BANKS AND mortgage lenders were yesterday granted possession of 12 properties by the High Court, the largest number of possession orders granted in one sitting this year.
One-fifth of all cases listed before the weekly chancery summonses hearing resulted in a possession order.
Start mortgages were granted possession of six properties at the hearing, three of which had been abandoned by the homeowners.
In one case involving a property in Co Wexford, the court was told that the house had “been abandoned for well over a year”.
The house had been bought from the council by the tenants in 2005, with default occurring on repayments in June 2006.
Counsel for the lender told the court “there has been no mortgage repayments since 2007”, adding that “the property has hugely deteriorated as a result of abandonment”.
The same lender was granted possession of an unoccupied Co Louth property, after arrears of €39, 269.38 had accrued.
The court heard that the homeowners had vacated the property and were now residing in London. No stay was granted on the possession order as the house had already been vacated.
Start mortgages were also granted possession of a home in Co Donegal after the defendant, who had a plastering business, accrued arrears of €58, 935.
The homeowner had taken out a mortgage of €900,000 in April 2007, with default on monthly repayments occurring a few months later in November 2007. By May of 2008, arrears in excess of €45,000 had amounted.
Granting an order for possession with a stay of three months, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne said “every facility given to the defendant has proven unsuccessful, his commitments have not been followed”.
Possession of an investment property in Navan, Co Meath, was also granted to Start after arrears of €9,453 accumulated.
A loan for €69,000 was drawn down in December 2006 with default occurring less than one year later in October 2007. Counsel for the lender said no mortgage repayments had been received since March 2008.
Possession of an abandoned Co Westmeath property was granted to AIB, after the court heard that the premises were “no longer inhabitable as a result of being vandalised”.
A loan for €153,000 had been drawn down in 2003, with default occurring on repayments in 2005; “there were 20 returned direct debits between September 2005 and September 2007”.
The court heard the defendants, who were now living in Manchester, had not made any repayments since September 2007, resulting in arrears in excess of €27,000.
GE Capital Woodchester was granted possession of a Co Longford property for which the homeowner owed almost €150,000.
The loan was advanced in June 2006, with the first default on repayments occurring in August of that year. As a result, arrears of €12,020.66 had accumulated.
The case was adjourned in February 2009 on the basis that the defendant had paid €4,000 and would pay a further €6,000. Neither payment had been made.
In March of this year the defendant said he had lots of assets and was trying to sell some cattle. However, counsel for the lender told the court that no money had been received since then, and that the March proposal to sell cattle was the last correspondence the plaintiff had with the defendant.
Commenting on the lack of information on the part of the defendant, who had not appeared in court, Ms Justice Dunne said: “All I can gather is they are in the way of farming and they’ve had some difficulties over the last 12 months or so.”
Granting stay of six months on the order for possession, she said that “the longest possible period of time should be given to the defendants as the arrears are low relative to the debt”.