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Farmer Hugh Reynolds is continuing to battle the proposed forced sale of his land.
The Westmeath man first contacted the Irish Farmers Journal in 2018, when so-called vulture fund Cerberus advertised the 44ac farm near Coole for sale through the online auction site Bid X1.
The land is now being auctioned for €140,000 on Wednesday 10 June and is advertised as being an “ideal location for a one-off house subject to planning,” by Wilsons Auctioneers.
Hugh Reynolds told this newspaper that he has not been contacted about the sale and renewed interest in the farm.
“They have it up for only around €3,000ac,” Reynolds told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“I’m trying to get it stopped at the minute, I’m not sure what to do. It’s crazy the money they have it up for. I’d just be afraid that if they got a bid at all it would be gone.”
The land was previously advertised with a guide price of €5,000/ac by BidX1, but the Reynolds family believes the auctioneer backed out after media scrutiny.
“I never heard a word from them until I saw it on the internet,” Hugh Reynolds said.
“It’s a wonder in the middle of the pandemic that they’d think of it.”
More protection under act
Separately, there is good news for farmers whose homes may be facing repossession. Dr Padraic Kenna, senior lecturer at the School of Law in NUIG says that farmers and other homeowners now have more protection under the new Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Act 2019, as it allows courts a wider discretion to take more “proportionality” into account.
Research carried out by Dr Kenna also found that vulture funds take one-third of repossession cases, while banks are the most active to pursue home possessions.
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