13 repossession orders for homes and businesses
A near record number of properties in one day were handed over to lenders as Judge Elizabeth Dunne heard how banks were unable to make contact with or even track down struggling mortgage holders.
In one case a Cavan couple lost two investment properties and their family home to KBC Mortgage Bank after the court heard the borrowers had failed to meet with the lenders or answer their letters.
The investment properties in Belturbet were vacant and over €359,000 was owed, but the last payment made was in early 2008. Nobody knew where the couple were, the lender said, and it had written to them “incessantly”.
The couple also owed over €633,000 on a home in the town and had started to default on their €2,950 monthly repayments over two years ago.
The bank was granted permission to try and contact the borrowers with the possession decision by email. In another case, Irish Nationwide Building Society was granted possession of the Westmoreland Bar in Dublin city centre after the south Dublin borrower agreed to hand over the keys of the premises to the lender.
The borrower had fallen behind on repayments relating to original loans totalling €5.1 million.
The court heard how another Cavan woman who had borrowed heavily for a site to build a cottage had failed to make contact with lender Start Mortgages. The bathroom and tile supplier owed the bank €367,000 and was now over €66,000 in arrears, having begun to default three years ago.
A total 67 cases were listed before the court yesterday. While nine possession orders were granted to lenders, another four were agreed with borrowers, including a young Meath-based couple who were visibly upset giving up their home to Start Mortgages.
Lenders Friends First Finance were also granted possession of an investment property where the original 15-year loan of €685,000 had risen with interest and charges to over €1.4m.
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