We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
BORROWERS IN DISTRESS because of mortgage repayments will be able to avail of free and independent financial advice later this month.
Social Protection Minister Joan Burton announced the initiative this morning, stating the cost of the service will be met “wholly by the banks and other lending institutions”.
The advice will be provided by a panel of about 1,000 accountants drawn from the main institutes in Ireland who have agreed to participate. They will be available from mid-September to complement the new Citizens Information Board Mortgage Arrears Information Helpline and website, keepingyourhome.ie.
Mortgage holders who have been offered long-term resolution proposals will be eligible to receive the independent financial advice for free because the lender will pay the €250 fee. The choice of accountant still rests with the borrower.
Burton said the cost of the initiative could be up to €10 million, depending on the number of people who take up the new element of the Mortgage Arrears Information and Advice Service.
Long-term forbearance plans can include split mortgages, trade-downs, mortgage-to-rent and long-term interest only. The accountant and the borrower will be able to discuss each option over a number of meetings.
The number of mortgages in arrears in Ireland rose to its highest level to date last month with almost 130,000 home loans in trouble of some kind. More than 10 per cent of total private residential mortgages are in arrears of at least 90 days, an increase of about 5,600 in just five months.
“The Government is fully aware that there are no quick fixes or a one-size-fits-all solution to the mortgage debt problem,” Burton added. “Each family in mortgage arrears faces unique difficulties and we must have a range of solutions which can be adapted to resolve each family’s difficulties.
Encouraging people experiencing difficulties to contact their lender, she said the “key message is engagement”.
The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties that many households are facing in meeting their mortgage repayments and addressing these difficulties is at the forefront of Government’s agenda.
An operating protocol for the provision of this advice has been agreed between the accountancy bodies, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the lenders. The general scope of the advice will be limited to the borrower’s principal private residence. A review of how it is working will be carried out next June.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
“Walk away if it’s too much for ya?
Home bond walked away from pyrite cases!
Developers walked away from their loans!
We have politicians walking away from their tax and debt liabilities!
Really the only person who needs to pay is the poor old working man/woman. The good old,
Pay All You Eegit (PAYE) people
Paid for by the bank, paid for by us!
But if it helps get things moving again it’ll be worth it.
Advice is not what’s needed now.
Debt forgiveness and relief is the only solution — and not just for mortgages.
Time to bail out citizens, not banks.
Advice????
Advice paid for by corrupt banks????
”Now, Now, you borrowed too much money”
”You greedy little so and so”
”Take your beating little person”
”Hand over the keys to the nice banker, so that the nice banker can save on his repo legal fees”
”You should have known that commoners like you don’t deserve your own home”
”Trust the honest banker because he is paying my bill”
Independent advice, my you know what.
Never give in to these schiesters dirty tricks.
Are these the same ”fine” accountancy bodies that gave our bust banks a clean bill of health???
Isn’t it ironic that in our area during the boom some local accountants were actually canvassing for business for the very same banks.
It was evident that these guys were getting some kind of commission or little perks from the banks to do this for them.
Gamekeeper turned poacher???
A lot of people got greedy. They don’t deserve helplines.
These ate some of the people who commented here a few weeks ago about how farmers should not be getting any advice on a line set up.
I feel for those who are genuinely screwed, because they got screwed.
But let’s separate the needy from the greedy before we dish out a free service that we all pay for.
This is more about tricking people into engaging with the banks again without the banks putting something real on the table, most people who are financially ruined have done all they can do to help fix a problem the banks and government created for them. Banks won’t repossess enmasse quick enough because they know they’ll be taking on the risk of the property and will have to give a customer a value of remaining debt to pay off, but they can’t. Kicking the can down the road instead of facing the facts and giving these people a chance to start again and try to engage in an economy instead of ending up as indentured slaves.
If the banks haven’t followed their own procedures to repossess properties where there is full default and no engagement from the borrowers then they are playing a game. They should at least write off or write down debts to manageable levels even temporarily and take their foot off peoples necks. If that fails then our disconnected community need to buck up and sing with the same voice, and stop putting up with this bullshit. It’s gone on long enough. We all existed before we had a property market, we all tried to engage in a reasonably moderate society , there was a balance between the needs of citizens and the needs of the market. That might be gone, but it’s up to us to get it back. We don’t have to accept this abuse.
