Will the bank do a deal?

C

ceramic

Guest
Hi everybody

First of all I would like to introduce myself and say that some of the advice offered on this forum is excellent and those who run the site should be applauded.

And this leads me onto my issue. My wife and I have a mortgage amount of 160k on a property worth about 100k. We moved abroad about 3 years ago because we could not find work. We have rented the house out for most of the 3 yr period but have had periods where we could not rent the house and have thus fallen 4 months into arrears. We are on reduced payments until August but our tennant has moved out and we cannot afford to pay anything to the bank while the house in unoccupied. In short we just do not have any money. We work for very little money where we live now and have no real hope as things stand of ever paying off this debt. We are happy to be working though and we are never going back to Ireland to live. Ever.

We want to just sell up but we know that the market is non existent at the moment and that we will come up very short on the sale price. We have heard rudimentary evidence of banks doing deals and as we are fully no longer in Ireland, ie no savings, credit cards, bank accounts in our names bar the mortgage account, would they be likely to sanction a sale to at least get a potential 100k back on an otherwise non performing loan?

We really have nothing to give them except the house. Also if they say no, then what?

Any and all advice appreciated

ceramic
 
Any advice on this at all? We are really starting to get stressed about the situation as we have to approach the bank soon. If they do not accept the offer and we post back the keys and never return to Ireland again, can they chase us abroad and take any future earnings from us?

Again any and all advice welcome
 
it's probably not a question of whether the Bank are prepared to do a deal and more towards the issue of what alternative the Bank has. You are currently living working/abroad, and I assume that you're only asset in Ireland is this property. Write to the Bank and explain your financial circumstances. let them know that you are prepared to voluntarlily hand over this property to them in settlement of the amount due and that you have no other alternative solutuin to offer. They will huff and puff over the offer, but realisticallly can do little against you, if they decide to refuse. Hold fast to this offer and hopefully in time they will agree to it.
Best of luck!
 
If allowed to sell would you be able to repay the negative equity of 60K from your current income?

What country are you in? Have you asked the other Irish around you, who are in exactly the same predicament what they are doing? If you're somewhere like South America I'd say they'd never be able to find you. So consider whether you should give them your address. If you're in the UK you should go down the bankruptcy route.

The least costly route out of this is to get the bank to agree a sale and write down of the debt or agreement that you rrepay the balance over time, preferable at the same terms and conditions as the original mortgage.

There has been one poster, martin... who is in Bulgaria and the banks is sending him solicitors letters, but he apparently has no assets and I cannot imagine a Bulgarian salary can amount to much, other than that poster I don't recall any others in foreign countries being chased.

Instead of being stressed, and naturally this is stressful be proactive and talk to the bank.
 
Thanks Brendan

I think the property might sell as it is in a nice area that has seen a couple of sales in and around the 100k region over the last few months according to my research but obviously this leaves the shortfall of 60k.

I spoke to somebody I know who works in a collections dept of a bank and he said no deals are being done though and it is all just chatter. I just want to make the offer to sell for as much as possible to discharge the debt. But if they say no and start court proceedings can they not start chasing any future earnings in my new country? That is a real concern as I just want to get on with my life here
 
I have no other assets Bronte and I earn very little here, just enough to cover my bills and put a few euro away in case of the unforseen such as kids or illness etc. I do not even have a car. I actually own nothing apart from my clothes and this old laptop I am typing on!

In short if they insist on me paying up on a loan of 60k, well I will never have anything like that amount of money so I would not be in a position to pay it. I do not want to say where I am but it is EU and a low wage country. My earnings would not be over 10k a year but that is enough to pay my bills here and thankfully I have a job now!

Again though I am worried that if in 10 years time I got a well paying job that they would start insisting I hand over any earnings? Again though, just to reiterate, I am never coming back to Ireland
 
can they not start chasing any future earnings in my new country
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Potentially they could try this. Realistically, it is unlikely unless they have reason to believe that you have significant assets/investments currently available. Forget about future earnings.
Avoid giving them more information about current address/whereabouts. In my opinion, if they believe this is the best deal they can cyrrently get, they will ultimately agree to it. Be prepared for an initial refusal, but persist.
 
ceramic said:
Again though I am worried that if in 10 years time I got a well paying job that they would start insisting I hand over any earnings?
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There is a statute of limitations on these things. I forget how long. They cannot just ignore you and come after you in 10 years time. You need to get that clock started. Tell them you wish the property to be sold and you will agree to this. Everything in writing. Hopefully for you too the new insolvency bill will help.

I hope you're happy where you've settled and don't let the stress cause you sleepless nights, but do try to sort it.

Just on the insolvency bill, Brendan Burgess made a submission I think on this, might be helpful to point out to the committee on it to take into account the sad situation of all the emigrants. A mechanism whereby they too can avail of the new regime is needed.
 
Forgive me but you seem very unwilling to enter into any talks with the bank regarding the shortfall a sale would be likely to accrue. Have you spoken to them at all?

Where are you now based and why are you staying there if you are hardly better off than here?
 
Is it unlikely they will be willing to chase any potential savings no matter how modest?
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As you are living/working abroad it is highly unlikely & highly improbable. If you are located in the UK, there is some possibility of them pursuing you, but unless earnings are significant now (not future) it will not be cost effective for the bank to do this.
 

I am staying here because I have a job. I cannot sit on the dole. It is not in me, I simply have to work. I have always worked and even though my means are modest I feel blessed to be working. And on your second point, I have had various discussions with the bank including most notably an offer to sell 2 years ago when the negative equity would have been between 12 and 16k. They refused point blank to turn any arrears into an unsecured loan. Now further down the line the shortfall is 60k. I have tried and I am going to try again
 

Thanks Brendan. You, and everybody else here has been most helpful. Again Thank you
 
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