Skip to main content

Repossessions Occur Daily...

Repossessions occur almost on daily basis, says regulator...

Level of arrears doubles in 15 months



THE homes of 331 people have been repossessed this year -- almost one a day -- and a further 26,271 mortgage holders are three months or longer behind in their mortgage repayments.

This means the percentage of households falling into arrears has more than doubled in the last 15 months, new figures from the Financial Regulator show.

But mortgage experts accused the regulator last night of down-playing the extent of the mortgage crisis.

They said the figures take no account of the thousands of homeowners who have got permission from their lenders for a payment holiday or are now only paying the interest on their mortgage in a bid to lower the repayments.

The figures show that the State's 22 mortgage lenders held a total of 331 repossessed homes by the end of September. In the three months from June to September alone 110 properties were repossessed.

Included in the 331 repossessed properties are 79 that were voluntary surrendered or abandoned.

But the director general of the Free Legal Aid Centre, Noeline Blackwell, warned borrowers that they will still owe money on the house even if they abandon it.

They may also be turned down for social welfare payments and will not get on a local authority housing list because they will be regarded as having intentionally made themselves homeless.

The 26,271 homeowners who are in arrears for three months or more represent 3.3pc of the 791,634 mortgages outstanding. Of these, 17,767, or 2.2pc, were more than six months in arrears.

The figures show that a total of €4.8bn is owed on the 26,271 mortgages that are more than 90 days in arrears, and that €3.2bn is owed in respect of accounts more than six months in arrears.

Ciaran Phelan, of the Irish Brokers Association, said the repossession and arrears figures did not represent the true extent of the mortgage mess.

"This study only looks at those people who are in breach of their loan agreement and doesn't include those mortgage holders who are on repayment moratoriums or have reduced to interest-only repayment with the consent of the lender.

Under-estimate

"Although not technically in arrears, there are probably as many people in these latter groups as in the regulator's survey."

Diarmuid Kelly, of the Professional Insurance Brokers Association, said the new figures were a huge under-estimate of the scale of the mortgage crisis facing homeowners.

The Irish Bankers Federation (IBF) said figures showed that subprime lenders who are not members of the IBF account for just 2pc of mortgages but 42pc of all repossessions.

The head of the IBF, Pat Farrell, said: "We are acutely aware of the pressures facing some homeowners in the current economic environment and remain firmly of the view that early, constructive communication between the borrower and the lender is the best way to deliver mutually-acceptable outcomes."


Report by Charlie Weston Personal Finance Editor - Irish Independent

Popular posts from this blog

Ireland's Celtic Tiger Excesses...

'Bang twins' may never get to run a business again... POST-boom Ireland is awash with cautionary tales of Celtic Tiger excesses, as a rattle around the carcasses of fallen property developers and entrepreneurs will show. Few can compete with the so-called Bang twins for youth, glamour and tasteful extravagance. Simon and Christian Stokes, the 35-year-old identical twins behind Bang Cafe and exclusive private members club, Residence, saw their entire business go bust with debts of €9m, €3m of which is owed to the tax man. The debt may be in the ha'penny place compared with the eye-watering billions owed by some of their former customers. But their fall has been arguably steeper and more damning than some of the country's richest tycoons. Last week, further humiliation was heaped on them with revelations that even as their businesses were going under, the twins spent €146,000 of company money in 18 months on designer shopping sprees, five star holidays and sumptu

I fear a very different kind of property crash

While 80% of people over 40 own their own home just a third of adults under 40 do. This is disastrous for social solidarity and cohesion Changing this system of policymaking requires a government to act in a way that may be uncomfortable for some. Governments have a horizon of no more than five years, and the housing issue requires long-term planning. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was intended to tackle some of these problems. According to its website its remit is to “drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland by enhancing governance, building capacity and delivering effectively”. So how is the challenge of delivering homes for people in 2024 and beyond going to be met? The extent of the problem is visible in the move by companies, including Ryanair, to buy properties to house staff. Ryanair has, justifiably, defended its right to do so. IPAV has long articulated its views on how to improve supply an

Property Tycoon's Dolce Vita Ends...

Tycoon's dolce vita ends as art seized... THE Dublin city sheriff has seized an art collection and other valuables from the Ailesbury Road home of fallen property developer Bernard McNamara. The collection will be sold to help pay his debts. The sheriff, Brendan Walsh, is believed to have moved against the property developer within the past fortnight, calling to his salubrious Dublin 4 home acting on a court order to seize anything of value from his home to reimburse his creditors. The sheriff is believed to have taken paintings from the family home along with a small number of other items. The development marks a new low for Mr McNamara, once one of Ireland's richest men but who now owes €1.5bn . The property developer and former county councillor from Clare turned the building firm founded by his father Michael into one of the biggest in Ireland. He is the highest-profile former tycoon to date to be targeted by bailiffs, signalling just how far some of Ireland's billionai