This just has to be a joke right? accountants being paid by banks to give advice to people who were screwed by t.he banks. “He who pays the piper calls the tune”.
Just another buck passing excercise by this crowd of incompetents. How can advice given by people working for banks help reduce people’s debt? It was government policy that forced property prices through the roof, therefore it’s up to government to come up with a policy to fix it. There must be thousands of decent people out there in danger of having nervous breakdowns because of massive debt,caused by forces outwith their control,. I’m talking about ordinary people who borrowed money to buy a home. Others who gambled so as to get rich quick are another entity altogether. A debt forgiveness scheme has to be unveiled soon, otherwise this problem will only get worse. I mean suicide rates have risen dramatically in the last 5 years. Ordinary people taking their own lives because of mortgage debt, and all our leaders can come up with is a so called free advice scheme! Bollox, complete Bollox. Our citizens are far more important than paying off gambling debts to greedy crooks, and if this government won’t recognise this, then it’s time to get rid of them.
Hear Hear Rodrigo!!
Just wondering – if you own a house in negative equity and lose your job, say… Can you leave the key in the door and walk away or can you go to jail for this??
Black listed credit rating for the rest of your days…
Let us know how you get on
Yes you can walk away. No jail.
Joe sorry you can’t walk away.The mortgage is on the property but you are the “hook” for all monies owed.If you give up the house,the bank can sell it and any shortfall they will chase you for the balance.Please don’t leave the key in the door and walk.The house would no longer be secure therefore no insurance cover,creating more trouble for you.Sorry if what i wrote is depressing for you but it is the system here at the moment.Good Luck.
@ Joe. Probably not really the forum for a question like that. The advice you would get here would be all over the place., as you can see from some of the posts above. Best to seek professional advice from a few different sources. (citizen advice bureau and independent advisor ect). everyone’s case is different and there are consequence to all actions, some you might be happy to live with other you might not be.
Norman I’ll think you’ll find you can walk away! Yes the bank will come after you for money but that doesn’t mean they’ll get it nor does it mean the resulting court case will rule against you. Yes you may have credit trouble in the future but that’s hardly a good reason to suffer for the next 10-15-20 years possibly pushing yourself to the brink of something far worse than bad credit rating.
Vinny i’m just stating fact i don’t like but it doesn’t make it less true even if you disagree with me.
Its a very small step in the right direction.Like pervious posters i would question the independence of the “advice”being given when the banks are the paymaster.
Mortgage debt writedown is going to have to be on the table wether it is palatable to the majority or not.Forget moral hazzard,if we keep thousands of our fellow citizens in financial limbo it will be a drag on the ecomony for years holding back our chances of recovery.
“Foget the moral hazard” lol…typical Irish response to an Irish problem. If you want to write of free cash for some people then the prudent people should get the same amount credited into their accounts to help them finally be able to buy a roof over there heads for there family in this still vastly over priced no value property market. These people are in just as much stress paying high rents with no future.
Martin mac the banks have already being paid for distressed mortgages.Don’t drag renters into this invalid arguement as this can walk away simple reason they have no mortgage.
What is your solution keep thousands of families as financal zombies unable to take part in a normal funtioning way in the economy,what will that achieve please tell me.
Martin sounds like you have the Celtic tiger obsession of owning property. Some people choose to rent, does not mean they should be subsidised for it,
Where can renters walk away too? To another over priced house to rent at cray fees? You can’t just help some people and not others I know of plenty of renters up to there eyes in debt and can’t afford to pay rent anymore in dire straits! What happens to them if they don’t pay they get thrown out on the street. Debt forgiveness for some and nothing given to the prudent renters would open up a can of worms and would end all responsibility for future personal decisions and personal loans in this country for ever.
Martin mac i don’t want to be rude but the thread is about mortgage debt and again if a renter is unhappy with the rent they are paying they can rent a cheaper property maybe not in the same area but the choice is there.For a mortgage holder that option is not there if you are negative equity.
And that’s only the half of it Norman. Mortgage holders in negative equity cannot move where the jobs are either.
