# Can your house be attached by Creditors?



## Linkytinky (19 Jun 2009)

Not sure if anybody knows whether your house can be attached or you can be forced to sell your house to pay a creditor.

Many thanks


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## mf1 (19 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

Yes. A house is an asset and it has a value. If a debtor does not pay debts, a creditor can sue, get judgment and file a judgment mortgage against the property. They can subsequently  seek a well charging  order and an order for sale. If the property is jointly owned, those proceedinsg sever the tenancy. Only the debtors value in the property can be sought. 

It is often said that "family homes" would never be ordered to be sold to pay off debts. I do not believe that to be the case.

mf


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## Linkytinky (19 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

Thanks so much MF1.  Can i just explain my situation, as I am unsure what can possibly happen.  I have quite a few creditors as I had a well paid job and was made redundant in Dec 2008, I have tried to pay everybody and managed to do so until March of this year.  Earning 204 per week, does not go far as you know.  I made an offer to this one particular creditor of weekly payments and received a letter to state that it is not acceptable but i must continue to pay what i can.  They have now handed me over to collection company and I am not sure what to expect, as I cannot pay anything more than what i have offered, hence my question can they attach my affordable home that i just got in August of 2008 and Dec was made redundant. I have managed to arrange with all my other creditors for reduced payments which was agreed, except this particular one.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.


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## Swallows (19 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

Hi, I lived in the UK and your house was secure regardless of how much you owed, unless the loans were secured on the house, or you were declared bankrupt. So I am surprised at the law here in Ireland that can force you to sell up to pay off a loan. Usually a county court judgment (UK) could order you to pay a certain amount monthly if the debt was under a certain amount.You would not be made homeless.


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## Linkytinky (19 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

I am unsure of the law and that is why I am asking the question, the loan in question is only 8000K, I never owned a house when i made the personal loan....have been with this company for over 5 years, never skipped one payment ever until now, and they are not lenient at all, and i am just wondering if i keep all my correspondence and eventually do go to court if i will have a leg to stand on, as i did offer to pay off weekly but they said they dont accept it but i have to continue paying. Any advice will be so greatly appreciated.....do i continue paying the amount that i offered or now just leave it until i get a notice to go to court.....


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## Linkytinky (20 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

Thanks so much for the advice, that is exactly what i intend doing to pay what i can weekly, and i am certain that the courts will see i certainly made an effort.

Thanks again


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## RainyDay (21 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*



mf1 said:


> Yes. A house is an asset and it has a value. If a debtor does not pay debts, a creditor can sue, get judgment and file a judgment mortgage against the property. They can subsequently  seek a well charging  order and an order for sale. If the property is jointly owned, those proceedinsg sever the tenancy. Only the debtors value in the property can be sought.
> 
> It is often said that "family homes" would never be ordered to be sold to pay off debts. I do not believe that to be the case.
> 
> mf



Is this theory or practice, mf? Have you come across many cases where family homes have had judgements registered against them, or been sold off from unsecured debts?


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## MandaC (21 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*

I have had a case in the past couple of years where our company had a judgement mortgage for an amount of about €17K.

We forgot about it and suddenly this individual surfaced after years out of the blue and said he wanted to pay off what he owed would we take €10K.  He never mentioned he was selling the house.

Anyway, said no and got the whole amount back a couple of months later through the sale.  Turned out there were a couple of judgements against this particular individual.


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## mf1 (22 Jun 2009)

*Re: Can your house be attached by Creditors*



RainyDay said:


> Is this theory or practice, mf? Have you come across many cases where family homes have had judgements registered against them, or been sold off from unsecured debts?



Theory and practice. 

I have clients who will place and have placed judgment mortgages on family homes but would rather not force the sale. Equally, as MandaC said, I have had debtors come back a few years after the judgment mortgages have been registered on the house and try and do a deal. What is it about some debtors "expecting" a deal when they have left the creditor high and dry? 

A judgment lasts for 12 years only. After 12 years, the judgment  is no longer effective and neither is the judgment mortgage. 

mf


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## GDUFFY (18 Aug 2012)

Sorry for dragging up this thread but I was asked by a close friend about this and don't know the answer myself any help would be apriciated,

Man and Woman live together in a house jointly owned /mortgaged 
with 2 young kids not married.

Man has substantial debts in his name only and facing a 300k judgment mortgage on the family home

Family home mortgaged with a different bank than the bank obtaining judgment of 300k 

Family home in negative equity of circa 200k 
mortgage 500k - value 300k
interest only being paid with agreement from bank under MARP

Will or can the judgment mortgage holder force the sale of the home without the woman's permission and is it likely ?


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## GDUFFY (21 Aug 2012)

Does anybody have any experience in this area it would be apricated.


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## wbbs (21 Aug 2012)

I can't see what the point of forcing sale of home would do if there wouldn't even be enough to pay off the mortgage, there would be nothing left for the bank who placed the judgement.

Your friend should give a call to the MABS helpline or check with local Citizens Information office who may be able to advise him if he has not approached a solicitor already with the query.


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## GDUFFY (21 Aug 2012)

Thanks for that ,
 Yes I told her to make appointment with MABS to discuss the situation with them, I think she is fearfull her other half is going to go AWOL and is worried she may be ejected from the Home in time over his judgment . She can continue to service the interest on the Home by herself if he does wander .


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## dewdrop (21 Aug 2012)

In regard to the severance of a jointly owned property by registration of a Judgment Mortgage does the Land Reform Act 2009 affect this situation ?


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## GDUFFY (21 Aug 2012)

Having read through this :



[broken link removed]

And the last few lines :



"Since this provision deals with co-owned land, it is clear that Irwin v Deasy has no bearing on judgment mortgages registered after 1 December 2009. In short, under the 2009 Act a creditor who has obtained a judgment mortgage against co-owned land may apply to the court for the sale of it regardless of whether the land is registered or un-registered."


Would I be right in saying that a judgment holder has the right to petition a court for a sale order without the other half owner of the property's consent ?

I presume they would only do this if they see equity in the property ?
Would they do it out of spite ? or is it purely a financial decision  ? 
So it appears the woman in this situation is open to losing her home on the banks whim if her common law husband deserts the home ?

Thanks .


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## dewdrop (23 Aug 2012)

Hi G Duffy.  As a layperson i am confused about this general issue.  I understand that s.30 (3) says that the  joint tenancy is not severed by the registration of a Judgment Mortgage. I refer to the Land and Conveyance Act 2009.  What practical consequences this have, if any, for any action a holder can take against the property which is jointly owned.


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## GDUFFY (27 Aug 2012)

Below is a previous post by bond-007 in relation to a creditor obtaining a well charging order for the sale of a house where the house is in negative equity.



Old post 
17-12-2009, 09:30 AM
bond-007 
Frequent Poster                                                          posts: 3,269

*Default Re: what can a debt collection agency actually do if someone refuses to pay up?*


"Exactly. There would be questions asked such as what is the value of the property and what prior liens exist i.e. a mortgage. It would be against public policy to grant an order where the result would be to make the debtor homeless and not discharge the debt in question. A court could view such proceedings as vexatious in that situation. As there are considerable costs to the creditor in bringing the proceedings they would be foolish to do so where there were no chance of getting the order. "



*
bond-007* seems to know his stuff in this area... 
So maybe my friend is  safe from her home being sold by a creditor who has a judgment against  her common law husband / husband as a well charging order would not be  granted to the creditor in question as there is no hope of sadisfying  the debt after the first mortgage is paid from the proceeds of any sale  and could so be deemed a vexatious application if made   :
Would this be a safe assumption in the current climate ?


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