Can I get out of my mortgage ?

2qk4u

Im 5 years into my mortgage and cant afford it, Ive been struggling for a couple of years now and have paid nothing in the last two months. I dont see any improvement in the future and even if I held on I would be working just to pay the mortage and have no life.
My mortgage is over €1400 a month plus mortgage protection insurance and buliding insurance, I can rent in the same area I live in now for €700 - €800 per month without the extra costs that go with the mortgage.
Im gusseing Id save about 50% a month.
I borrowed €260k, Ive seen slimier housed advertised for €190k - €200k although I dont believe it would sell for that amount, Im about €13k in arrears.
If the house sold for €180k and I owe the other €80 plus arrears would the bank do a deal to write off the debt so I can break even ?

Any advice welcome.

tenchi-fan

There are rumours of banks writing off large amounts of irrecoverable debt.

IMO you may be better dealing through a solicitor even if it will cost you money you don't really have.

Certainly do not phone up the bank as they record calls and have many years experience in bullying vulnerable customers.

Zulu

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Certainly do not phone up the bank as they record calls ....

Just in relation to phoning the back: there's nothing wrong with phoning the back. They are not allowed to use the recorded conversation for anything other than what's advertised (ie: training & security).

cookie1977

Check out http://www.keepingyourhome.ie for tips
You could potentially stop capital payments and only pay 66% of the interest for up to 5 years depending on your situation. The site has lots of advice so do read through it and speak to your bank about your difficulties.
Mabs and flac may also help:
http://www.flac.ie
http://www.mabs.ie

peteb2

Am i gonna be the only one cheeky enough to ask why you bought it in the first place. You arent saying your job has changed or that you can afford it. What you are actually saying is that you made a bad financial decision and now you think you should be able to cut and run. Is that it?

blah

Arrange a meeting with your bank and let them know now what you can and cannot afford. See if you can work something out. Are you paying interest only?

guitarwrist

Seems what you are suggesting is what developers, speculators, builders, top bankers themselves have already done and are now living the high life debt free. Why can't the man on the street be afforded the same priviledges?

peteb2 wrote: »

Am i gonna be the only one cheeky enough to ask why you bought it in the first place. You arent saying your job has changed or that you can afford it. What you are actually saying is that you made a bad financial decision and now you think you should be able to cut and run. Is that it?

tenchi-fan

guitarwrist wrote: »

Seems what you are suggesting is what developers, speculators, builders, top bankers themselves have already done and are now living the high life debt free. Why can't the man on the street be afforded the same priviledges?

Because this is Ireland.

2qk4u

peteb2 wrote: »

Am i gonna be the only one cheeky enough to ask why you bought it in the first place. You arent saying your job has changed or that you can afford it. What you are actually saying is that you made a bad financial decision and now you think you should be able to cut and run. Is that it?

I bought it because I could afford it at the time, I was earning good money then and now earn very little. Maybe I did make a bad financial but I cant change that now.

2qk4u

blah wrote: »

Arrange a meeting with your bank and let them know now what you can and cannot afford. See if you can work something out. Are you paying interest only?

Ive been in touch with the bank and had meetings, I have had breaks and interest only and now they say I cant have any more interest only breaks and the problem now is that Im building up debt as interest is being charged wheras they stop the interest building on the interest only option. In the last meeting I told them I could not enter into any agreement with them as I dont have a set income so I never know what I can afford. They said thats fine and told me to come and see them in 3 months.

tenchi-fan

2qk4u wrote: »

..they say I cant have any more interest only breaks and the problem now is that Im building up debt as interest is being charged wheras they stop the interest building on the interest only option.

Put an offer in writing that you will continue to pay what you can afford. Use a schedule to show what you can afford to pay (income less expenditure).. I'm sure MABS can help you with this.

Once you continue to make payments that cover the interest it will stop the debt building up any higher.

