Arizun home solutions target Louth homeowners in mortgage arrears

A Maltese, Irish-headquartered offshoot of the company The Arizun Group - the Arizun Mortgage Arrears Resolution Scheme, is targeting homeowners in Louth who are unable to repay their mortgage payments. 

Arizun offers a distressed mortgage workout programme that provides solutions to banks, governments and distressed mortgagors. The company is currently establishing a series of regulated funds to acquire the underlying property assets associated with non-performing residential mortgages and securitise them while keeping the mortgagor in their home on a long term lease.

A spokesperson for the company said: "To date, there are ca. 6,100 mortgages in arrears in Ireland’s border counties, which include Louth, Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo. However, many of these distressed mortgage-holders cannot avail of any government programme or social housing as they earn slightly more than the income threshold or their house is worth just a little too much.

"The Stay In Your Home Solution from Arizun offers a way out of mortgage arrears for those hard-pressed families who do not qualify for government assistance. The Arizun Stay In Your Home Solution keeps distressed mortgage-holders and their families in their own homes by taking over the title of their property, clearing their mortgage and forgiving their debt.

"In return, they are given a guaranteed long-term lease, which can be extended every 6 years, at a reasonable market rent based on the value of their house. Within the first 6 years of their tenancy, they have the option of repurchasing their home with a 40% share in any capital appreciation to go towards their new mortgage deposit."  

The company spokesperson also added: "There are a total of ca. 48,000 Irish mortgages in arrears, the majority of which do not qualify for the government Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme. Any family earning more than €30,000 p.a. between two people in Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo, and €36,000 p.a. in Louth does not normally qualify for government assistance despite having significant mortgage arrears. Yet, many of these families can afford to pay market rent, not however the mortgage they took up when their house was worth far more than it is worth now. Hence, they are in danger of losing their home.

"Up until now, these squeezed-middle families who are able to pay their day-to-day expenses but will never be able to pay off their mortgage arrears have had nowhere to turn until now. Arizun’s Stay In Your Home solution is specifically directed at families with large mortgage arrears and no opportunity to receive government support. While the number of home repossessions to date has been low, this will certainly change with the increase in sales of portfolios of distressed mortgages from banks that are under direction to get their balance sheets cleaned up.

"With the Arizun Stay In Your Home solution, families in mortgage arrears can simply hand over their problems to Arizun, who will take care of everything, from working with them on their possible options to negotiating with the bank on their behalf. These families now have the chance of focusing on the promise of the future instead of being afraid of what it is going to bring." 

John McDaniel, an Arizun founder, and the Arizun team including experienced financial service and property professionals such as Cathal O’Leary, Ray Murphy and Ciarán MacCriostail say they are passionate in their belief that "building a sustainable business and helping people can go successfully hand in hand".

“We are solving a serious problem for a group of families which nobody else has taken on,” John, an American who made his home in Ireland, explains, “To us, the most important thing is to keep families in their homes and communities, to keep their children in the same school, and to allow them to focus on the future instead of being suffocated by their mortgage debt.”

For more information please visit www.stayinyourhome.ie.