Couple to pay €500 a month in rent after possession order is granted

A CO Monaghan couple who had an order for possession granted against them at the High Court yesterday will be allowed to stay in their property for six months if they pay rent of €500 a month to their mortgage provider.

Mr Justice Brian McGovern granted six orders for possession yesterday, three of which had the consent of the borrowers.

Subprime lender Start Mortgages Ltd was granted three orders. Secured Property Loans Ltd was granted two and Danske Bank obtained one. Of the 64 cases listed, most were adjourned to the next available date between six and eight weeks time.

In an application involving Start Mortgages, the court was handed a letter from the solicitor for the borrowers stating they had consented to the repossession of their home.

The couple had borrowed more than €600,000 to purchase the property in Co Monaghan in 2005. But they had fallen behind with their payments and by February 2009, they owed arrears of more than €37,000.

The letter said the lender had agreed the family could stay on in their home for six months after the order for possession was granted if they paid €500 a month in rent. Counsel for the lender said they were very happy with that arrangement and the judge approved the order.

Mr Justice McGovern refused to grant an order for possession to Nua Mortgages Ltd after counsel for the defendant said the borrower had secured a purchaser for the property.

The court was told the borrower was €80,000 in arrears and had found a borrower who was willing to pay €135,000 for his property. The purchaser was returning to Dubai for three months but would be signing the initial contract to purchase before he left. Counsel for the lender expressed reservations but the judge adjourned the case for two weeks to allow for the signing. “Even if it takes three or four months to close, it is better than a forced sale,” he said.

In a case brought by Danske Bank to repossess a commercial premises in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, the court was told the borrower owed almost €50,000 in arrears on a mortgage of €385,000 taken out in May 2006.

Counsel for the lender said last week the borrower had appeared in court and shown counsel a cheque for €57,000 made out to him from Citywest Ltd. He had promised to pay €50,000 of it to the bank, but the cheque had never been lodged.

The lender then wrote to him “setting out their disappointment”.

“It is hard to understand why he wouldn’t lodge this to the bank since he received the cheque,” Mr Justice McGovern said.

He said the bank was entitled to its order and costs.