A Dublin civil engineer and his wife lost their €700,000 home on Tuesday in the Circuit Civil Court after failing to make any repayments on their mortgage for the past five years.
Seamus and Marilyn McKenna live in Farrenboley Park, in a residence they built in 2005 at Windy Arbour, Milltown, Dublin.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane told Mr McKenna she was handing back the residence to Ennis Property Finance, which was currently owed almost €900,000 on two mortgages that had been granted against the property.
“There hasn’t been a cent paid off these loans since 2013 by the defendants,” Judge Linnane said. She allowed the McKennas a stay of three months to allow them to find alternative living accommodation.
Barrister Rudi Neuman, for the bank, told the court the McKennas had taken out a loan of €660,000 in 2005 to purchase a site and built a house in the Windy Arbour area. In 2010 they had borrowed another €110,000, all of which was to have been paid back in three years.
Demanded payment
Mr Neuman told the court the defendants had stopped making mortgage repayments in 2013 and nothing had been paid since. The bank had demanded payment in full of the outstanding debt and when this had not been forthcoming it had initiated possession proceedings.
He told the court Mr McKenna had been in the building business with a brother and they had been engaged in developments in Clonmel, Kilkenny, Bagenalstown and Kells. A receiver had been appointed over a number of unsold and unfinished properties in the Clonmel development which had been sold to a third party.
Judge Linnane said the overall debt on the Farrenboley property had stood at €849,000 in October last year and “no money whatsoever” had been paid in respect of the loans since February 7th, 2013, nearly five years ago.
The judge said the defence put forward by the McKennas was that an official of the bank had agreed that were they to secure their other assets for the bank, it would not enforce the loan against their home.
This had been denied by the bank, which had told the court no official would have had the authority to make such a deal with the McKennas.
Judge Linnane said that in August 2013 the McKennas had furnished the bank with a standard financial statement of their means when they sought an alternative arrangement of repayments or loan restructuring with the bank. The bank had refused a new deal on the basis it was unsustainable and had told the McKennas it would be enforcing its loans as security against their home.
The court granted Ennis Property Finance an order for possession for the McKennas’ property in Farrenboley Park and allowed the McKennas three months for the purpose of arranging alternative accommodation.