A High Court judge yesterday granted orders for two family homes to be repossessed, but said he was doing so with "some reluctance". Mr Justice Roderick Murphy also placed a stay of three months on each order.
In one case, the court heard that a Co Tipperary couple, who did not appear in court for yesterday's proceedings by Start Mortgages Ltd, had borrowed €345,000 in June 2006 for land which had now accumulated arrears in excess of €40,000.
Counsel for Start said only two payments had been made since the mortgage was taken out, with total arrears on this currently standing at some €379,000. Monthly repayments on the mortgage were €2,900, and there were 14 payments in arrears. He said that no response had been received to letters sent to the defendants outlining that Start would be seeking an order for possession of the property.
Mr Justice Murphy said he was granting Start's application for possession of what was a "family home" with "some reluctance". He placed a stay of three months on this order.
The second case related to arrears of €17,617 which were outstanding on a total of €148,027 owed to IIB bank by the defendants for their family home. The court heard that a payment of €1,600 had been made in June, but that no payment had been made since that date. The court heard that the value of the property if sold was estimated to be at least €230,000.
The defendants did not appear in court yesterday, and details of the location of the property were not revealed in court.
Commenting on the case, Mr Justice Murphy again said it was with "some reluctance" that he was granting the order for possession of the house but that he would place a stay of three months to allow the parties to be notified of the situation.