Bank blocks successful YouTube house sale

Distraught homeowner slams bank over lost sale

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

8 Comments

Raheengraney House

Tweet

The Irishwoman who sold her house on YouTube has had her dreams shattered – by the very bank who overvalued it in the first place.

Bank of Scotland in Ireland have told divorced mother of two, Jillian Godsil, that they will not agree to the €500,000 cash deal she has agreed with an English buyer, after he saw it on You Tube.

Instead, they have told her she will have to stump up the €900,000 she still owes them on a house they valued at €1.6million at the height of the Irish property boom.

Godsil contacted Irish Central to highlight the story after the Bank informed her in writing that her successful YouTube sales campaign – which attracted over 13,000 hits – was not acceptable to them.

“I have just received a letter from the bank telling me that they are refusing to agree to the sale,” the distraught PR executive and author told Irish Central.

“They say instead that they are entitled to recover the full amount of the debt from me. I don’t understand and I am very, very upset.”

Now living in a rented cottage with her two teenage daughters, Godsil bought Raheengraney House in Shillelagh, County Wicklow, with her then husband for just €130,000 in the late 1990s.

The pair spent over €400,000 renovating the period mansion in the heart of the Garden County then remortgaged it with Bank of Scotland based on a valuation of €1.6million.

First put on the market in 2007, when a bid of €1.1million failed to close, the restored property managed only a €400,000 offer last year before Godsil sought YouTube’s help.

An English buyer liked what he saw and came up with the €500,000 cash offer which was good enough for Jillian but not for her bankers.

“This begs the question – if they were the professionals and they valued the house at €1.6 million and they lent me the money, how come they are now allowed to blame me for borrowing the money against a flawed valuation?” she asked.

“It is not debt forgiveness – I have given back the house. I don’t live there. I don’t have any money. I have no earthly means of repaying that mortgage.

“How come the big bankers can get away with their debts and the small people are penalized to the end of the world for theirs?

“I don’t understand and am very upset. They want to pursue me for the full amount although they know I have no money.

“The solicitor who did my affidavit of means refused to charge me as he could see I had nothing – only debts.

“The bank valued it at €1.6m at one stage and now it is only worth €500,000. And then when I get a cash offer – they decide to refuse it and come after me instead.”

Print

E-mail

Tweet