What's it like when the bank calls you in to tell you that your house has to go? One homeowner found it humiliating, intimidating and downright scary. She tells ALISON HEALYexactly what happened
‘I AM STILL reeling from my experience with our bank and I fear that we are not alone. Many similar stories will be acted out in the next few months, as banks turn their attention to families with mortgage problems.
We are a normal, middle class family who have never been in debt or ever had any kind of trouble with the bank.
More than two years ago, we started to think about our future. We decided to downsize as we no longer needed a big house. This would go in tandem with my husband’s phased withdrawal from his construction-related business. He would eventually retire in about five years and do some work from home.
We knew that house prices were falling but we still felt that the sale of our house would more than cover the cost of a new, smaller one. We might even end up with money in the bank, we thought, although that was not the prime motivation.
So we found our new house and placed our old house on the market. There was a lot of interest in the house but many of the potential buyers couldn’t get the money from the banks and we couldn’t sell it. We had a bridging loan but had to take out a mortgage when it became clear that we would not sell the house in the short term.
We were left with no option but to rent the house and hope that things improved. The rent, combined with a top-up from us, paid the interest-only portion of the mortgage but as long as we had a tenant, we were managing.
Then, like so many families, we were hit with our own little perfect storm when my husband’s job went. But we were undaunted and decided to start the business from home a little earlier than planned.
Things were going well with that business, and they still are, although our salaries have halved.
Then our tenant moved out. We received many enquiries from people looking to rent the house, but we knew that we would not be able to make that month’s payment, and would probably miss the following month’s payment too while we found another tenant. In keeping with our policy of keeping the bank informed, we requested a meeting to see what they wanted us to do next.
A meeting was set up and we arrived at the appointed time. We were given a number on a sticker and left to wait in an entrance hall with no seating for some time. Then we were delivered to our fate down narrow, old-fashioned corridors to a scary room which felt chilly in more ways than one.
We took our places and the battle began. It was an uneven battle. The bank said we had no choice but to sell both houses in this depressed market. The value of the old house and the new house had gone down a third since we made the move.
If we sold both homes we would clear the loan but what would we be left with? We would have no home and no workplace. After hearing this news, I looked around for water to wet my dry mouth but there was no such luxury. The intimidation continued. Then I began to notice that our inquisitors were equally terrified and I realised they were in a similar position to us. They were controlled by the bank – to deliver the dirty message and remain employed.
They couldn’t tell us what would happen next. The project for the day seemed to be to scare us, which they did.
They got scared themselves when they saw my tears and perhaps the realisation hit home that they were watching us lose everything – our business, our workplace, our pension and our home. Maybe that’s not such a faraway prospect for them either. We are very cautious people and never expected to end up in a position like this. We were upfront with the bank and thought that we would receive some understanding and flexibility in return.
What are we left with? We have each other and our kids. But are we – as the bank seems to think – too old to recover from this? We don’t think so. What will we do? Fight. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. We have to talk to the bank again but we have no idea how this will all end.
My free advice to the bank is: there is another way. Be humble in your dealings with your customers as you are also your own customer. Treat people with respect. Train your staff. You may have had to give up the water coolers with the cutbacks but a jug and glasses are cheap and a glass of water and tissues don’t cost a lot.
We have been humiliated by the bank and I really hope that other people will not have to go through the same horrible experience. The sad reality is that they probably will.
The identity of the homeowner is known to The Irish Times
