Insurers Test Data Profiles to Identify Risky Clients: Life insurers are testing an intensely personal new use for the vast dossiers of data being amassed about Americans: predicting people's longevity. State to take control of banks as fears deepen new onslaught: The current crisis will force the Government to inject hundreds of millions in new capital into the banks, leaving the State with majority ownership -- effectively nationalising AIB and Bank of Ireland. The drastic measures were seen as inevitable following a plunge in shares, negative market reaction to the bailout and a deepening crisis for the euro. €9.5m Donegal property development receives one bid at auction – for €5,000: Navenny Place, a 47-apartment complex, was withdrawn from auction this week after just one token bid of €5,000 – and that was after the auctioneer reduced the starting price to €300,000, or €6,383 per flat Lisa O'Carroll in Dublin Upmarket Donegal apartments withdrawn from auction as angry contractors protest about unpaid bills It was the story of Ireland's boom and bust in a nutshell: a newly built apartment block near the windswept coast of far-flung Donegal, once valued at €9.5m, was selling for €500,000 (£425,000). But now, it seems, it's not even worth that. Navenny Place, a 47-apartment complex, was withdrawn from auction this week after just one token bid of €5,000 – and that was after the auctioneer reduced the starting price to €300,000, or €6,383 per flat. The apartments are situated on the edge of Ballybofey, a pretty town in the heart of Donegal, and are described by the estate agent as "architecturally superior", akin "to the type of property found in London's Docklands", with spectacular beaches and the wilderness of Glenveagh National Park 35 minutes away. They were aimed at young, upwardly mobile singles and couples, who in the boom years would have easily got a mortgage of up to seven or eight times their salary. But they were put up for auction as one lot by Patrick McDermott, a receiver appointed by Ulster Bank, after the developer went bust. The auction seemed doomed from the start, as a crowd of about 100 builders and subcontractors gathered outside the hotel where the sale was taking place to protest about the €900,000 they say they are owed by the developer. There were angry exchanges, with calls to boycott Ulster Bank and veiled threats that anyone who did buy the building would have to deal with those left out of pocket. More than 20 contractors who are owed money say they have been "hung out to dry", fearing they will not get paid and that any purchaser will be allowed to take the development on debt-free. One builder, Dessie McFeeley, said it was not good enough for the auctioneer to say he was just doing his job. Today, the decision was taken not to abandon the auction process and try to sell the block privately. Since the story of the lack of bidders reached the media, the phone "hasn't stopped hopping," said the estate agent. "We've had one inquiry this morning from England and the guy is flying over on Saturday morning for a view. He's originally from Northern Ireland but now lives in the Midlands and is in the building trade," said Dean Spencer of Sherry FitzGerald Rainey. "In the good times we would have sold the apartments for between €200,000 and €250,000 apiece, so even with the lower figure you're looking at a price of €9.4m," he added. The block would have cost about €4m to build so far, and any buyer will have to spend another €1.5m as the units are only half-complete. The structure is sound, according to Spencer, and the wiring is done, but there are no fittings such as electrical sockets, floors, kitchens or bathrooms. It is a story that is repeated throughout Ireland as banks try and sell half-built properties in "ghost estates" in a bid to recoup billions of euros lent to fuel a property boom. But the signs are not propitious: "You just won't get funds to complete buildings from any bank because nothing is selling," said an executive who heads up the recovery unit in an accountancy practice in Dublin. Danny Gallagher, a director of Navenny Developments, the firm responsible for the apartment block, told reporters he had "lost everything" and "a lot of people were going to the wall because of what had happened."€9.5m Donegal property development receives one bid at auction – for €5,000
Sunday, 28 November 2010
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