Irish property community reels from 29 suicides in 12 months

vivatifosi

Interesting but sad article from this week's Property Week looks at the human cost of the downturn on the property industry in Ireland

http://www.propertyweek.com/comment/irish-property-community-reels-from-29-suicides-in-last-12-months/5000968.article

The Irish Property Council, set up a year ago to represent the country’s builders, developers and investors, announced last month that at least 29 suicides could be directly linked to the country’s construction and property crisis, and that “dozens more” remain unreported.
“We are talking about people who invested in property, people who earned their livelihood from it,” says the council’s chairman, David Mellon. “They are now facing financial disaster, bankruptcy and destitution.”....

...Mellon predicts more suicides as Ireland struggles with the “suffocating despair” of a property crash. Developments have ground to a halt, and the International Monetary Fund has likened the crisis to “episodes of the most severe economic distress in post-World War II history”.

The article goes on to describe how it was easier/cheaper to get funding for deals if personal guarantees were given.

Very sad.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

The article goes on to describe how it was easier/cheaper to get funding for deals if personal guarantees were given.

Pretty awful if you've used your mum's house to support your business - mum loses her house and you're bankrupt.

vivatifosi

Generali wrote: »

Pretty awful if you've used your mum's house to support your business - mum loses her house and you're bankrupt.

Pretty much everything was used as a guarantee it would seem.

In a decade-long boom, borrowers personally pledged their family homes, artwork, race horses, holiday villas, cars, yachts, commercial properties – in fact any assets that were deemed worthy. Three-quarters of Ireland’s total €420bn bank debt is secured against property .

Its easy not to feel sorry for someone who may lose their yacht, but personal debt is a major problem. Often on here we focus on the numbers but not the human cost. It was interesting and horrific to see how people have chosen to end their lives because they don't see a way out. However what is the flip side?

Joan Burton, the opposition Labour party’s finance spokeswoman, agrees: “Developers have to face up to the fact that the Irish taxpayer is on the hook for up to €100bn. I do not think that any government can allow developers to walk away from their obligations to repay as much as they can. I just don’t think that is on.”

Scary

Bullfighter

I'm sure HAMISH_MCTAVISH will be along shortly to explain how this is great news for house price inflation.

leveller2911

Without wishing to sound harsh why is it so sad?....If someone like me who went to a Comprehensive School and came away with 2 O levels and 5 CSE,s could see the recession coming ,including the Housing boom and bust why is it these highly motivated,educated business people couldn't???.. The probable truth is they were either blinded by their own success or they thought they could build their way out of it.......Its a lesson to be learned but IMO not sad ...You put your hands in the fire time after time and sooner or later you'll get burned...

ILW

plenty of people lose jobs and businesses all the time. Why is it any worse for property speculators?

phil_b_2

leveller2911 wrote: »

?....If someone like me who went to a Comprehensive School and came away with 2 O levels and 5 CSE,s could see the recession coming ,including the Housing boom and bust why is it these highly motivated,educated business people couldn't???..

you must be a multi-millionaire from buying and selling at exactly the right times... Let me be the first to bow to your super-human forsight.

phil_b_2

ILW wrote: »

plenty of people lose jobs and businesses all the time. Why is it any worse for property speculators?

Where did anyone say it is 'worse' for property speculators?

I don't understand why people jump on the offensive when even a little bit of compassion is shown to victims of the property boom. They aren't the enemy.

chucknorris

phil_b wrote: »

Where did anyone say it is 'worse' for property speculators?

I don't understand why people jump on the offensive when even a little bit of compassion is shown to victims of the property boom. They aren't the enemy.

Well said, people seem to be forgetting that people are actually dead and additionally there will be mothers, fathers, sons and daughters grieving.

leveller2911

phil_b wrote: »

you must be a multi-millionaire from buying and selling at exactly the right times... Let me be the first to bow to your super-human forsight.

Actually you couldnt be more wrong.I am a FTB (soon,hopefully)..

The truth more like is Greed, greed, greed.People get very blinkered when making vast sums of profit for very little effort.The Celtic Tiger economy was all built on borrowed money, borrowing more money on the strength of their perceived increase in profits and values..

I seem to remember a fair few on this forum predicting the bubble bursting and TBH Phil It wasn't rocket science was it..

Gorgeous_George

Some people make money by hard work. Others by taking risks. Some by a combination of both.

When the risks turn sour, the effect can be simply overwhelming. Having boasted at dinner parties about how well you are doing, the sudden realisation that you are a plank must be devastating. A bit like how Rob Green must be feeling.

I hope people realise that there is more to life. Waking up to the birds singing or the sun shining is truely priceless.

GG