New housing association rescues thirty one homes from mortgage arrears in Tipperary

High profile Vulture Fund opponent David Hall has announced that his new housing group i-Care has rescued 31 families in mortgage arrears in Tipperary over the last year.  I-CARE, which is funded by AIB was set up a year ago to rescue families in mortgage arrears trouble.

At the time the housing body pledged that it would resolve five hundred cases.

Instead it is poised to rescue up to six hundred mortgage holders which is significantly ahead of target.  

The not for profit housing company is 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 deal will be negotiated with the Irish Mortgage Holders Association (IMHO) who are experts in dealing with distressed mortgages.

Commenting on the Tipperary figures David Hall the CEO of i-Care said; ‘’it is vital to note that i-Care is an All-Ireland based organization’’.

We are, he said; ‘’very aware of the extent of the mortgage arrears problem and the deep concern about vulture funds invading our country-side’’.

Mr Hall said; ‘’we are an Irish solution which will chase the vulture funds out of rural Ireland. We are very much open-for business, but people need to contact us at 1800-233-244 or info@icarehousing.ie ’’

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’’.

And he promised that; ‘’in Tipperary 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’’.

Mr Hall said; ‘’we can say, finally, a viable future has been created for people who had been lost in the fiscal fugue of mortgage arrears.

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.

Collectively we have created a scheme that has secured the trust of Distressed Mortgage Holders, respects moral hazard, does not cost the state an extra penny, lightens the pressure on Social Housing and, sustainably, clears the balance sheets of the Banks’’.