A MAN who paid more than €1.5 million for a house and attached shop in 2005 may only realise a third of its cost when it is sold to pay off mortgage arrears, the High Court heard yesterday.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne advised the man, who had an outstanding mortgage of €207,000 and arrears of €26,000 on a shop and family home in Kerry, that “putting off the evil day isn’t always the solution”.
The case was one of 68 listed for the High Court Chancery Summonses yesterday.
The majority of the cases were applications for orders of possession made on behalf of mortgage lenders and most were adjourned until the new year.
Three orders of possession were granted, two to Start Mortgages Ltd and one to AIB.
Ulster Bank had sought an order of possession in the Kerry case, but Ms Justice Dunne instead told the owner to sell both the family home and shop himself.
The man, who did not have legal representation, told the court he had been trying to sell the shop as a separate entity for two years, but had no offers on it.
He had already made repayments of €150,000 and was reluctant to sell the attached family home.
The shop had closed in February 2008 and he was receiving disability payments, he said. His wife and two children lived in the family home. The properties had been valued recently at between €500,000 and €600,000 in total by a local auctioneer.
Ms Justice Dunne said in other cases she had seen arrears double in the space of a year while people waited for things to improve. It was important that matters were progressed, she said.
“Have you thought about selling the whole lot?” she asked.
“Putting off the evil day isn’t always the solution.”
“I’d love to come here and say I have a solution,” the man responded.
The judge asked if he had applied for mortgage relief, a supplement for people claiming social welfare payments.
“I have, but because it was court pending they weren’t interested,” he said.
The judge told him he would have to put both his house and shop up for sale and adjourned the case until next March. She warned him that if he had not made progress, she would take into account the lengthy adjournment if she had to grant an order of possession.
Ms Justice Dunne did grant an order of possession to AIB on a debt of almost €900,000. The court heard the money was secured against five properties, including a pub with accommodation attached.
The owners, who were not present in the court, had begun defaulting on monthly repayments of €6,700 in October 2006 and had paid nothing at all since 2008. Counsel for AIB said the pub was shut down and all of the properties were vacant.
The judge said under the circumstances the bank was entitled to its order. She put a stay on the order of one month.
In a case involving an order of possession of a property in Cork, counsel for Start Mortgages Ltd told the court the defendant had agreed to the order without a stay. He was now living in Italy. The man had been in contact with the mortgage provider through post and via mobile phone and was aware of the proceedings.
