MORTGAGE LENDERS were yesterday granted possession of 10 properties including two family homes and a commercial premises, the largest number of repossession orders granted by the High Court in one sitting this year.
Nearly one fifth of all cases listed before yesterday’s weekly chancery summonses hearing resulted in a repossession order.
Possession of a property was granted to Leeds building society, after the court heard only three mortgage repayments had ever been made.
A loan of €400,000 was drawn down from the mortgage lender in July 2007, with the first default occurring in October of that year. Since then, arrears of €35,900 had accumulated, with the amount owed now more than the original loan.
Granting the order, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne appealed to those facing repossession orders to make contact with the lenders, saying it was very difficult to make a decision on orders when “the court has no information, good, bad or indifferent as to the circumstances of the defendant”.
A total of five possession orders were granted to Start mortgages including one for a family home in Co Wicklow.
In that case, the court heard how the mortgage was entered into on July 18th, 2007, with the first default on monthly repayments occurring in August 2007. The last repayment made was for €900 in September that year.
The court heard how arrears of €35,000 had accrued on the original loan, which was for €238,000 and that a final warning letter had been sent to the defendants.
In another case involving the same mortgage lender, the court heard how only a small number of repayments had been made on foot of the mortgage, with the last substantial payment (for €1,033) made in November 2007. As a result, arrears of €23,000 had accrued on the original loan.
The court also heard that the defendants had made no effort to engage with the legal system, despite being sent a last chance letter warning them a possession order could be granted against them.