I don't think they're allowed to apply a punitive rate to arrears, or to charge penalties for under payments when you've made an agreement like this with them.

Once you're making reasonable efforts to pay your mortgage they should not be able to take proceedings against you.

Zulu

guitarwrist wrote: »

Seems what you are suggesting is what developers, speculators, builders, top bankers themselves have already done and are now living the high life debt free. Why can't the man on the street be afforded the same priviledges?

Because somone else does something & gets away with it does not make it right.

It saddens me that there are still people who need this explained to them.

guitarwrist

Zulu wrote: »

Because somone else does something & gets away with it does not make it right.

It saddens me that there are still people who need this explained to them.

It sure does not make it right but it accentuates how unfair Ireland is / has become. But if its right for one section of society, should it not be right for all don't you think or we should just burn the constitution and start again?

daltonmd

guitarwrist wrote: »

It sure does not make it right but it accentuates how unfair Ireland is / has become. But if its right for one section of society, should it not be right for all don't you think or we should just burn the constitution and start again?

It is unfair, but if all those who wanted to walk away were allowed to do so, who do you think will have to cover the banks losses again - the taxpayer. We voted in a government who reneged on it's burn the bondholders pledge, there's not enough money in the pot to bail out everyone.

Gareth2011

cookie1977 wrote: »

Check out http://www.keepingyourhome.ie for tips
You could potentially stop capital payments and only pay 66% of the interest for up to 5 years depending on your situation. The site has lots of advice so do read through it and speak to your bank about your difficulties.
Mabs and flac may also help:
http://www.flac.ie
http://www.mabs.ie

its called the deffered interest scheme and its not as pretty as it looks. I tried for this and I was denied it. We had a moratirum with the bank and they asked us to pay x amount each month below what we normaly would for a period of 6 months. We did and even tho it was below our normal payment we didnt get it cause we had paid x amount (that the bank agreed to let us pay) So even if the bank agrees a reduced payment with you and you DONT stick to it but pay at least 66% of the x amount you will qualify for it once you meet other conditions but in the end they will see it as your not sticking to the arragement and then it stops cause your not sticking to it but you cant get deferred interest by sticking to it. its a no win no win situtation.

dubguffer

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Put an offer in writing that you will continue to pay what you can afford. Use a schedule to show what you can afford to pay (income less expenditure).. I'm sure MABS can help you with this.

Once you continue to make payments that cover the interest it will stop the debt building up any higher.

I don't think they're allowed to apply a punitive rate to arrears, or to charge penalties for under payments when you've made an agreement like this with them.

Once you're making reasonable efforts to pay your mortgage they should not be able to take proceedings against you.

I dont know about that..I was on interest only for a 6 months period and had to go back to them to renegotiate for a second 6 months...The first time was ok but second time I was given a document to sign which I refused..It basically said for the second period I would have to pay the interest only for 6 months plus interest again added on to the end of my mortgage..just to give you an idea...

my mortgage payment was ....2100..

with interest only.................1500(-600)

total saving for 6 months....... 3600

to be added to end of mort......6000

So.... they were charging me 2400 for the privilege of "Helping me out" with my payments and this only over 6 months...So be very careful what you sign out there...All these banks are interested in is keeping you under the thumb and making as much money as possible out of you....BTW...I tore it up and threw it in the bin

daltonmd

dubguffer wrote: »

I dont know about that..I was on interest only for a 6 months period and had to go back to them to renegotiate for a second 6 months...The first time was ok but second time I was given a document to sign which I refused..It basically said for the second period I would have to pay the interest only for 6 months plus interest again added on to the end of my mortgage..just to give you an idea...

my mortgage payment was ....2100..

with interest only.................1500(-600)

total saving for 6 months....... 3600

to be added to end of mort......6000

So.... they were charging me 2400 for the privilege of "Helping me out" with my payments and this only over 6 months...So be very careful what you sign out there...All these banks are interested in is keeping you under the thumb and making as much money as possible out of you....BTW...I tore it up and threw it in the bin

Wow - can they do that? Well, can they legally do that? That's loan shark territory.

