Story of a Family Home Repossession

I went to the court today. I will wait until he tells his story in his inimitable style. I couldn't do it justice.

Brendan
 
Well done BB on going there to support him. Can you tell us about the other cases, are the courts now more strident in allowing evictions, you saw the case last week where a woman who had paid nothing for years was told she could stay in the house for another year for free.
 
Glad it went well for you Matthew, wishing you and your lovely family very best wishes for the future. You are going to do just brilliantly!
 
So glad for you Matthew that it went according to plan.

Can you explain to us why the DCC letter was no good so that others can be warned. We know people have to be very careful on this as if the 'voluntarily' give back their house they then may make themselves ineligible for social housing or assistance.
 
Matthew you are very brave in facing the Situation. I wish you and your family the very best for the Future. Thank you again for sharing your Story in such a well written way.
 
Thank you all for your wishes. I'm really glad with how it went.
Please feel free to ask me any questions if you have them.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I went to the court today. I will wait until he tells his story in his inimitable style. I couldn't do it justice.

Brendan
Click to expand...

Thanks Brendan, especially for providing this platform for discussion, but don't be setting the bar too high for me! I'm just telling it as it is and hope it gives people an insight to what many are facing.
 
Bronte said:
So glad for you Matthew that it went according to plan.

Can you explain to us why the DCC letter was no good so that others can be warned. We know people have to be very careful on this as if the 'voluntarily' give back their house they then may make themselves ineligible for social housing or assistance.
Click to expand...

Thank you Bronte.

I'm still of the opinion that I would have been ok with DCC, but felt for piece of mind that it was best to let the law take its course while I was there. As far as I know, once a mortgage has been deemed "unsustainable" it is possible to apply to the social housing list. I presume that having a mortgage deemed unsustainable is a necessary step on the way to court for anyone who ultimately finds themselves there.
The letter that I had did not explicitly mention consent, only that I would remain on the housing list once the house is repossessed. The letter I had sent to DCC did explicitly mention consent.
A lady from MABS who was in the court on my initial hearing very kindly followed up on it and sent me this leaflet. It clearly states that one is eligible once the mortgage has been deemed unsustainable. However, with the greatest of respect to MABS, it would be much better to get a definitive answer from DCC.

In short, it would seem that people should only "voluntarily" return their property once the mortgage has been deemed, in writing, as unsustainable. Even then I would seek written confirmation from their Local Authority.
 
Indeed I think you are right Matthew and I bet every local authority has a different rule. But it's not just about the housing list, you might make yourself ineligible for rent allowance. I've no idea with the amount of people in distress why there isn't a countrywide coherent policy on this.
 
Bronte said:
Indeed I think you are right Matthew and I bet every local authority has a different rule. But it's not just about the housing list, you might make yourself ineligible for rent allowance. I've no idea with the amount of people in distress why there isn't a countrywide coherent policy on this.
Click to expand...
It really is messy. With rent allowance I believe you are dealing with the DSP but they may need confirmation from you LA that you are on the housing list. A single national body with coherent policy would certainly be helpful.
 
Matthew. You are a wonderful honourable man. I applaud you for the way you have dealt with this and how you have communicated it on here. You have had the misfortune to end up like this and you dealt with it so honourably. I am sure that the majority of posters are in admiration of you. Personally I hope your life turns around full circle and you have my very best wishes as do your family for the future. The very best of luck as you deserve it.
 
Matthew

I was on the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears in 2010.

We recommended that a person should be put on the Housing List as soon as they get a letter from their lender that their mortgage was not sustainable ( My suggestion by the way.)

This was accepted although it took a year or two to actually change the Ministerial Order.

So it is the law. However, I have come across local authority housing staff insisting that someone has to be homeless before they would be put on the housing list.

But I think that the letter you have should be ok.

Brendan
 
Dermot's post + 1 ....
You've a lot of living to do with your young family wishing you best of luck and health to go do it.
 
Thank you all for your kind wishes.
I will do a follow up post to reflect on the experience, however, as it's well and truly study and exam season in college, I will have to wait till I have a sufficent bout of procrastination to get something together.
 
I just remembered this thread and thought how I never updated it.

Time is flying by. We've a little more than 7 months till the stay runs out on the 01/06/17. We still feel it was the right thing to do. I've recently had an article published that covers this topic and many other aspects. It may be of interest to people facing similar situations.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-...g-trinity-how-i-started-my-new-life-1.2861998

You can find links to my blog and other material at www.matthewmoore.ie
 
Matthew I love the first sentence:

On the verge of losing everything and being declared bankrupt, Matthew Moore walked up a stairway in Trinity to do a college interview – they were the stairs to a new life

You are an inspiration Matthew. Educating Matthew. It sprang to mind about Rita and it was filmed in Trinity.

Over the years on here I've read some very harrowing stories, some that did not end well of that I have no doubt, but your's will be different of that I have no doubt.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top