I have a son and have concerns over our future

[sossageking]

I have a lot of debt from credit cards and a loan secured on our property for quite a lot of money around (£50,000). My bank account is overdrawn every month and usually goes over the overdraft limit, and every month is a struggle. I have a son and have concerns over our future. Is an IVA a solution to my problems ?

[MelanieGiles]

Hi russellc

An IVA might be a possible solution for you, but will only deal with the claims of unsecured creditors. You will need to continue to make the payments to your secured creditors, who have proprietory rights over your property and will need to continue to be repaid to avoid possessory action being taken against your home.

You should work out the extent of your unsecured debts, and calculate your disposable income by adding up your income into the household, including child benefit and maintenance (if any) and deducting your usual monthly expenditure before repayments to unsecured creditors. Make sure you also make some provision for contingencies ie car and house maintenance, medical expenses, miscellaneous expenditure etc.

When this information is available, I can then advise you further. It may also be sensible to see if you could consolidate your mortgage and secured loan, to avail of lower monthly repayments. What is your house worth, and how much do you owe on your mortgage?

I'm here until midnight, so don't hesitate to post more if you can.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
View my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[Welsh Boy]

Russell

In answer to your question an IVA may be the answer but it would depend on a few more factors, when you say you have a large loan secured on your property, what is the actual breakdown of the financial position, how much is the property worth and how much is secured against it in total? The finite details of an IVA would be advised by an IP.There may be scope to repay your debts by re structuring your mortgage/secured lending. Hope this is of help.