One in four people entering insolvency negotiations with creditors have voluntary surrendered their homes, a firm working in the sector said this morning.

Grant Thornton Debt Solutions, which operates as a personal insolvency practitioner (PIP), said before it submitted clients’ paperwork to the Insolvency Service of Irelandit engaged in pre-negotiations with creditors. In 80 per cent of cases it received approval in principle from stakeholders to do a deal.

As part of a personal insolvency arrangement, 25 per cent of the 20 cases dealt with so far opted for voluntary surrender of property. This effective returning of the keys to their properties to the bank, allowed debtors to leave behind unsustainable mortgages, GT Debt Solutions said.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/25-surrender-homes-voluntarily-in-debt-deals-1.1607914