Living in Republic of Ireland and Struggling to Make Property Payments. Will We Lose Our UK Property?

“Dear Jon,

I lived in the Republic of ireland from 2000-2008. My husband and I purchased a property there in 2005. We are struggling to make the payments on this property as we have since bought a house in northern Ireland (where we have lived since 2008).

My question is if we were to foreclose on the Republic of Ireland property can the Irish bank repossess our uk property? Whay are the rules around making yourself bankrupt and not living in Ireland but in the uk?

Thanks in advance.”

I really cannot say as to if your were made bankrupt in the ROI if they could go after property anywhere else in the world, however as the UK is a part of the EU, I would venture there may be some reciprocity between the two countries. You may be best to speak to someone there to get a more definitive answer.

You can move the UK and go bankrupt in the UK and include debts in the EU, which means you can go bankrupt in the UK and include and debts in ROI, including any shortfall from a repossession. In order to do this you must meet the requirements outlined by the insolvency service.

This means you must not just live in the UK and establish residency, and this time-frame varies depending who you speak with from three (3) months to six (6) months, but you must also work, bank, etc, here in the UK. You need to establish the majority of your interests or what they call centre of interests in the UK.

Once you have done this you can go bankrupt in the UK and include any EU debts you may have.

You also may wish to research the changes proposed in the Irish insolvency laws for 2013. The changes mimic the UK’s insolvency laws and there is one major change about banks/mortgage companies having to value a property based on the mortgage balance; this to help the property owner not experience such a huge loss of equity or value.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Jon

Jon Emge is an experienced UK debt advisor who has helped thousands and thousands of people in the UK to deal with problem debt. Jon specialises in finding good solutions for problem debt using a variety of UK specific techniques.

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