DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS have made emotional pleas to a High Court judge for more time to sort out their finances, as possession of 10 properties was handed over to banks and mortgage lenders.
Struggling to hold back tears, one woman told the court her family would be losing everything, as "we invested €100,000 of our own money in the property".
The homeowner told the court that she had received a letter from Stepstone mortgages saying she had just "10 days to vacate the property".
She said her family had moved from a rural area to Ferrybank in Kilkenny, to help their child with special needs, but subsequently got into financial difficulty and began defaulting on the €1,944.09 monthly repayments.
As a result, arrears of €28,757 had mounted.
"We wrote to them [ Stepstone mortgages] in July 2008 when we got into serious financial difficulty and received no reply," she told the court. "Later we offered €1,000 a month and this was declined."
Adjourning the case, Mr Justice Brian McGovern told counsel for Stepstone that if she did send this letter and it was received, "it is simply not good enough for the loan company not to reply".
Mr Justice McGovern also adjourned a case involving GE Capital Woodchester, following a plea for more time from the defendant.
The homeowner, who is married with a three-year-old daughter, told the court that he was self-employed, and that his business was suffering in the economic downturn.
GE Capital Woodchester said it was seeking possession of his home, despite receiving monthly repayments of €1,700 from him, as it had not received proposals from him on how he would dispose of arrears.
Adjourning the case until December 7th, Mr Justice McGovern said the defendant "is doing the best he can, he is paying the monthly sum due, albeit he is not dealing with arrears".
In a case involving ACCBank, counsel for the defendants requested more time, saying the last year had been a tough time for them.
Counsel for the homeowners told the High Court that the husband had lost his job and that his wife, who suffered serious epilepsy, had suffered two bereavements, her father and her brother.
Counsel for ACC said it had great sympathy for the circumstances of the defendants, but that it was still seeking possession.
Counsel for the defendants replied: "If the plaintiffs have great sympathy, perhaps the case can go back to October."
Mr Justice McGovern adjourned the case until December, but warned: "If payments have not been made and proposals put forward, there is very little but to grant an order."
One woman whose home was repossessed told the court she could not afford to meet her mortgage repayments, as she was not receiving any maintenance and thus has to "clothe, feed and educate" her teenage son by herself.
The defendant and her husband were advanced a loan of €165,000 in April 2005, followed by an additional sum of €40,000 in October 2006. However, default on monthly repayments began in August 2007, with no payments made since May 2008.
As a result, more than €208,000 was owed on the mortgage, with arrears standing at €22,644.
The court was told that the house was valued at €220,000, so there would be enough from a sale to dispose of the debt.
No stay was granted on the order, as the house, which is in Athy, Co Kildare, has been vacant since May 2009.
Some 86 cases, including eight motions, were listed before yesterday's weekly chancery summonses hearing, the largest number of applications this year.