Outrageous.

dubguffer

2qk4u wrote: »

I bought it because I could afford it at the time, I was earning good money then and now earn very little. Maybe I did make a bad financial but I cant change that now.

.

Hey..There's plenty of people like you who were duped into getting on the property ladder by the very people you now owe this "imaginary money" too..I think, like me, you should take the bull by the horns,go into them with a "take it or leave it" attitude and you tell them how much you want to pay..Dont forget, They "Don't want your house", they dont want another property rotting away and getting nothing for it. Money,Cash, is all they're interested in. So remember that, like I said.."the ball is in your court"..Be strong

dubguffer

daltonmd wrote: »

Wow - can they do that? Well, can they legally do that? That's loan shark territory.

Outrageous.

Thats exactly what i said..loan sharks would'nt charge me that..But I wonder how many people have fallen for this, especially after receiving threats about your house being taken from you, court etc. etc. trying to scare the ****e out of you....and..I'm not talking about one of these fly by night mortgage companies, I'm talking about one of our Major lenders ...who, at one stage suggested I sign on the labour and get them to pay my mortgage for me...I reported this particular person to his superiors,they came back and said he had denied saying it to me...wonder what happened to that recording

CamperMan

tenchi-fan wrote: »

There are rumours of banks writing off large amounts of irrecoverable debt.

IMO you may be better dealing through a solicitor even if it will cost you money you don't really have.

Certainly do not phone up the bank as they record calls and have many years experience in bullying vulnerable customers.

no debts should ever be written off, people should have to pay the debt until they die, and then it should be passed on through the generations..

ultimately, someone has to pay it, and that would be the tax payer and as a tax payer, I resent having to pay for this!

daltonmd

dubguffer wrote: »

Thats exactly what i said..loan sharks would'nt charge me that..But I wonder how many people have fallen for this, especially after receiving threats about your house being taken from you, court etc. etc. trying to scare the ****e out of you....and..I'm not talking about one of these fly by night mortgage companies, I'm talking about one of our Major lenders ...who, at one stage suggested I sign on the labour and get them to pay my mortgage for me...I reported this particular person to his superiors,they came back and said he had denied saying it to me...wonder what happened to that recording

I would say that there are many such stories and many people, who have been through the trauma of losing their jobs, being treated in this way.

What I find frightening is that if people, out of desperation, signed up to these type of agreements, then what they have done is actually made their situation far worse and in 25 years time or so, when they retire or can no longer work that there will be a huge debt still outstanding on their mortgage.

Which essentially means that this situation will take decades to end.

mattjack

CamperMan wrote: »

no debts should ever be written off, people should have to pay the debt until they die, and then it should be passed on through the generations..

ultimately, someone has to pay it, and that would be the tax payer and as a tax payer, I resent having to pay for this!

How many generations ? The way some of my ancestors behaved I should have been sent to prison when I was born.

daltonmd

CamperMan wrote: »

no debts should ever be written off, people should have to pay the debt until they die, and then it should be passed on through the generations..

ultimately, someone has to pay it, and that would be the tax payer and as a tax payer, I resent having to pay for this!

The problem with that, in this country, is that these debts are being paid to banks who have already been bailed out by the taxpayer.

At the moment we have BORROWED to pump billions into these banks.

People without the means to pay or with lower incomes are not spending money in the economy to repay these banks - that have already been bailed out.

Those unemployed are being aided to repay these banks, again using taxpayers money.

50% of the private rental sector is in receipt of rent allowance, or taxpayers money, how much is being repaid to banks - again another bailout.

It is naive of anyone to think that forcing people, who absolutely cannot pay money back to banks that we have already bailed out, will save the taxpayer money.

We, the taxpayer cannot bail everyone out. The banks however, who have and will continue to receive taxpayers money whenever they need it should be forced to scale down these debts.

