Mortgage - what will happen

BlackEdelweiss

I had to emigrate recently and could not either sell or rent my house before I left. I cannot afford to pay rent on a property in my new country and pay any kind of mortgage on my house in Ireland.
I owe €124, 000 but could only get about €115, 000 if lucky.
What can I do in this situation? What would happen if I just handed back the keys? I don't plan on coming back to Ireland to live for a long time. Will it follow me around the world and if so for how long and how serious will it be?

BuffyBot

There is no such thing as "handing back the keys" in this country.

Speak to your bank, and speak to them soon. You should have done it before leaving the country, ideally, so that you wouldn't be having all of this stress and worry.

It's an extremely large amount of money. The problem isn't just going to vanish.

BlackEdelweiss

BuffyBot wrote: »

There is no such thing as "handing back the keys" in this country.

Speak to your bank, and speak to them soon. You should have done it before leaving the country, ideally, so that you wouldn't be having all of this stress and worry.

It's an extremely large amount of money. The problem isn't just going to vanish.

We have talked to them and we are on a moratorium until February. We also had someone lined up to rent the house but that is falling through now. If I could sell it and arrange to pay the shortfall I would but I can't do that either without selling it at a major loss which I couldn't afford go way for.

cookie1977

Handing back the keys would be a terrible option even if it were possible as the bank could sell at a very cheap price just to off load the property and then lumber you with and even bigger cash debt then if you sold it yourself. You need to contact your bank and explain the situation in full and work out some sort of solution. It's really the only way otherwise you could be seriously affected even if you stayed away from Ireland.

Have a look at http://www.keepingyourhome.ie

NIMAN

Also remember that if you rent it you will be liable to pay tax on your rental income, plus there will be a few things to get organised like registering the property with the PRTB etc.

You can read about what is entailed in being a first time landlord at
www.irishlandlord.com

The_Morrigan

OP as other posters have said you can't just hand back the keys and forget about the house and the debt, it doesn't work like that.

You could sell at the loss and have the bank turn the remaining debt into an ordinary loan and agree a term of repayment with them. If you had a difference of 9k, you could pay on average 200 euro a month over five years to pay that off - as it is a mortgage they may allow you to extend that term over a longer period.
In the grand scheme of things 9 grand is not a massive loss compared to a lot of homeowners who have a difference of 100K or more between the market value and the outstanding mortgage debt.


Just keep in touch with the bank and try to come to some arrangement with them.

bigquigs

I'm in basically the same situation but a lot worse.

I owe 120k on a property I bought as a home in 2006.
3 similar properties in the street have just sold for 35k.
I have recently moved to Northern Ireland as i've got married.
Renting out is not option as it wouldnt be worth it.

I'm really thinking about taking the risk and returning the keys.
Technically I can afford the property but have lost all interest in it.

Can the bank pursue me for the shortfall?
If so, how?

The_Morrigan

bigquigs wrote: »

I'm in basically the same situation but a lot worse.

I owe 120k on a property I bought as a home in 2006.
3 similar properties in the street have just sold for 35k.
I have recently moved to Northern Ireland as i've got married.
Renting out is not option as it wouldnt be worth it.

I'm really thinking about taking the risk and returning the keys.
Technically I can afford the property but have lost all interest in it.

Can the bank pursue me for the shortfall?
If so, how?

Yes, through the courts.
You can't just hand back the keys and forget about your obligations to the bank and the debt.

bigquigs

I understand your point but, why should I throw good money after bad.
This wasnt an investment property, this was my home.

On a side note the management company is defunct so I dont think either I or the bank could sell it anyway...
Its a mystery to the residents how the other properties sold.
Some of those properties owe management fees in excess of €8k...

The_Morrigan

bigquigs wrote: »

I understand your point but, why should I throw good money after bad.
This wasnt an investment property, this was my home.

On a side note the management company is defunct so I dont think either I or the bank could sell it anyway...
Its a mystery to the residents how the other properties sold.
Some of those properties owe management fees in excess of €8k...

....because you entered into an agreement to buy the house and you *promised* to repay that debt. I'm sure if a service provider just decided to stop giving you electricity or your internet provider cut the service cos they just weren't interested anymore you'd be up in arms about contractual obligations yadda yadda yadda.


If you just feck off and leave the debt, you're making it worse on everyone else that is paying their mortgage repayments through the nose.

WhatNowForUs?

If you hand back the keys you are handing them your financial life. Would you think about Bankruptcy?

wmpdd3

If you are living in NI, can you go bankrupt in NI for a shorter time?

Try the Citizens Information(or equivalent) in NI.

The_Morrigan

wmpdd3 wrote: »

If you are living in NI, can you go bankrupt in NI for a shorter time?

Try the Citizens Information(or equivalent) in NI.

Why declare bankruptcy? He can afford the mortgage, just doesn't want to pay it.

cookie1977

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Why declare bankruptcy? He can afford the mortgage, just doesn't want to pay it.

It's true. It doesn't sound like they're a person that cannot repay the debts they owe to creditors. It just sounds like they dont want to so even if the OP applied they'd probably be declined it in the Republic or NI. That's based on what they've said to date in the thread.

bigquigs

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Why declare bankruptcy? He can afford the mortgage, just doesn't want to pay it.

Whilst this is true, i've been taking to the bank who gave me my mortgage for €140k and asking them why THEY were selling similar properties for €35k.
How is it right and fair for them to short sell properties and depress the market???
I would be willing to accept some burden sharing if I could get some.

