A CORK property investor who owed €2.2 million to Bank of Ireland had seven orders for property possession granted against him at the High Court yesterday.
But in a separate case the court refused to grant an order against a farmer who had borrowed €1.5 million from Bank of Scotland Ireland Ltd and had already paid them interest of €1.25 million.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern granted 12 repossessions in total at the High Court Chancery summonses session including two each to Allied Irish Banks and Secured Property Loans Ltd, and one to Ulster Bank.
Over 50 cases were adjourned, but due to the large number to be heard in the coming sessions, most cannot be heard again until five or six weeks time.
Counsel for Bank of Ireland told the court the borrower had taken out a loan for €2.2 million in April 2007 for the purchase of seven separate properties in Cork in areas including Douglas, Monkstown and Father Matthew Quay.
The loan was due to be repaid over 20 years, initially interest only at €8,325 a month and then interest and capital at €18,800 a month. There had been no repayments since March 2008 and the borrower was now €2.3 million in debt to the bank.
The court was told some of the properties, a mix of apartments and houses, had tenants in them and some were vacant. The borrower did not appear in court and had sent no legal representative.
The judge noted the indebtedness was now in excess of the original loan and that the properties were for investment purposes. He granted an order for possession with a stay of three months.
But the Judge refused to grant an order for possession of a substantial farm in Waterford to Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Ltd.
The farmer had an overdraft of €1.25 million built up over a number of years and had also borrowed €250,000 to develop sheds on the farm. The interest rate was 7.15 per cent, counsel for the borrower said, and as a result his client had already paid €1.25 million in interest alone. “That’s a fairly hefty rate in this day and age,” Mr Justice McGovern said.
Counsel told the court his client had sold 130 head of cattle and paid €75,000 from the sale to the bank. He had also promised to pay the proceeds of a compulsory purchase order, from Waterford County Council, valued at €40,000, which was due to go through shortly. And he would give the proceeds of two investments he had made, in Snoasis and Cornerstone Dusseldorf, to the bank once they were realised.
“What is Snoasis? I hope it’s not a ski resort in Dubai,” the Judge said. “If I was the bank I wouldn’t be over-confident about realising much from that investment.”
Counsel for the borrower said the investments were valued at €200,000 and €180,000 respectively. There were also other investments he hoped to cash in.
Mr Justice McGovern said the bank was “in the happy position” of being able to rely on a very favourable interest rate. He did not wish the case to drag on, he said, but would grant an adjournment for one week to allow the borrower pay a lump €50,000 to the bank. He would then consider further adjournments.
