News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

The offer relates to three different properties in Letterkenny and Milford.

“There is absolutely no catch: you buy one and you get the house next door free.

“These are not houses on a ghost estate – far from it.

“We think it’s a really good deal and the idea is to get the last of houses on established residential estates sold,” he said.

“We have houses in two different estates in Letterkenny and one in Milford which are the last houses on each estate.

“If we can sell the houses we can move on to the next estate and try and keep things going,” he added.
The properties are three-bedroom semi-detached houses that are almost finished.

Some of the houses have kitchens and fireplaces fitted.

Another house in Letterkenny has also been put on the market for €120,000 and the house next door has been thrown in for free.

Mr McGlynn says the houses are a perfect opportunity for young people to get on the housing ladder.
He also says the offer is an attempt to fill up vacant houses on the estates.

“There is nothing worse than seeing a few vacant houses on an estate when the rest of the area is looking well and people are living happily together.

“It brings the tone of the area down and [to avoid] that is part of the idea for doing this offer.

“Even if two young families come together, this could be the perfect opportunity for two young families.

“People are finding it difficult to get money but people don’t need a huge amount of a deposit to get a house – or even two,” he said.
 (Source: Irish Times)

Down

A High Court judge has ruled that a County Down woman has the right to half the equity in a house despite not being the registered owner.

The case concerned the sub-prime lender Swift Advances which is repossessing the house in Warrenpoint.

Swift claimed that the woman had no legal stake in the house.

However, a judge ruled that she, in fact, owned half the house and had not been told by her partner that he had re-mortgaged it with Swift.

Swift had hoped to repossess the home without considering her interests.

The judge has ordered that the house be sold and the original mortgage paid off. The remaining proceeds will have to be split between Swift and the woman.

The Swift borrower was a man who had an address at Carrogs Road in Warrenpoint.

The court heard how in 2006 the company gave him a £36,000 second mortgage on the property which was already in arrears on the original mortgage. The interest rate was 12%.

Within a year Swift had secured a repossession order.

However, in September 2009, as the repossession became imminent, his partner applied to the court to have it blocked.

She said he had only just told her that the house was on the verge of being repossessed.
(Source: BBC News)

Dublin

Irish police were forced to use a Taser gun to subdue a man who was armed with a knife when he threatened and lunged at officers.

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Nster.com