A RECORD number of home repossession cases was listed at the High Court in Dublin yesterday.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne did not have sufficient time to complete the 91 cases before her and adjourned those outstanding for two weeks.
Ten orders for possession were granted, with subprime lender Start Mortgages Ltd receiving eight.
A widow and her daughter from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, lost their home after telling Start Mortgages they had no money and no prospect of getting any money in the near future. They were not represented in court.
Counsel for Start Mortgages said the case was “unfortunate”. The two women and a third party, a son, had remortgaged the family home to pay off debts to “several financial institutions” in 2007. The mortgage was €85,000 and counsel acknowledged it was small, but said given that arrears were almost €20,000 and the defendants had admitted they could not pay, the lender was seeking repossession.
Considerable correspondence had been received by the lender from the widow, who was in receipt of a pension, and her daughter, who was unemployed.
Initially they asked for more time, but eventually conceded they could not pay. “They have absolutely no capability to repay the monies . . . they have no money and no prospect of any money being available in the near future,” counsel for Start Mortgages said.
He also said the son had “taken no interest” in repaying the mortgage.
Ms Justice Dunne said the arrears involved were significant in relation to the initial borrowings and unfortunately the defendants were not in a position to repay. “I really don’t see any alternative but to make the order.”
She put a stay, or delay, of six months on the order to allow the two women to find alternative accommodation.
The judge adjourned a case taken by Start Mortgages against a couple from Co Roscommon who had three children under 10. The couple had fallen behind with their repayments on a mortgage of €475,000 and were only managing to pay €600 a month, one- fifth of what they owed.
Counsel for Start Mortgages complained the couple had “unilaterally reduced their mortgage payment” with no agreement.
Counsel for the couple told the court the husband had already lost his dairy farm and all of his livestock through separate legal proceedings. The wife was working as a teacher and wanted to attend court, he said, but was afraid to take time off. They were continuing to repay €600 a month and had been in contact with a mortgage broker to refinance. They were “trying their best”, he said.
He asked the judge to give the family a month “to dig themselves out of what are unfortunate circumstances”. Ms Justice Dunne agreed to adjourn the case for four weeks and remarked there was a lot to be said for people making their best efforts, but they were only making a fifth of their monthly repayment.
In another case, Anglo Irish Bank was granted an order for possession against a man who had borrowed almost €5 million to invest in properties in Ballsbridge, Dartry, Rathgar and Kilternan in Dublin. His outstanding debt was €2.2 million, the court was told.