Simon mac agreed,it amazes me people are worried about their distressed neighbours being able to move on and join in fully with society,where was the massive protests when the banks and developers were bailed out?
Simon Simon Simon…people chose to rent cause they knew that the property was priced in outer space and they would not sign on the dotted line for massive loans they knew they could not pay back.
Martin Martin Martin. Thank you for speaking for me and many other renters. But your statement is very narrow minded. I am a renter and choose to rent for many reasons. You are correct that the prices were high and some people did not buy because of this. But for me and probably others to there are many reasons why you would not buy. My job is in the field and I could move at any time. My job is also not secure and I like the option of being able to move at a moments notice to follow the work, I am not from this country and not sure where my life will take me. I like the freedom renting gives you There are many responsibility that come with a house, furnishing it, insuring it. repairing things when they break. Renting exempts me from this. If I don’t like my neighbours I can do something about it.
.
As a renter I can wash my hands of all this. I could have brought in the boom but chose not to for many reasons, not just the price. But again thanks for speaking on my behalf.
Martin people bought houses on the ability to pay at the time,they now have lost jobs,reduced hours and higher charges,since you disagree with debt write down what is your solution to help these people to be able take part in the wider economy again?
Banks are sitting on €16.3bn paid for by the Irish tax payers. That €16.3bn is for the expected cost of the mortgages that will require a right down. Time for the banks to use that money and remove many people from a very deep hole and allow them to rejoin the local economy by spending in local shops etc. Who knows if that happens maybe some additional jobs and revenue may be generated. Those of us lucky enough to be renting or still managing our mortgages will have to accept that once we bailed out the banks and developers any talk about ‘Moral Hazard’ went out the window. Everybody else has been bailed out why not the Irish citizens who are in trouble?
I think Martin is also a renter (could be wrong but your coming across that way), and will probably get jealous for the decisions he made. If he saw his neighbour get a write down of 100k on a property then he would expect the bank or tax payer to drop 100k in his bank account for being a so call “good boy”. god knows who’s going to pay for it though.
Isnt that nice of the banks… Nothing “free” in this world. Increased bank charges on all the other poor people to pay for it. What a stupid idea. Probably end up putting more people in to arrears.
Is your credit rating worth 150k??
Not sure financial worth but health, especially mental health has no price.
If you can keep up the payments or even pay restructured payments then keep paying. I’m in negative equity but that’s only a problem if I want to move. Keep paying IF you can. At the end you and your family have a home albeit an expensive one but a home that belongs to you and yours.
If you genuinely can’t pay I genuinely believe walk away before it gets you down
Here, walk away all you want… Just remember when you’re looking for emergency funds for whatever in 10 years time, you might get told to Feck off!!
‘Free’ advice to what many already know…..
I don’t believe that advice of the nature sought should be given on this site as we don’t know whether those offering opinions are qualified to do so or whether they have a vested interest such as being a banker!
TheJournal should moderate heavily on this subject as it is too serious in terms of the consequences for amateur financial advisors and bar stool lawyers to be given a hearing.
Free advice??
€250 for an hours work???
Is this where the money the banks were paid (specifically for distressed mortgages) is going to go??
The gravy train goes on.
I’m lucky enough to have a job and tracker… Was just wondering really because it seems like a better option for some people. Anyway, thanks for your responses. Good for people to talk openly about options because not once in 4 years have I heard this being discussed in the media
It won’t be talked about in the media for fear it will gain widespread acceptance but its going to have to happen one way or the other.
another stupid idea from our silly so called leaders…..more bank charges (interest rate will hike) paid by the banks what a joke…….no one laughing. ……Joan..
So what’s your solution. Don’t give people in trouble advice. Make them pay. Push them further under.
Simon as more details of this scheme become available it seems the accountants will only be able to explain what the possible out come may be of an offer extended by a bank on a distressed mortgage. They will not be allowed to recommend if the banks offer should be accepted or not. So maybe just maybe Sean is not that for wrong with his comment.
