It’s emerged that a Donegal family affected by the use of concrete blocks with mica in their homes was told just weeks before the announcement of a new scheme to assist them that their mortgage had been sold to a vulture fund.
Faced with a choice between paying for repair work to save his home from being condemned and keeping up his monthly mortgage payments, Karl Murtagh (42) decided to get the construction work done and is now €20,000 in arrears.
The bank agreed to allow Murtagh to pay interest only on his mortgage for a short period but when this expired he was required to pay the full amount.
In September, he received a letter from Ulster Bank informing him that his loan has been transferred to a vulture fund.
The letter stated that the review which led to the sale of Murtagh’s mortgage was part of the bank’s “continuing strategy to create a strong and sustainable bank for all our customers”.
Speaking on the Nine Till Noon Show, Mr. Murtagh says wants clarity as to where he stands:
His was just one of hundreds of home loans sold to the vulture fund by Ulster Bank.
Murtagh said there is still extensive deterioration in his home that urgently needs to be repaired.
He said the government needs to move quickly now before homes deteriorate beyond repair.
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