Chink of light for families in mortgage debt

A large proportion of Galway householders – previously disqualified from a Government scheme designed to keep them in their homes – could now be eligible to re-enter.

New figures from the Housing Agency show that 78 households in the county were ruled out of the Mortgage to Rent scheme that aims to keep homeowners with unsustainable debt in their current homes.

However, a leading expert in the field says many of those who had their applications rejected could now find solutions – thanks to changes in the scheme which allows householders to remain in their homes as tenants of their local authority, paying an affordable income-based rent.

“There has been a widening of the house value eligibility parameters by the Government, which have risen to €395,000 in Galway,” said Paul Cunningham, CEO of the only Government-approved Mortgage to Rent private operator, Home for Life.

“Another reason is Home for Life’s arrival into the scheme. Unlike many other operators, we are happy to consider rural dwellings or houses that need money spent on them to bring them up to a good standard.

“In the past, those two categories were responsible for high numbers of termination decisions.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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