A Co Meath family who remortgaged their home at the height of the property boom have had an order for possession granted against them in the High Court.
The couple, who had owned their home since 1991, took out a mortgage of €300,000 in early 2007 with Start Mortgages Ltd.
They topped up the loan by €100,000 later the same year. The monthly repayments were more than €3,500 and they fell behind with them in May 2008.
Counsel for the lender told the court the couple, who were claiming social welfare payments, owed arrears of more than €140,000. The case had been before the court 15 times and various agreements were put in place, but they fell through. The couple had offered to repay the lender €1,000 a month, but the offer was rejected.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne granted the order for possession with a stay of six months because the house was a family home.
Also yesterday, Ms Justice Dunne adjourned a case involving Stepstone Mortgage Funding for one last time after counsel for a couple with arrears of almost €50,000 said he believed the stress of legal proceedings may have "aggravated" the husband's heart condition.