NB. The arguement about leaving debts with the rest of the people to sort out doesnt wash as the bank has not been "bailled out" by the taxpayer.

The_Morrigan

bigquigs wrote: »

Whilst this is true, i've been taking to the bank who gave me my mortgage for €140k and asking them why THEY were selling similar properties for €35k.
How is it right and fair for them to short sell properties and depress the market???
I would be willing to accept some burden sharing if I could get some.

NB. The arguement about leaving debts with the rest of the people to sort out doesnt wash as the bank has not been "bailled out" by the taxpayer.

It doesn't need to be a bailed out bank for a defaulter to impact others.
The more defaulters/bad debts a bank has the more likely they are to increase the variable rates on their other lending facilities, increase bank fees, shut down branches, make staff redundant and generally have their own austerity measures to recoup some of their losses.

What the bank does with other peoples properties is none of your concern, they may have sold those properties for 35K as that may have been all that those mortgages had outstanding. The bank is only going to discharge the debt owed to them, they do not have a duty of care to the person who 'handed back the keys' to get a good and profitable market rate for the property.

bigquigs

The_Morrigan wrote: »

What the bank does with other peoples properties is none of your concern, they may have sold those properties for 35K as that may have been all that those mortgages had outstanding. The bank is only going to discharge the debt owed to them, they do not have a duty of care to the person who 'handed back the keys' to get a good and profitable market rate for the property.

Of course it is of my concern...
The bank short selling these properties drastically reduces the market value of all properties in the street!
This in effect makes it impossible to ever get rid of my property for the next 20 years...
Unless I give it back to the bank and take my chances.

donalg1

bigquigs wrote: »

I understand your point but, why should I throw good money after bad.
This wasnt an investment property, this was my home.

On a side note the management company is defunct so I dont think either I or the bank could sell it anyway...
Its a mystery to the residents how the other properties sold.
Some of those properties owe management fees in excess of €8k...

Yes it was your home, nobody elses you decided to buy it so you need to pay for it, just because you dont want to pay for it now doesnt mean you dont have to. You signed your mortgage agreement stating that you would pay it back in full so you need to do this or find some alternative, not bothering is not an option.

You can afford it so you need to pay it just because you have lost interest in it is not a good enough excuse and is quite childish tbh. It is your problem and nobody elses yet you want to move up north and let the rest of us pay for a house you bought and have lost interest in. Not our fault, so why should we pay, you bought it you pay for it, its called responsibility.

bigquigs

donalg1 wrote: »

You can afford it so you need to pay it just because you have lost interest in it is not a good enough excuse and is quite childish tbh. It is your problem and nobody elses yet you want to move up north and let the rest of us pay for a house you bought and have lost interest in. Not our fault, so why should we pay, you bought it you pay for it, its called responsibility.

Balls to responsibility. Government and banking responsibility would never have left the country in the state its in so why should I have any when no-one else does.
This will not be a tax payer burden but a private bank loss as it was from a non-state capitallised bank.
Get off your high horse and join the real world.

The_Morrigan

bigquigs wrote: »

Balls to responsibility. Government and banking responsibility would never have left the country in the state its in so why should I have any when no-one else does.
This will not be a tax payer burden but a private bank loss as it was from a non-state capitallised bank.
Get off your high horse and join the real world.

....and it is this type of attitude that has brought the country to it's knees...

I don't understand why you can't comprehend how your actions (or rather inactions) will have an impact on the tax payer. It does not have to be a bailed out bank, every default has an impact on the bottom line of that bank and to stop there being further losses, they increase the cost to the customers (the tax payers) and implement cost cutting measures across the board. Your actions could cause a member of their staff to be made redundant, another person to join the dole queue, which the tax payer foots the bill for....

Also, just for your information purposes, seeing as you think no-one else pays their obligations. I'm paying all my mortgage payments, insurance, taxes and all associated costs with owning my own home - just me noone else. I have not shirked my responsibility just because I can't be arsed or because of the criminal conduct of others. It's called being a responsible adult.
Maybe you should join the real world, where people actually take responsibilty and deal with the consequences of their actions and not just run away like a brazen child.

halkar

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I had to emigrate recently and could not either sell or rent my house before I left. I cannot afford to pay rent on a property in my new country and pay any kind of mortgage on my house in Ireland.
I owe €124, 000 but could only get about €115, 000 if lucky.
What can I do in this situation? What would happen if I just handed back the keys? I don't plan on coming back to Ireland to live for a long time. Will it follow me around the world and if so for how long and how serious will it be?

If you can sell your house €110k bank may accept the payment and close the mortgage. There is not much difference from your mortgage to this amount. Problem is would you really get that money for your house giving the climate here?

donalg1

bigquigs wrote: »

Balls to responsibility. Government and banking responsibility would never have left the country in the state its in so why should I have any when no-one else does.
This will not be a tax payer burden but a private bank loss as it was from a non-state capitallised bank.
Get off your high horse and join the real world.

Yes why dont you join the real world and pay what you owe and be responsible. No more childish nonsense of I dont want to pay my mortgage so I am not going to.:rolleyes:

BuffyBot

As this has turned into nothing more than hair-pulling, I'm closing it off.

It boils down to this: Own your responsibilities folks, and tackle them head on. Ostriching will do no one any good.