Housing group saves nine Sligo families in mortgage arrears
A new housing group has rescued nine Sligo homes in mortgage arrears over the last year.
High Profile Vulture Fund opponent David Hall is CEO of the company I- Care.
I- Care is funded by AIB and was set up a year ago to rescue families in mortgage arrears trouble.
Mr. Hall said: ‘ ’In Sligo we intend to help a lot more families that are in trouble. But you must contact us. A silent priest never got a parish’’.
He also pledged; ‘ ’we welcome difficult cases because we know how to sort them out’’.
The not for profit housing company dedicated specifically to the resolution of Mortgages Arrears involving those who are in long term distress and qualify for Social Housing Support.
Under a unique new process, a house in Mortgage Arrears is sold to i- Care at a substantial discount and I- Care then rent the house back to qualifying owners.
The home-owner agrees a thirty-year lease with i- Care where they lose their home.
However, those who are renting their former home can at any point re-purchase at the cost i- Care has paid.
They cannot sell the property on, though, or borrow irresponsibly to re-purchase.
The i- Care CEO added; ‘ ’ Today’s figures show there is a real alternative to vultures. We can deal with our problems on our own. They also show that whilst others talk, we do.’’
He added; ‘’ we are acutely aware Mortgage Arrears is as much a rural as an urban crisis. This is why working with groups like MAB’s, i- Care operates across the countryside.
These results also indicate; ‘ ’ there is a better way; that a real sustainable solution exists for families living under a shadow. They said it couldn’t be done. But it has. Promises made have been kept’’.
“To build and to reach that evolving future very different people had to come to an understanding of each-other. Voluntary organizations had to be convinced banks could have a social ethic.
“Banks had to commit to believing voluntary organizations can be run on business principles.
“Those who had nothing but bad stories with banks had to engage in acts of trust with institutions who find it hard to believe bad things happen to good people.”
i- Care was established by the Irish Mortgage Holders’ Association in 2017 to buy suitable homes from banks where the mortgage holder cannot pay the mortgage and is eligible for social housing.
A registered charity, iCare has since negotiated deals with banks on behalf of just under 600 distressed mortgage holders under the government’s Mortgage to Rent scheme.
A further two hundred and fifty homes are poised to enter the pipeline.
David and i- Care can be contacted at 1800-233-244 or info@ icarehousing.ie