A Co Dublin couple with two small children who could only afford to meet half their interest-only repayments had an order for possession granted against them at the High Court yesterday.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne agreed to a request from their lawyer for a stay of execution to “allow them get over the Christmas holiday period”.
The case of the couple, from Balbriggan, was among three at the High Court in which orders for possession were granted.
Counsel for the lender, GE Capital Woodchester Homeloans, told Ms Justice Dunne the couple had borrowed €220,000 in November 2007 with repayments of just over €1,600.
They fell behind with their repayments the following year and now owed arrears of almost €66,000.A financial statement provided in July to the lender to assess if they could afford the mortgage showed they could only pay €770 a month, the court heard, which was only 51 per cent of an interest-only payment.