“The bank cheated me, I guaranteed my daughter 20% and I became homeless”: Mathilde’s tireless fight for home ownership

As much as Matilde Márquez tries not to think too much about it, she knows that soon she will receive an eviction order. has passed For the last 13 years, they have been fighting not to lose their homes He has lived in the Madrid neighborhood of Carabañal for more than four decades, but this time he finds it difficult to negotiate with the investment fund that bought it after his bank. Deutsche BankIt will be auctioned. During this time, his health suffered a significant decline, both mentally and physically: “It kills you in life,” he says.

Matilde, 64 years old, never really had things easy. She started working in a sewing workshop in her youth, and years later, when the business closed, she devoted herself to the cleaning industry. A lifetime’s work is now reflected in his worn hands. He says with great effort Infopay SpainHe bought a house and was able to pay off the mortgage in about ten years, so he never imagined he would lose it. However, in 2006, in the middle of the real estate bubble, he guaranteed 20% of the house his daughter bought because it was the only option. Deutsche Bank Provide you with a mortgage loan. Then she says, “I don’t think it’s a hoax.”

“At the bank they told me to keep quiet, the first payment on the loan was the one I guaranteed, but that wasn’t the case even though my daughter had paid off the seven-year mortgage until 2013,” he said. Explains. “I felt cheated and still feel that way to this day. Because no one told me that I am becoming a co-owner of my daughter’s house. We tried to pay the missing 20% ​​on my part, but the bank refused,” he says with anguish, while recalling that many families have experienced the same situation. “It’s bloody.”

Originally the mortgage payments were 700 Euros per month, but after the economic crisis broke out in 2008 with the continuous increase in Euribor, these monthly payments increased in just three years. They reached 1,600 euros, An amount her daughter couldn’t afford over time, much less when she lost her job. Although the two “did the impossible” to pay the bills – he gave his daughter part of the salary, the family paid them and they rented the house -, finally in 2013 Deutsche Bank He auctioned both the houses. After three years and many trials, the bank In the letter, he informed that their houses were acquired through investment funds Menorca Debt Holdings Dac, So their possibilities to negotiate social rent or other alternatives have practically disappeared.

“Negotiating with a vulture fund is very difficult and an eviction order does not take long to arrive. All they want is money, money, money. “The value of the two houses, almost 400,000 euros, is crazy,” laments Mathilde, adding that the whole process left a deep mark because it was depressing, and she had to retire early. 58 years old. “Now I’m going bald, and although I don’t want to think about it, I know the end is coming, I don’t know how it will end. “It’s terrible,” he adds, although despite everything, he still maintains a little hope.

Matilde, like many others who lost their homes after struggling to pay their mortgages after the bursting of the real estate bubble, was part of the decent housing movement. Specifically, it belongs Garapanchal Housing Union And while he admits this is where he’s aged in recent years, “it’s also where he’s given the courage to continue this fight.” “I’ve met amazing people, especially women, because the majority of assemblies are women, and that’s what keeps you going, otherwise I don’t know if I’d be here,” she says, though she remembers being there. Many committed suicide in Spain as a result of the evictions.

Meanwhile, Matilde and her daughter continue to live in the homes they bought, fearing an eviction order that could eventually leave them on the street, despite the government’s approval of a moratorium on mortgage evictions for borrowers. In vulnerable situations till May 15, 2028, As housing associations have condemned, evictions from homes without alternative housing continue daily. This is because of the economic impact requirements that must be authorized to disable them Very demanding And not all affected people can comply with them. Added further to this Discharge process It is not immediately suspended if the established requirements are met, but depends on the decision of the competent court.

According to the latest data from the General Committee of the Judiciary relating to the first quarter of 2024, a total of 5,443 Initiations or discharges is carried out for non-payment of rent, which is a 12% higher than the same quarter in 2023. With this increase, these types of discharges now represent 73% of procedures. On the other hand, proceeds from mortgage foreclosures rose 10.7% to 1,448, accounting for 19.5% of the total, while the remaining 533 were due to other causes.

The only thing Matilde was clear about was that she had no plans to leave the house she had worked so hard to buy, the house she had spent almost her entire life in.