Daft Property - Irish Property News

Finding new ways to solve the personal debt crisis Many homeowners have trouble making monthly repayments but there are ways to ease the burden... WITH about 86,000 homeowners now struggling to repay their mortgage, and four times more debtors seeking free legal advice than did in 2007, Ireland is in the midst of a personal debt crisis. We need solutions, and we need them quickly. What could they be? Write off mortgages A homeowner who is battling to repay a massive mortgage should be allowed to write off some of their loan, according to Michael Dowling, spokesman for the Independent Mortgage Advisers' Federation. This should make their mortgage more affordable and prevent them from either having to sell their home at a lower price than they paid for it -- or having it repossessed. "We need long-term solutions," said Dowling. "No one should be asked to leave their family home. But to make the debt-forgiveness solution palatable to other homeowners who are

Struggling families flock to care centre for meals... ENTIRE families are going to homeless centres for their dinner every evening. Before the recession, the Capuchin Day Centre for the homeless in Dublin would rarely have seen children coming through its doors -- but now up to 10 families a day are coming coming in to get fed. Many of the families are struggling to pay large mortgages taken out during the boom. They are worried about losing their homes and literally do not have enough money to put bread on the table, says Brother Kevin Crowley, who runs the shelter. He says that there are four times the amount of people arriving today compared with a few years ago. Some of those now seeking help are professionals such as engineers and architects who would have been earning a very good wage during the boom years. "It's not just homeless people who come to us, its anyone who is in need. We are getting lots of families with children coming in," he says. "