Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP)

Blank

The most important step is to talk to us as early as possible, whether you are having trouble meeting mortgage repayments now or are worried that you may have trouble in the future. St. Canice’s Kilkenny Credit Union Limited has put in place a credit control team of professional and friendly staff to help our members in difficulty.

You can get in touch with the team through your local branch or through our Member Service Centre on 056 7722042. Our branch opening hours are available on our website www.stcanicescu.ie As soon as you can get in touch, we can begin to discuss your options. Please remember, throughout this process, to continue engaging with us, to keep all lines of communication open, ensuring all your contact details are correct and respond as quickly as you can to any of our letters and phone calls. This will help us to identify a possible solution for you in a timely and efficient manner.

In order to assist you, we will need to get up to date information about your income and expenditure. We will ask you to complete a Standard Financial Statement (SFS).
How can you receive your Standard Financial Statement Form?

• Download a copy at www.stcanicescu.ie
• Email info@stcanicescu.ie who will send you a copy
• Call our Member Service Centre on 056 7722042 who will send you a copy
• Visit any of our branches

You can then arrange to meet with a dedicated credit control team member,
who is specially trained to assist members in financial difficulties and will
guide you and provide assistance in completing the form and the next steps.
You may also need to provide additional documentation to support the
information in the Standard Financial Statement. This may include:

• Account statements from other Credit Unions (at least 3 months)
• Proof of Income (e.g., recent payslips, P60, social welfare receipts)
• Business accounts for self-employed

We reserve the right to ask for more information, where appropriate. It’s important that you fill out the SFS fully and accurately, making sure that the information provided is a full and honest disclosure. If you wish, you can get independent advice when completing the Standard Financial Statement, such as from your local Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABS) – see ‘Useful Contacts’ section.

We will use the information provided by you in the SFS to assess your individual situation on which the criteria for assessing requests for alternative measures will be based. Careful consideration will be given to the following:

• Your personal circumstances
• Your overall personal debt
• Your information provided in the SFS
• Your current ability to make repayments
• Your previous repayment history
• Any other relevant personal information.

Following the assessment stage, we will have a clear picture of your individual situation and whether it meets the criteria for any alternative repayment options or measures. A credit control team member will be in contact with you once the assessment has been completed to advise of the next steps. We are dedicated to finding an appropriate resolution for you, wherever possible. We have a number of arrangements or a combination of arrangements that may be available to you, depending on the outcome of our assessment in
Step 3 which fall into the below three categories:

a. Short Term Repayment Arrangements

Interest Only – This means that you will only pay the interest owed on your loan during this period and not the capital amount owed.

Reduced Repayment – This means you will pay a series of agreed repayments incorporating interest and some capital, which reduces the amount of your monthly repayments for a time.

Repayment Break – An arrangement to defer the payment of all or part of your mortgage repayment for an agreed period of time to ease the immediate financial pressure on you.

b. Long Term Repayment Arrangements

Extension of Loan Term – An arrangement to extend the term of the mortgage which could reduce your monthly repayments by spreading the amount owed over a longer period of time.

Capitalisation of the Arrears and Interest – An arrangement to restructure your repayments by spreading the amount of any arrears and interest over the remaining term of your mortgage

Changing the Type of the Mortgage – This means that you move to a different mortgage product that would reduce your monthly repayments.

Fixed Repayment – This means you will pay a series of agreed repayments incorporating interest and some capital, which reduces the amount of your monthly repayments for a time.

Low Fixed Interest Rate – An arrangement where a reduced fixed interest rate will be applied to your mortgage for a defined period of time. This means that you will make capital and interest repayments at a reduced interest rate that is affordable to you.

c. Other Options

Mortgage to Rent – This is a Government initiative to help homeowners who have engaged with the MARP process to remain in their existing property, but on a rental basis. Mortgage to rent allows you to voluntarily surrender your property to the lender. The lender sells the property to an Approved Housing Association (AHA) and you will remain in the property as Social Housing tenants of the AHA.

