmes and thinking they could do that, that thousands are heading for disaster.The whole process looks very easy even for a complete amateur."
Mr Vinden is chairman of The Vinden Partnership which has a team of specialists in surveying, building, insurance and the law.
Disaster
Now the partnership is offering a free project health check - run in conjunction with the Royal Bank of Scotland - to advise on schemes and to show how some of the most common mistakes can spell disaster.
One recent case examined by the company was of a property developer who thought he was going to make é300,000 from building six new houses, but their report revealed he was likely to lose money on the scheme.
Mr Vinden, 42, added: "Millions of people tune in each week to watch these shows and a large number go away wanting a piece of the action but making cash out of property is not easy.
"They should encourage developers to seek professional advice at the outset." Dave Jones, director of commercial banking for RBS Bolton and Wigan, said: "We have worked with the partnership on a number of project health checks and the feedback from customers has been excellent."
Common mistakes made by amateur developers include underestimating the cost and time of doing even straightforward jobs and not spotting which jobs they can do and which need professional skills.
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Mr Vinden, will be suggesting using a firm like he's, he has a lot to gain, let's face it how did he get started.
Nothing ventured nothing gain, people are not sheep some will make mistakes and some will do very nicely thank you.
So start giving people a little more encouragement and stop trying to scare people and playing on their ignorance.
I think what was said in the article to be true. We live in a world where the customer is always right. It makes sense that a TV program will want to inspire people and make it seem easy. Just like any business, people never see what really goes into making the product or service, and just know how to complain if they are not happy. The shock will come when they are in control!