INVESTORS in ski resort properties developed by failed French leaseback company Transmontagne are waiting anxiously to find out what they can salvage following its collapse - and whether they can survive the mess without having to pay back the 19.6 per cent Vat that is waived when you buy in these schemes if they want to sell.

One Irish investor says that some buyers are on the point of handing back their keys because they can't keep up their mortgage repayments - the company didn't pay out the "guaranteed" rents this year.

Transmontagne, a Lyon-based company with at least nine ski resort developments in France, went into receivership in July and into liquidation just over a week ago.

It seemed as safe a bet as any leaseback company when people bought into it in the past few years - but now investors have to gamble on whether Sofisol, which has apparently bought Transmontagne's leaseback business, will offer them the same terms.

The option of keeping apartments in places like Chamrousse - where 35 Irish buyers have properties - for own use or personal rental may not be open to investors, unless they pay back Vat that could cost anything from around €19,000 to around €35,000.