Not good news

[Trickles]

I really don't know what to do. Our creditors are meeting today and it is not looking good. Our IP has been on the phone this morning and has told us that the creditors have told us we have to sell our caravan, which is on HP. My husband works away from home and stays in the caravan whilst working, which also incurs sitee fees. If we have to sell the caravan then he will have to give up his job. We do own our own property, but there is no equity in it. I really don't know what to do, I feel so helpless and alone. My hubby feels just as bad. I know we can't blame anyone else for our situation and I know that there are other people that are worse off then us, but I can't see what choices we have left other then to go bankrupt.

[ianmillington]

Is your IP aware of why the caravan is needed and, very importantly, is it stated in the proposal?

To give us some idea of what you might best do next,
how much is your caravan worth?
how much do you owe the finance company?
how much HP are you paying?
How much are your IVA contributions?

Ian

[Trickles]

Hello Ian, thank you for responding. Yes our IP was aware of the caravan and the reason why we had it. We also told them about site fees and yes it was written in the proposal. I know some may look upon this as an luxury, but if hubby had to go and find digs then the cost would propably be more. My hubby is on his way home as he is sick with worry and is unable to concentrate on working. We have asked if our IP would ask our creditors if we were to sell the house and the caravan then I would give up my current job and perhaps we can try and rent somewhere nearer his work place as we would not get another mortgage. I really don't know what else to do. If we went with another IP the problem will not go away, as it is the creditors that will not except the caravan and site fees. My hubby has put the question to the IP about selling the house and moving into rented and is waiting a reply. I just hope we get some positive news somewhere along the line.

[Trickles]

Sorry Ian, I'm in such a state that I missed some questions off on your reply. We are paying the finance company £249 per month, when we renewed our insurance recently the caravan was valued at 10K. I don't know what is owing to the finance company, but we have been paying for 25 months over a 60 month period, we originally borrowed 10k for buy the caravan.

[Trickles]

Oh and our IVA contribution was worked out at £365 per month. It was build in the IVA that when the payments have finished with the caravan the IVA payments would increase.

[chris.g]

Sorry to hear this is happening Trickles. Without sounding pro-br, as there is little/no equity in your property could this not be an option for you if the proposal is refused?
Try not to worry too much,
xx

[Trickles]

Thank Chris. Yes I suppose this could be our only option. I just don't know how long the creditors will wait. Our house would probably not sell quickly (the housing market hasn't helped) and we would probably end up getting just enough money to clear our mortgage.

[ianmillington]

OK, I can see where the creditors are coming from on this one. Would I be right in assuming that the site fees will probably be in the order of £100-£150 per month and so the creditors perceive (up to) a potential £400 per month coming into the IVA if you ditch it?

Something else (that you probably already know) is that a static caravan is generally quite hard to get rid of for a decent price, so I suspect there might be negative equity in it. I assume the finance company is aware of the IVA proposal?

Clearly you need to take advice from your IP and I would recommend you go for an adjournment to enable you to weigh up the various options. You need to have it very clear in your minds as to how far you are prepared to go to do an IVA. If to do so involves sale of your house, then you have to ask the question as to whether it's all worth it and whether you should go bankrupt instead.

Ian

[chris.g]

There are in certain circumstance times when you can retain a house if it is in neg equity. Or you have already mentioned about relocating, the house could be included in the br and voluntarily handed back to the mortgage supplier. Any shortfall on the mortgage and any secured credit on the house would be included in the br.
I'm by no way an expert but please don't think that IVA is your last option. Your proposal hasn't been rejected yet so there is still a chance of an IVA for you,
xx

[Trickles]

Thanks for the information. Insistently Ian, I wasn't clear, but the caravan is not a static is a touring van. Our problem is if we ditch the caravan hubby will have to change his job and then that would put our mortgage in jeapardy as he would not be able to earn enough from home to pay the mortgage and the bills. At the moment I pay all the demostic bills and hubby pays the morgage, food bill and also site fees. Hubby is driving home as we speak so that we can try and sort out what our next move is - after we've both had a good cry!

[ianmillington]

Shows how dangerous it can be to make assumptions! Apologies, although I don't think it affects the validity of everything else.

Which creditor (or more correctly creditors representative) is requiring the sale? Has your IP attempted to put the business case forward as it would not be the first time that a creditor misunderstood the proposal or, at least, certain provisions in it. It certainly does seem that the right thing to do today is to adjourn whilst you weigh up your options and see if your IP can turn this round for you, if possible.

Ian

[Trickles]

Its HSBC and also Halifax that are requesting the sale of the van. Aparently, our IP has attempted to put the business case forward and will be ring us at 4.30 this afternoon due to the fact that hubby is driving home and I can be home at that time as well. That way we can sit and discuss options our IP comes up with and hopefully get a result one way or another. At the moment I can't see any lights at the end of the tunnel - everything seems really black.

[ianmillington]

OK so that means The Insolvency Exchange (or "TiX").

It is one thing to require sale of the caravan if you just use it for leisure purposes but quite another if it is your husbands accommodation in the working week. To get it into perspective, how much would it cost your husband to stay in a B&B instead?

Ian

[Trickles]

No really sure, as we've never had to go down this avenue before. The caravan was useful because it provided accommodation for myself when I spent weekends with hubby whilse he was working also giving me the oportunity to visit family. Hubby works what they class as unsocial hours (he works mainly at night), but you are probably looking at least £15 a nite for B&B in the Guildford/London area, which would work out at £105 per wk, whereas the site fees are £85 per week.

[ianmillington]

So on what you say by not staying at a B&B it saves about £20 per week, but it's at a cost of £249 a month for the HP? On that basis I imagine your IP may struggle to make a business case for retention of the caravan, I'm afraid.

The only other thing that might work is to offer an extension of the IVA although I'm always reluctant to advocate doing this due to the risk of setting a dangerous precedent, and the potential for the IVA to be seen as a form of punishment.

Ian