Hello everyone, neil35 here under the new guise of neilv35. Largely due to some it problems I have had to re-register as my previous Email account went a bit wrong and I'd foolishly forgotten my password to access the site.
Anyway, the latest is that I have had the house re-valued and am awaiting the results. Its taken over a month so far and having jumped through all the hoops and passed all the tests regarding affordability HSBC have withdrawn any mortgage products with a higher than 75% LTV. Now whilst I have had the valuer's results yet, seeing as I was borrowing 75% ltv against the price I paid last year its doubtful that it will be valued the same now. My best guess based upon Halifax house price indeces is that I'm looking at an 85-90% LTV so whilst still affordable I'm expecting to be rejected due to the perceived increased lender risk.
So, I do not expect to be able to take charge of my finances as originally anticipated by releasing equity to make the unsecured debt more affordable and pay it all off.
The irony is that even after factoring the Halifax price indeces price drops, I still have over 50K equity in the property and only owe a total of 45K - you'd think there'd be a simple solution to wipe out the debt by releasing the value of my assets...
Anyway I'll let you know what comes out of my discussions with HSBC, however unless there's an affordable 90% mortgage deal to be had out there somewhere it looks like I too will shortly venture down the IVA route...
Not good news Neil, it does seem a shame that you can't release that money to put you back on the right track without having to resort to an IVA.
Fingers crossed that HSBC come back with good news, but it does seem unlikely.
Keep us informed.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Yes, it is especially infuriating when they originally told me that I would not need to have a valuation done as the last one was less than a year old (at the time) and I was looking to borrow 75% of that LTV. Now its closer to 85% LTV (poss 90% LTV) and I'va had to have it valued despite what they originally said they are less likely to lend the money which gives them the best chance of recovering 100p in the £! Talk about cutting nose off to spite face!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
I must admit, that there a re a number of people who would happily point the finger at me and say I've been irresponsible, that its all my fault and that I shouldn't complain about it now - and to an extent they are correct. Yes I have been irresponsible as regards my spending, and yes I must shoulder that responsibility and blame. However, I am looking at options which will enable me to pay back 100% of the borrowing with interest and still provide for my family which is surely the responsible thing to do now. and yet it seems I am to be frustrated at every turn leading me to the stage where I can no longer afford to service the debts in their current form and alternative must be explored which will ultimately yield a lower return. there is no sense in the bank pushing me down this route, especially as they can see my finacial situation - they have all the details!
Rant over.
Now the reality of the situation. What is really important to me is the preservation of the home I provide for my family, which includes my wife my child and my mother. As I understand it an IVA offers just that, no need to worry about the equity release clause because I can't release the equity I have now so its all about the disposable income, can anyone provide any help as to how I should calculate my expenditure in order to ascertain how much disposable income I've got?
Don't worry about the rant, I totally know where you are coming from!
As regards the expenditure. You need to make a list of everything you spend on each month, starting with priority debts.
Whatever is left is the disposable income.
Don't forget that you may not be allowed to have everything you put down, or you may need to pare the costs down a little. You can have a life, but not too much of one!!!!!!!!!
Even though you can't release any equity now, you will still find that the equity release clause will be in the IVA. If you are not able to release any, then usually the IVA continues for another year.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
I would recommend you click on one of the IP links 'if you would like me to propose etc'
There is a free debt analyser which you can then use, and when submitted someone will probably ring and discuss - it worked for me, and there's no committment at all.
I didn't have a clue what I was spending on the basics of life which is probably how I got in the mess I was in. If I hadn't had help with the generally accepted allowances I would be dead from starvation by now - because I would have erred on the side of unrealistic frugality thinking 'whatever it takes to get out of this'.
There may yet be light at the end of the tunnel - I can't believe how much I just keep going up and then down then back up again... its almost too much to bear!
Anyway, spoke to HSBC, they've not had the results of the Valuation back yet to still waiting to hear - however they did confirm that they are willing to lend at upto 90% LTV but on a higher fixed rate than the lower tracker rate they originally offered. Now bearing in mind that having calculated the current value by using the Halifax index the additional borrowing I'm looking for is a fraction under 90% it might still be a winner. I have calculated the impact of the rate change and its £50 pcm - very minimla impact on affordability - so having resigned myself to an IVA I may yet be able to resolve my debt problems via my preferred option... but do I dare to hope!
Neil - a slight glimmer on the horizon! I do hope you can manage to do this, it would be great to get things sorted without an IVA.
Let us know as soon as you hear something.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
So do I... in a strange way I feel it would be better to go onto a fixed rate anyway because even though I wouldn't benefit from the current low rate in the short term it would protect me from the inevitable rate rises later on guaranteeing the affordability. Then in 3 and a half years when I've cleared my unsecured loan there'd be an increase in disposable income that can cushion me against rate changes when I exit the fixed rate period... it seems too good to be true...
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Got call from HSBC. Valuation has come in at £200K so dropped by £25K in last 12 months.
Current mortgage is £137700 leaving 62K equity. My total debt is £45K.
Unfortunately the tracker rate previously offered is for a max LTV of 75% and my LTV after the valuation is now 85%. They can still offer the remortgage but at a slightly higher fixed rate (for 2 years) of 6.79%. However although it is significantly higher than the tracker rate they previously offered it is still significanly lower than the 11.9-17.9% I am paying on the same level of debt on credit cards etc.
It will reduce my monthly debt repayments outgoings from £1400 pcm to £600 pcm - an £800 saving.
So far so good. Now for the bad news, ther fixed rate deal - which is the only deal they offer for LTV's over 75% - carries a fee of £999.
But after 1 month I'll have recovered most of that, certainly after 2. In 3.5 years the loan is paid off reducing the payments by another £400 for a total £1200 per month saving within 3.5 years and zero unsecured debt.
HSBC are working up a new offer based on this (and assuming the extra £50 per month doesn't push me over the edge in terms of affordability) and I'll let you know where I go from here...
I might actually be getting somewhere, such an incredible high after the lows of yesterday... but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much because it could all still go wrong. Will keep in touch...
Look forward to hearing that you've sorted everything out.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
First the good, HSBC are ok to lend the money for the new mortgage on a fixed rate basis for an 85% LTV. Better still they have agreed a more competitive fixed rate than they were discussing before so as to ensure I keep my mortgage with them.
Unfortunately because of a switch from a non fee paying application to a fee paying application they need me to fill out a new application and then they can produce the new offer document. They do however assure me that it is all approved and that this is but a formality and indded with a fair wind the funds could be in the account by the end of next week.
So far so good.
Now for the bad.
There is a small risk that I might be made redundant. Nothing has been confirmed yet and if it were to happen it won't be for at least another 6 months. I have been assured by my manager's that I'll be ok and that there's nothing to worry about, but I am and do worry. Having got so close to resolving my debt crisis without an IVA I may find myself unavble to service the debts, pay the mortgage or anything else - and then I lose everything.
the only positive I can draw from thie negative at the moment is that having just spent the night in hospital with my 20 month old son, I have come to reaslise that even if the worst happened and I lost my job, lost my house and had to go bankrupt - none of that matters as much as the health and well being of your family. So my thanks to the staff at the hospital for taking care of my son, and my thanks for showing me what truly matters - people not money.
Neil, I'm so sorry to hear that your son has been ill, and I hope he is fully recovered now. It's awful isn't it? We had the same with our daughter when she was one and it's very worrying.
I do hope that your redundancy doesn't happen, hopefully your manager is right.
Good news about the mortgage, are you going to take them up on it? At least your unsecured debts would be out of the way.
Keep us posted as to how you are getting on.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