I think the headline clearly states “Free Advice” not “recommend if the banks offer should be accepted”. Any one in these situations should be looking for as much advice as possible, and free advice will attract more people in than if they had to pay. I would suggest getting as much advice from different sources as possible allowing them access to information that they possibly would not have know about. All this financial stuff can be a mine field, and very over powering with jargon that is hard to understand sometime. Bit of free layman terms is not going to do any harm. What you then do with that advice is up to you, as is the case in all financial decisions a person makes.
advice advice advice. Mabs is already there for advice. Financial assistance or some kind of write down is whats needed not more advice. Who’s gaining out of this accountants again. Poeple making a fortune in fees making money off the broke scraping to keep a roof over their heads. keep your advice.
Eh….this is what MABS the money advice and budgeting service already do!
Yes they are under pressure but they can deal with the Bank on your behalf and give you advice on what your best options are!
Why has this service been set up? The government would have been better off paying €250 off your mortgage rather than paying it to an accountant who knows nothing about mortgages.
Stupid idea Joan!!
Any attempt to help people with their high mortgage is a step forward. I don’t know enough about it to say if this is the right step. I bought my home in 2005. The mortgage interest relief was supposed to last for 7 years. Somewhere along the line this was changed to 6 years. I only found this out at the beginning of the year when my mortgage went up by over €200. I was told the government had set aside mortgage interest relief for people who bought when I did. It is no where near the amount we were getting but it was something, well so I thought. It is September now and this still has not been passed on to customers by Ulster Bank. In the interest of fairness I rang them again today for an update. They said they ‘hope’ to have it passed on by the end of the year. In the mean time I presume I just carry on struggling to pay my very high mortgage. It is a priority in my family and so far we have not fallen behind. This is despite the fact that over the last three years between us we have had 4 job loses. Ulster bank said they are not passing it on as they are still ‘processing’ the information. I wonder if I fell behind or had to stop payment on my mortgage how long it would take for them to ‘process’ this information and come after me. I am doubting it would be between 9-12 months. Even if people are trying to keep up with repayments institutions that are clearly not very productive can have a big influence over wether this can happen or not. I just hope that by the time they get their act together my family and I don’t have to avail if the above service.
Alison if you feel your are in the slightest bit of bother contact the bank straight away,explain the situation also contact Mabs their’re under serious pressure but are of great help.
From first hand experience Alison.
All I can tell you is that it suites the foreign banks eg Ulster,KBC,ACC,Halifax,BOSI, that their customers go into arrears and distress,
the reason being is that these banks are losing billions each year operating in Ireland,
particularly on their loss making tracker mortgages (which the majority of their business was).
Do you really think that they want to stick around pay staff, rents and overheads for he next 30-40 years to collect Alison Finn’s mortgage payments as they lose billions???
Especially since the majority of these banks are owned or have been bailed out by their countries taxpayer??
These guys want any excuse to
repo your house,
sell it off,
shut shop in Ireland,
get out fast,
and draw a line under their huge losses and greedy ”mistakes”.
The banks will have no say in what advisor is chosen, they simply pick up the bill, so conflict of interest is not an issue. An advisor won’t be able to gain favour with the banks to get bigger referral numbers because it is people who will decide what advisor they go to, not the banks.
I would be concerned about some of the advisors though. I wouldn’t have massive faith in a typical accountant to give adequate advice to someone facing mortgage issues. It is a very specific type of issue. I wonder what these advisors would have recommended someone do with their money if they were consulted in 2005 or 2006? I can guess.
Ronan the professional advice becoming available wii be far superior to the so called experts on this site.
Seems one of those professionals doesn’t agree with you Mick :-)
Brendan Burgess, who is an accountant, said today that the new scheme was pointless as accountants were not familiar with consumer debt and most of them did not understand mortgages.
I have been reading about this and it is completely pointless. Another con by the Government and banks to pretend they are doing something about the problem. Just another waste of €1,000,000
They were saying on RTE drive time today that they are going to throw Ten Million Euro into this farce.
A sleazy way to get customers to sign on the dotted line to confirm that they got ”free” ”independent” ”professional” ”expert” ”impartial” ”advice” before the bank says ”now take your beating” and repos their homes.
That’s the only purpose of this scam (oh sorry and of course to make accountants rich).
dont know why their ‘distressed’ should be the banks
This sham rhymes with the ”Talk to your solicitor” (sponsored by the law society) ads on the radio.
MAFIA MAFIA MAFIA
have your say