Disabled couple at risk of losing their home

Paul Neilan

A disabled Ballyconnell couple are at their wits’ end facing homelessness as their bank has demanded a return to full repayments on a mortgage they say they cannot possibly afford. Sandy and Andy Howard, who both suffer with serious disabilities, bought their Greagrahan cottage six years ago this week “for a better life” but that has turned into a nightmare.
Their story comes in the same week that the Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABs) has reported a “sharp rise” in the numbers of people from County Cavan presenting to them because they are in arrears with their mortgages.
Their cottage is specially-fitted out with ramps at the front and back and with a wet room to help them complete the basic, everyday tasks that most of us take for granted.
Sandy suffers with painful and chronic spinal compression problems, arthritis and must use a wheelchair because of her restrictions on moving about; while Andy suffers with Parkinson’s, meaning both are unable to work.
Up until this week, they were paying an interest-only mortgage in agreement with their bank until they received shocking news that the arrangement was “unsustainable”.
Sandy says that the couple, who are originally from Berkshire, received a letter on Monday from Bank of Ireland in Dublin demanding that they pay the full monthly mortgage repayment, which they are not in any position to do.
Shocked Sandy told The Anglo Celt: “We don’t know what we are going to do. They won’t accept that we can’t pay and told us to go to the council for a house or sell the house. Now if we sell the house we make ourselves homeless and if we go to the council will the house even be suitable?
“We’ve been given some options by the bank but we’ve no idea what we are going to do because all of the options involve us basically moving out.
“We were not in arrears until February and actually, in theory, we were overpaying the interest payments themselves to demonstrate our co-operation.
“The only way, forgive me for saying, that we could keep the house is if my husband drops dead... we already know he’s got this complaint for the rest of his life and we don’t know where we’ll go. We’ve considered going back to the UK but they would, under new laws, only give us a one-bedroom flat, but we both need our own rooms because of how bad Andy gets at night time with his shaking from Parkinson’s.”
Sandy’s two children are not in a financial position to help and the couple are stuck “in total limbo”.
“The bank knew of my position from day one so I wasn’t entitled to mortgage insurance but Andy was - it was just so unfortunate that Andy was made redundant and then got diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” says Sandy.
“Before Andy got sick we were living comfortably now we’re reliant on friends because we’ve no social life of our own, obviously, and every penny is accounted for to just get by because Andy obviously would be turned down for jobs now.
“Every option outlined by the bank costs, everything costs, legal fees, BER certs and so on unless someone is good enough to do pro-bono legal work then I don’t know what we’ll do. We simply can’t afford to pay anything. We’re in total limbo.
“We came here for a better life not to be constantly stressed, I’m shocked by our treatment by the bank, at the moment, excuse me for saying this, but our lives are just sh*t at the moment, it’s not doing our marriage any good either we’re both so stressed.”
The desperate couple say they are trying to engage with MABS [the Money Advice and Budgeting Service] to find a solution to the threat of losing their home but they have no idea what to do or where to go for much-needed help.

Bank response
A spokesperson for Bank of Ireland says that they cannot comment on individual cases but stated: “We work closely and empathetically with our owner occupier customers who face financial difficulties and are fully committed to the Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears. We provide a variety of forbearance measures to our customers which are designed to assist them to deal with their mortgage as they manage through financial difficulties. Any agreed forbearance solution depends on the individual circumstances of the customer and what is in their best interests.”

Sharp rise in mortgage arrears
Karl Cronin, a service co-ordinator with Co Cavan MABS, says the service has seen a “sharp rise in the number of people presenting with mortgage arrears in recent years”.
“Cavan MABS advise that it is very important for borrowers to engage with and co-operate with their lenders when their mortgage is in arrears or at risk of going into arrears. Not co-operating can have serious consequences such as the lender starting legal proceedings for repossession of the property. Therefore, it is very important not to ignore any letters from your mortgage lender.
“Furthermore, borrowers who are not happy with the arrangement offered to them by their lenders have the option to make an appeal to the lender’s Appeals Board within a certain time frame.
“Cavan MABS recommend that borrowers who are concerned about mortgage arrears should contact the MABS National Helpline on 0761 07 2000 for advice or log on to www.keepingyourhome.ie for lots of useful information,” he advises.