The deadline has arrived for one Bodden Town man to vacate his home.
Cayman 27 first met with Gregory Watt earlier this month. He said Scotiabank foreclosed on his home, and get this: he was only around $3,000 in arrears. He’s said he’s holding his ground and fighting back in court.
It’s the final stand for 51-year old at his home in Northward.
In May, Mr. Watt was just 90 days behind on his mortgage, some $3,000 in arrears when Scotiabank went to foreclosure. Tuesday is the deadline to vacate his home.
“I’ve already submitted my writ against the bank, they have been served, I am awaiting a response from them to see how we proceed from here,” said Mr. Watt.
Mr. Watt told Cayman 27 some might call him naive, but he still has faith in the courts to bring justice.
“I have every confidence in the justice system and I do believe that justice will be served,” he said.
Since bringing his story to the public through Cayman 27 he has started a social media page to focus on the issue of foreclosures in Cayman.
“ and put it on social media, not to get attention, but to bring attention to the issue that is plaguing us,” said Mr. Watt.
He said through the page he’s heard from others in similar situations, adding even more anecdotal evidence to what statistics from CIREBA show in black and white. The foreclosure numbers topped 100 for both 2015 and 2016, at 116 and 113, respectively.
“To lose your house at $3,000 something in this day and age is really and truly,” Bodden Town MLA Chris Saunders told Mr. Watt Tuesday morning at the home. “It’s a failure of society.”
The freshman legislator told Cayman 27 he is determined to introduce what he calls a proper mortgage law next year.
“It is about us finding a balance in between the banks making a reasonable return on their investment, but also the same time, the consumer having some level of protection, and in this case the law is clearly lacking in terms of protecting the consumer…
As time runs out for Mr. Watt at his home he hopes his story can, at very least,be a catalyst for a change to the system.
“I really hope that a peaceful resolve could come out of this, and I trust that the bank will not continue to be proud and think that they are the titanic and that they cannot be sunk,” said Mr. Watt.
Mr. Watt told Cayman 27 Scotiabank has not made any effort to reach out to him in the wake of Cayman 27’s story tw0-and-a-half-weeks ago. As of late Tuesday afternoon he said no one from the bank has been by his home.
Scotiabank, for its part, told us due to customer confidentiality, they will not be making any statements..
Cayman 27 plans to include further coverage on Mr. Watt’s situation as well as Mr. Saunders’ plans to introduce a mortgage law in future news items.
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