Brendan Burgess
Founder
- Messages
- 53,770
Is Maguire effectively advocating strategic default?
I wondered about that myself.
Forget about the current case for the moment. You have a family. Your lender has got an order for possession of your family home with a stay of 6 months and you are in deep negative equity. Do you pay your mortgage in the meantime, or do you save up your money to pay the deposit required when you are renting?
I certainly would not criticise anyone for not paying their mortgage in this situation.
Likewise, if you are planning on applying for a PIA, you should probably build up a fund to pay for it.
You are in mortgage arrears and facing legal action for possession. I would strongly advise anyone facing this situation that they should pay what they can. The more you pay, the longer you will get to stay in your home.
The problem is the legal system we have which does not allow lenders to repossess a home when the borrower pays nothing at all for 8 years. The lenders could not get an order for possession in this case, for whatever reason. Then they got an order and the guy agreed to move out and then applied for a PIA and did not move out.
People will naturally exploit any weaknesses in the system. The government, Central Bank and the Courts Service should look at the system and fix it so that people who pay nothing are out within about 6 to 12 months.
Brendan