Family plea as Nama receivers try to sell home
Patricia and Jason Shaw said their family is caught in a living nightmare after estate agents acting for Nama-appointed receivers, KPMG, issued them with a notice of termination of tenancy earlier this week.
They have been told to leave their home despite never missing rental payments since they moved in four years ago, and despite continuing to pay rent even after their home was taken into Nama.
“I was in total shock when we got the letter,” said mother-of-three, Patricia.
“We were told at our door by an agent for Nama in 2013 that if we continued to pay our rent we’d be fine.
“But for them to do this two years later, it is just unbelievable. We’re devastated. The kids are aware of what is happening and it is having an effect on them.
“Our youngest child is having nightmares about it. She doesn’t want to move. We’re happy here. We’ve made this our home.”
In 2009, the couple paid a €5,000 deposit and moved in to the house in Maple Woods in the Ballinacurra estate near Midleton in east Cork, under the terms of a rent-to-buy deal with the builder.
The deal valued the house at €250,000 and the initial €800 monthly rental payments dropped to €700.
The deal provided that the rent paid would be deducted from the full price of the house if the couple exercised the option to buy.
As the recession deepened and property prices plummeted, banks would not issue a mortgage to the couple because the house was valued at less than the original deal value — so they could not buy it.
But they continued to pay rent in the hope that as the economy and property prices recovered, they might be able to buy it later.
However, the building firm they were dealing with went into liquidation.
In 2013, Nama took control of the builder’s debts and in turn appointed receivers KPMG to manage his property portfolio, which includes the Shaw’s home.
The Shaws continued paying their rent through letting agents, Lisneys, which they assumed was making its way back to Nama.
They have paid around €60,000 in rent, and invested some €20,000 in the house to make it a home.
However, despite neighbouring houses now being valued at around €180,000, Patricia said they have been told they must find €190,000 — the original value of the house minus their rental payments — if they want to buy it now.
In a letter issued by Lisneys last Friday, the family was told the landlord wants to terminate their tenancy and sell their home. They have been 84 days to leave.
A spokesman for Nama said it does not own or manage properties and that its role in relation to properties is, like a bank, that of a secured lender.
“Properties continue to be managed by their existing owners or, in the case of enforcement, on their behalf by duly appointed receivers.”
John Boylan, a partner with McNulty Boylan Solicitors, agreed to meet the couple after their plight was aired on The Neil Prendeville Show on RedFM.
Mr Boylan said the receivers are legally within their rights to issue the termination of tenancy.
But he added: “It may be legally sound but it is totally immoral and wrong. It beggars belief that this is the approach being taken. It’s quite extraordinary and ironic that one arm of the State, Nama, is going to cause the other arm of the State, the local authority, to provide emergency accommodation for a family-of-five when they are put out of their home by another arm of the State. They want to stay and pay their rent. They don’t want any favours. They want to get on with their lives but sadly, there is nothing they can do legally.”
He is now exploring a range of options with the couple in the hope of saving their home.
Patricia has almost completed a third-level childcare course. Jason is on a Community Employment scheme. Their daughter, 11, is in primary school. They have a teenage son studying in UCC and their eldest son, 20, is pursuing an apprenticeship in Limerick.
It is estimated that about half of the 100 houses built in Maple Woods are vacant.
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