Oct 7, 2011 - 20:05

The Keane Report

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The Keane Report is due for publication shortly; recently leaked documents suggest that the following ideas will form a central theme to the suggested policies:

Homeowners who can no longer pay the mortgage could negotiate with their lenders to hand back the property but remain on as tenants.
Banks who repossess homes will then lease them to local authorities to deal with housing shortages.
The timeframe to get discharged from bankruptcy to be cut from up to 20 years to just three years.
People facing bankruptcy will be offered a "non-judicial" route -- meaning they won't have to go through the courts in all cases.
The Money Advice and Budgeting Service will be beefed up with hundreds of "front-line" financial advisers who will deal exclusively with distressed mortgage holders.

The IMF pushed for this bill – which must be put before the Dàil by the end of March 2012, it is unfortunate that we nationally lacked the foresight to have this legislation in place already.
What works in other countries – and has been proven to work as opposed to being a 'proposition', is that Debt Mediation is a regulated activity, no further Governmental organizations required (such as a 'beefed up MABS').
What also works is a non-judicial option, but this must amount to personal examiner-ship and have enforcement backing or it will be disregarded by banks and creditors generally.
There are almost 100,000 people on the housing list, any evictees potentially end up on that list so the idea of renting back properties or giving them to local authorities does hold merit, but we are not settling arrears issues in this manner generally, instead opting for an endless “delay & pray”.
This coming Monday there will be the follow up documentary to Further Shock called 'Property Crash, Where to Now?' it will make for some very compelling viewing. For now we will need to see what the Keane Report suggests in full and also the appetite the Department of Justice has for enacting it or going beyond the recommendations.
Of course, we love to hear what you think the solution would be. So today we ask that you give two or three ideas that you think might help make the situation with arrears/debt/property any better in the future?