Negative Equity Trade Down – If your home is in negative equity, you may be able to sell this property and purchase a new property of a lower value. Any outstanding ‘negative equity’ is added to the new loan and secured on the new property. Full capital and interest repayments will be made on the new mortgage.

Voluntary Sale of your Property – This involves you selling your property to clear or reduce the balance of your mortgage. Where the balance can be cleared in full, revised terms may be agreed by the Credit Union, whilst the property is selling, to match your affordability. Where a shortfall exists (i.e. the property is sold for an amount lower than what is currently owed on the mortgage), the shortfall will be repayable under new terms agreed by the Credit Union.

Voluntary Surrender – This involves us selling the property on your behalf and assessing your ability towards repayment of the outstanding balance of your mortgage following the sale of the property.

The availability of the options outlined above have strict qualifying criteria with each case assessed on an individual case by case basis.

• If we decide to offer you an alternative repayment arrangement we will write to you setting out the terms and conditions of that arrangement. It’s very important that you fully understand the new arrangement before you go ahead with it. For this reason we recommend you get independent legal or financial advice (or both) before you make any decisions. If you, or your advisers, have any questions about the alternative repayment arrangement, contact us and we will be happy to discuss these with you.
• You should also be aware that, although an alternative repayment arrangement may reduce your home mortgage repayments, they will add to the overall cost of your mortgage over the term of the mortgage. Arrears on your mortgage will be reported to the Central Credit Register, as required by law, and to the Irish Credit Bureau. This may affect your future ability to borrow.
• You have the right to make a complaint at any time in relation to the treatment of your case under the MARP process or the Credit Unions compliance with the MARP process. Complaints can be made through various methods, for example, by telephone, in person through your local branch, in writing or by email.
• You have the right to appeal the decision in the event that:
  • – the Credit Union offers you an alternative repayment arrangement which you have declined and you have been advised in writing of other possible options that you may wish to consider.
  • – the Credit Union declines to offer you an alternative repayment arrangement
  • – the Credit Union classifies you as not co-operating You must write to us within 20 business days of receiving a letter from the Credit Union in relation to one of the above scenarios.
• We will review your situation regularly to ensure that you are on the most appropriate arrangement for your circumstances. You are required to tell us if your ability to repay your mortgage changes at any time, whether it improves or where you are unable to make the agreed repayments. This will allow us to make a timely and informed decision about the most appropriate way forward in light of your new situation.
• If you have purchased payment protection insurance in relation to your mortgage account and have subsequently gone into arrears you may wish to make a claim on that policy.
• All members must co-operate with MARP. The Credit Union may commence legal proceedings for repossession of the property immediately after classifying a member as not co-operating. Please see the section in relation to the definition of not co-operating.

St. Canice’s Kilkenny Credit Union Limited has a Communications Policy for members in mortgage difficulties which governs all communication between the Credit Union and members that are in financial difficulty or at risk of going into financial difficulties with their MARP protected mortgage.

• The Credit Union commits to communicating promptly and clearly with members to establish reasons for their financial difficulty.
• The Credit Union will communicate with members in an open and transparent manner and in a manner that is proportionate and not excessive, taking into account the position of their mortgage and their previous conduct.
• Communications with members will be resolution focussed and conducted in a timely and professional manner.
• The Credit Union commits to act with the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, honesty and fairness in dealing with its members.

Where an alternative repayment arrangement, or an option, other than an alternative repayment arrangement is being proposed to you by the Credit Union, you may be required to enter into a confidentiality, non-disclosure or other similar agreement. This agreement obliges you to keep confidential the existence and terms of the proposal and/or the fact that discussions and/or negotiations are taking place between the Credit Union and you and/or the scope and terms of such discussions/negotiations(Information).
You may not disclose this Information to any third party except to your advisors, agents, employees and/or directors and you are obliged to ensure that such persons also keep the information confidential.