Hi Robert An IVA is not something to be entered into lightly. The hard and fast rule is if you enter into an IVA but do not make the agreed payments then the IVA will fail. This means that your origional debt will still be owed and you may face bankruptcy. There may be instances where the repayment ...

Hi May Oliver is quite right, your creditor file will have a record of your IVA existing for 6 years from the date it was put in place. Given that the IVA is now settled you should not have much difficulty getting a mortgage. However, this will normally be through the adverse market as your credit f...

Scooby is half right. If you receive a pay increase of £2000, but your legitimate expenses increase by £500 as a result of this, then only £1500 will be available for the creditors. However, you must then expect to pay all of that £1500 to your creditors. ie The 50% rule will not normally apply to p...

Hi Teena If your partner is in an IVA, this in itself will not prevent him from getting a mortgage. The IVA will be recorded on his credit file and this will mean that his credit rating will be poor. However, there are many mortgage lenders who are willing to lend to people who have poor credit rati...

Hi Annie There has been some good advice already given here. If you are considering an IVA, you must normally have unsecurred debt of at least £12,000-£15,000; a disposable income of c£250 per month and a minimum of 3-4 creditors. The other thing you need to think about is property. Are you a home o...

Two important points have been highlighted here. Firstly regarding pensions. Over the past 12-18 months it has become quite usual for creditors to ask for payments into pension plans to be suspended for the duration of the IVA. As with everything in life, there will always be exceptions to this rule...

I think that Melanie is quite right. The way that IVAs are researched and presented is very important for them to be successful. This is not just in regard to getting the origional proposal accepted, but it is also in ensuring that they run their full course and the creditors do get the return they ...

Tammy's question raises an important point here If you are in an IVA and you can afford to pay more (either because your income has increased or your expenditures have reduced) then you will normally have to increase your monthly payments. This is generally an absolutely basic and standard clause wi...

Skippy The clause in your IVA has been added by your creditors to protect them against variations which will make them worse off. For example, they will take a dim view if in the 1st 24 months of your agreement, you say that you can no longer make your normal monthly contributions because of an incr...

Camiva & Skippy Going through the IVA process is not easy but as has already been said above, you have taken the first steps to a debt free life. You should feel pleased and proud of yourselves. Remember, being in an IVA not only resolves your debt problem. It will also help teach you how to keep to...

Hi Tammy The answers from Melanie and Oliver are quite right. You will certainly be able to borrow after your IVA has finished. However, I would caution against borrowing more money. If you have struggled with repayments in the past, then it is all to easy to get into the trap of debt once again. Be...