Couple who ‘blew €500k in spree’ lose home

A couple who, according to a judge, once owned six houses and blew more than €500,000 on themselves in a spending spree, lost their upmarket family home yesterday.

In the Circuit Civil Court, Judge Jacqueline Linnane granted Ulster Bank Ireland a possession order against Anthony and Miriam Freeman for their Villa Park Gardens home on Dublin’s exclusive Navan Rd.

Barrister John Donnelly told the court the Freemans borrowed €460,000 from the bank in 2003 and currently the balance on the mortgage stood at €590,000, which included arrears of €190,000.

Mr Donnelly said the Freemans had not made any repayments since July 2013.

Mr Freeman said he and his wife disputed the amount being claimed by the bank.

He said orders made by Mr Justice Brian McGovern in the High Court over their challenge to the appointment of a receiver over their other properties were under appeal to the Supreme Court.

Judge Linnane said the Freemans had had a final opportunity to save their home and she was satisfied that all bank documents relating to the proceedings were in order and that 44 Villa Park Gardens was the security given against the mortgage.

She made an order for possession against the couple, granting a stay of three months to facilitate the search for alternative accommodation.

Laura Carroll, Ulster Bank’s recoveries outsources manager, said the bank wanted vacant possession of the house to facilitate a sale of the property.

Earlier, Mr Donnelly had told the court the Freemans were repeating issues made in a High Court commercial investment case against Bank of Scotland, all of which had been rejected by Judge McGovern.

Judge McGovern stated in his judgment that, between 1996 and 2006 the couple bought six houses in Dublin .

He said this had been financed by First Active Building Society and later re-mortgaged with Bank of Scotland for €1,406,000. When the First Active debt had been paid, the couple had been left with a surplus in excess of €546,000, which they spent on themselves over a period of 16 months.

Judge McGovern said the evidence clearly showed the Freemans had gone on a spending spree with the surplus, buying expensive cars and at least one holiday in the US, drawing down just under $60,000. He said Ms Freeman had been unable to explain why so many substantial cash withdrawals had been made and why the money had not been applied towards the investment property business.

The judge said the Freemans had furnished misleading information to Bank of Scotland at the time they applied for the loans, grossly inflating the net profit of Mr Freeman’s window-cleaning business, which gave them only a modest income.

Judge McGovern, who threw out all of the issues raised by the Freemans in their High Court action against Bank of Scotland and its receiver, said the couple had sought to invalidate the appointment of the receiver over the sale of their investment properties.

Judge Linnane awarded Ulster Bank its costs in recovering the property.