WITH solely 20 of 76 home mortgage functions accredited by the Council in 2023, councillors had been this week blaming crimson tape and paperwork.
At this Monday’s full assembly of the native authority, council members had been requested to contemplate approving software for sanction from the Minister for Housing and Local Government, for a mortgage within the quantity of €5.5million to fund the drawdown of Local Authority Home Loans.
Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary requested why almost €6m was wanted when solely 20 out of 76 loans had been accredited final yr.
“It simply appears very low. 20 out of 70. Why is it so low? Are they not qualifying?
Director of Housing, Caroline Curley defined that there was 76 functions obtained in 2023 with 20 given approval in precept. The worth of approval in precept loans, she stated, was €2.8 million with 5 loans drawn right down to date to a worth of €700,071.
“We don’y draw the money down. We solely draw it down because the loans are taken out. The money doesn’t come down in any other case.
“There are various reasons why they are low. A lot of time they (applicants) don’t qualify because they don’t meet the criteria or they haven’t put the paperwork in,” she identified.
“Is there any mentoring being offered?” Cllr Keary enquired.
“Our staff assists anyone that comes in with their applications as best we can,” Ms Curley replied.
Keary informed the Housing Director that councillors are “getting it in the face” that there’s no homes available. He took the view hat when young {couples} attempt to put a roof over their head, they’re being stymied in each means.
“The money doesn’t seem to be available. There’s too much bloody bureaucracy and red tape around the whole process of a home loan from a local authority,” he hit out.
Ms Curley informed him that the Council is obliged to adjust to the phrases of the schemes and folks have to offer the right paperwork.
“Because if we didn’t we would have people complaining that we were doing something underhanded.”
Fine Gael councillor and auctioneer Tom Ruddle, who labored as a mortgage dealer previously, was not impressed with the 20 out of 76 success price.
“All the trouble people have to go through with paperwork. First of all they have to be refused in two banks. To be honest about it, I find it is way harder to get a loan off the council than anybody else. It’s a total waste of time for people trying to get a loan off the council,” Cllr Ruddle claimed.
“When I was a mortgage broker I used to do about 80 a year, and I was only a one man band. Shur, this isn’t working at all.”
Ms Curley informed council members that they had been trying on the figures the fallacious means round.
“Twenty out of 76 would not appear to be great. But the fact of the matter is, we are the lending authority of last resort. These people have already been refused the commercial banks so you know that there credit rating isn’t as high as it could be to get the loan. Twenty more people did manage to get loans there. Twenty more people managed to house themselves as a result of that. If we didn’t operate that, then that’s 20 less people able to house themselves,” she concluded.
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