Every working person struggling to repay a mortgage taken out in the boom is not spending that money in the economy, meaning further job losses.

We need growth and this will not happen without people spending money, which will lead to employment, more taxpayers, less pressure on SW services...

dubguffer

2qk4u wrote: »

Im 5 years into my mortgage and cant afford it, Ive been struggling for a couple of years now and have paid nothing in the last two months. I dont see any improvement in the future and even if I held on I would be working just to pay the mortage and have no life.
My mortgage is over €1400 a month plus mortgage protection insurance and buliding insurance, I can rent in the same area I live in now for €700 - €800 per month without the extra costs that go with the mortgage.
Im gusseing Id save about 50% a month.
I borrowed €260k, Ive seen slimier housed advertised for €190k - €200k although I dont believe it would sell for that amount, Im about €13k in arrears.
If the house sold for €180k and I owe the other €80 plus arrears would the bank do a deal to write off the debt so I can break even ?

Any advice welcome.

Bankers have to be the biggest scammers you can come across but they get away with it because someone,at some stage said, Yeah, thats ok, you can do that and we'll make it legal for ya...and if you checked it out you'd probably find that your bank does'nt even own your mortgage, some other bank or investor does..When you took out that mortgage at say 5%, your bank sold it to someone else who put up the money at 2%..your bank is just making interest on you for nothing... That bank or investor gambled on you and more than likely not expecting to get all, or any for that matter, of their investment back...Plus, when I say "put up the money" it was'nt hard cash money but rather the push of a few buttons to tell your bank "Yeah, that loan is approved", Then your bank pushed another few buttons, and sent a piece of paper to your solicitor, who then gave that to the builder,who lodged it back into the bank via his account...Thats why I said earlier it's all "Imaginary Money" they deal in, but they expect you to pay hard cash...

dubguffer

daltonmd wrote: »

I would say that there are many such stories and many people, who have been through the trauma of losing their jobs, being treated in this way.

What I find frightening is that if people, out of desperation, signed up to these type of agreements, then what they have done is actually made their situation far worse and in 25 years time or so, when they retire or can no longer work that there will be a huge debt still outstanding on their mortgage.

Which essentially means that this situation will take decades to end.

As I said earlier...its all about control, keeping everybody under the thumb

dubguffer

CamperMan wrote: »

no debts should ever be written off, people should have to pay the debt until they die, and then it should be passed on through the generations..

ultimately, someone has to pay it, and that would be the tax payer and as a tax payer, I resent having to pay for this!

So you believe that people and their children should live the rest of their lives,breaking their backs to pay interest to the very people who have us in the situation we are in??

dubguffer

CamperMan wrote: »

no debts should ever be written off, people should have to pay the debt until they die, and then it should be passed on through the generations..

ultimately, someone has to pay it, and that would be the tax payer and as a tax payer, I resent having to pay for this!

and by the way..we are all tax payers..be it direct or indirect

Tigger

Zulu wrote: »

Just in relation to phoning the back: there's nothing wrong with phoning the back. They are not allowed to use the recorded conversation for anything other than what's advertised (ie: training & security).

Why not ?
Afaik you can use recorded conversations as long as one of the parties of the call approved the recording

dubguffer

peteb2 wrote: »

Am i gonna be the only one cheeky enough to ask why you bought it in the first place. You arent saying your job has changed or that you can afford it. What you are actually saying is that you made a bad financial decision and now you think you should be able to cut and run. Is that it?

Banks do all the time!!!

torres3011

daltonmd wrote: »

Every working person struggling to repay a mortgage taken out in the boom is not spending that money in the economy, meaning further job losses.

Well said that man.

torres3011

To the OP.

My morgage is based on 270k and im only paying Euro 930 and that's before 80 quid tax relief TRS or whatever.

Fair enough it's over 35 years but how in gods name are you paying 1400 a month?