Signal for immediate regulation of loans, and especially those with mortgages first residenceRecommends the decision of the Supreme Court justifying asset managers in terms of their ability to act as trustees who have purchased bad loans and to proceed with auctions real estate. While this decision is nothing less than a confirmation of the practice that has in any case been applied so far under the Securitization Law, the lifting of expectations removes doubts on this issue, signaling the speedy repayment of these loans without any illusions.

The number of auctions after the “freeze”, which was in effect for a long period of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, increases and according to the data published by K, in 2022 it reached 52,595, of which 39,318 were implemented. The number of real estate auctioned (houses, shops, industrial facilities, land, etc.) that has been awarded is also increasing and reaches 9,001. Of these properties, 3,835 are residential, which is about three times more than in 2021 .

Thus, while auctions are intensifying, the tools to protect the first home are specific, and those in the category of vulnerable households should hurry to use them.

These tools are:

The decision of the Supreme Court gave the signal for immediate regulation of loans having a mortgage on the first residence.

1. Temporary program before the start of the work of the Agency for the purchase and lease of real estate. This is a program that was launched by the Ministry of Finance in September last year that allows someone who collects the characteristics of a vulnerable borrower to apply on a special platform set up at the Special Private Debt Secretariat to receive the appropriate certificate of a vulnerable household. With the issuance of the relevant certificate, the law suspends any enforcement measures, and the issuance of the certificate also opens the way for state subsidies for up to 15 months. That is how long it is estimated to take for the agency to be able to join vulnerable households, transferring their property, but retaining the opportunity to continue living in it in exchange for rent, which is also subsidized by the state. The loan installment, as well as the rent that the vulnerable debtor will subsequently have to pay, will be subsidized by the state in a maximum amount of 210 euros, depending on marital status and the number of protected members. To date, the number of applications on the platform to certify someone as vulnerable is 20,000, but this also includes borrowers who have informed loans. On the contrary, those who have overdue loans and accepted membership in the body, about 200 people.

2. An out-of-court mechanism, which the Ministry of Finance has announced will be introduced in such a way that it also covers debts owed to a single creditor. To date, no debtor can apply to an out-of-court mechanism if 90% of its total debt is owed to one financial institution, bank or fund. Thus, those who have only one debt to one institution, for example, are excluded. only one mortgage to be canceled, expanding the scope of the mechanism and providing another tool for those who want to pay off similar debts. For cases where the debt is larger, the extrajudicial mechanism is already working and allows them to be generally adjusted based on the income and financial situation of the debtor.

3. Settlement of debt on the basis of a bilateral agreement that the debtor concludes with a bank or management company. In this direction, from the end of April, a platform will be activated, on the basis of which all agreements will be carried out electronically for the purpose of control by both EGDIX and the Bank of Greece. As a safety cushion for more favorable conditions, a vulnerability certificate can be used, the use of which makes it easier for the debtor to obtain more favorable conditions in his negotiations with creditors.