Struggle to keep home ends as possession order granted

A FAMILY of four finally lost the battle to hold on to their home in the High Court yesterday after months of fighting through the courts.

Start Mortgages Ltd was granted possession of the Navan property after the father, who had appeared on every other occasion before the court, failed to turn up.

Mr Justice Brian McGovern granted six orders for possession at the High Court yesterday. Two orders were granted to Start Mortgages, while ACC Bank Plc, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Ltd, Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent Plc received one order each.

Counsel for Start Mortgages told the court arrears on the Navan property were now at over €70,000. The Co Meath family began defaulting on the mortgage after the father lost his job as a glazier in 2008.

Speaking to The Irish Times at a previous hearing, he had explained he moved from Dublin to Navan with his family in 2008. The family had taken out a self-certified mortgage of €250,000 on the property, and were making repayments of €2,000 a month until his work suddenly dried up. The couple lived off savings before seeking help from the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

He had attended court each time his case was heard and sought extra time to get back on his feet. He said he had sought help from the department, but it would not assist him because his mortgage was already in arrears.

In March he told Mr Justice McGovern he had the promise of a job and had produced a letter from his prospective employer. He had said he would pay €2,100 a month once he was working so that he would not “lose the roof over my two children’s heads”.

The court heard yesterday the family had met with the lender and agreed to one €600 payment, followed by monthly repayments of €2,100. But nothing had been received by the lender since.

Mr Justice McGovern said it was a sad case. “The defendant is simply not in a position to make the payments,” he said. He put a stay, or delay, on the order for possession of six months.

An order for possession was also granted to Start Mortgages for a Co Clare home after the couple involved wrote consenting to the order.

The couple were more than €40,000 in arrears and had written saying they were in ill-health, their marriage had broken up and they were “just about managing to survive”. They could no longer ask their solicitors to take their case because they could not pay them. The judge put a stay of six months on the order.