FOUR ORDERS for repossession were granted at the High Court yesterday, including one involving a family home in Co Mayo on which the owners were €27,000 in arrears.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne was told the couple, who have two children aged 13 and eight, had made intermittent arrangements with Start Mortgages Ltd to deal with arrears that began to accrue in 2008, but had failed on each occasion to keep them up.
The couple had re-mortgaged in 2006, borrowing €120,000 for refinancing and home improvements. They topped it up with a €12,000 loan in 2007 to buy a car.
They had looked for help from Mabs, the Money, Advice and Budgetary Service and had tried to get mortgage interest supplement, but could only manage to repay €180 a month, when €912 was due. The judge granted the order with a stay of six months.
In a case involving a family home in Co Kildare, an order was granted after the borrowers wrote to say they consented to the repossession. The letter handed into court said they had agreed with Start Mortgages that the order could be granted provided there was a stay until December and that the lender did not enforce the order as long as the couple continued to make full monthly mortgage repayments.
Counsel for Start said his client had not agreed it would not enforce the order if the mortgage was paid, but Ms Justice Dunne confirmed the order in the terms of the letter.
She refused to grant an order for possession after hearing from a husband and wife who had made two full repayments since the last time they attended court.
The couple, who attended court with their baby, owed almost €70,000 on a €360,000 mortgage with Stepstone Mortgage Funding Ltd. They told the judge they would meet their repayments in the future with an additional €1,000 towards the arrears.
Counsel for Stepstone said it was concerned that previous arrangements had not been adhered to, but the judge said if the couple could show their bona fides over the next few months, it might have more confidence in them.
She adjourned the case to July.
