Near second review, but have thoughts.

[LeFran]

Hi, near second review soon and will enter into year 3. My experiences and current thoughts are, 1) I wish I knew of an IVA before selling house to repay debts and then having to borrow again to meet demands of life, expenses and cost of living. 2) After nearly two years we only just seem to be getting back on our feet but this feels good although feel very poor compared to friends who have lovely houses, nice holidays, clothes etc. 3) The allowances are low bearing in mind two adults and 3 teenage children with expenses going up all the time and the children missing out on so much. By the time we have some money to give them what they want, they will be older and it will be too late. 4) Confusion of what will happen after IVA with regards to loan/mortgage applications (I've got a bad feeling about this as I reckon this will be with us forever no matter what the credit file says).5) Fear of bank account being closed at any time. 6) Although the stigma, maybe should have gone bankrupt. 7) Redundancy being taken away should this happen. Future job applications being turned down due to a credit check. 9) Future renting, where will we live if the estate agents do a credit check and refuse? Sorry for the negative thoughts although some of this could become reality. Bring on year 6!

[luluj]

Think positive !!! I am living proof ...life after an iva happens !

1) we moved from rented to mortgage property and now have high street mortgage rate ...use a broker like Ryan

2) i have been accepted for a barclaycard for emergencies .... we use it once or twice a month and pay the balance off each month

3) i have been approved for car finance with a normal apr%

4) we have leased a vehicle

5) holidays have happened ...2 abroad in 4 years since iva ended .... 1 in the UK

6) husband given up full time well paid job for self employment .... drop off £15k a year right now but the budgeting skills I learnt during the IVA have helped and i continue to use them everyday !

7) Christmas is all paid for ! Nieces and nephews get spoilt big style ....cos we can afford it now !

life is good in general ..more positives than negative!

[LeFran]

Excellent and positive example luluj, thanks and very happy things are going so well for you. I'll revisit your reply when I'm next thinking 'How the f did this happen'.

[llamedos]

Hi Lefran,

To try and respond to your points:

1) I wish I knew of an IVA before selling house to repay debts and then having to borrow again to meet demands of life, expenses and cost of living.

That's really sad to hear Hopefully you can find a silver lining in it somewhere


2) After nearly two years we only just seem to be getting back on our feet but this feels good although feel very poor compared to friends who have lovely houses, nice holidays, clothes etc.

You don't know what goes on behind closed doors - they might have a lovely house and a nice holiday but be in debt up to their eyeballs! Soon, you will be in a better position.


3) The allowances are low bearing in mind two adults and 3 teenage children with expenses going up all the time and the children missing out on so much. By the time we have some money to give them what they want, they will be older and it will be too late.

You need to make sure that your I/E is realistic - if your children are in adult sized clothes, make sure your budget reflects this (bearing in mind children's clothes are VAT free and so are cheaper than adult sizes) etc. While you can't live the life of riley on an IVA, you should still be able to live.


4) Confusion of what will happen after IVA with regards to loan/mortgage applications

Can't offer much in the way of advice on this one other than to say that there are companies who specialise in helping people get mortgages after an IVA... there are a couple who use this forum (Zebra rings a bell??)


5) Fear of bank account being closed at any time.

Did you not set up a new account before you started the IVA? The advice usually given is to open a new basic bank account before you start your IVA, particularly if any of your debts are with your bank (for me, I had overdraft, loan and credit card with a particular bank, so I opened a new current account with a different bank before I started the IVA process).


6) Although the stigma, maybe should have gone bankrupt.

Hard one - I often felt like this, but having come out the other side I know the IVA was the right choice for me.

7) Redundancy being taken away should this happen.

Fingers crossed it wont. If you do get made redundant, get in touch with your IVA company to have a new I/E Carried out.

Future job applications being turned down due to a credit check.

It's possible, but only if you are applying for jobs which specifically ask for a credit check. I have moved job twice, once to a retail establishment, and neither required a credit check.


9) Future renting, where will we live if the estate agents do a credit check and refuse?

There are always options - again, see Zebra and other companies.

Hopefully you will find that the IVA was the best option for you. I can totally empathise with the children side of things and not wanting them to miss out. Good luck with your journey.

[hubert]

Hi,

I've had similar thoughts in my IVA...

However, I second what someone already said on here. The "well-off" friends are, in many cases, only showing a facade of success hidden behind which is huge debt, particularly to credit cards.

[TzeKin]

You have 3 years to be concerned about No 4 on your list.That is time for the issues to iron itself out.

I advised you do not think too much about your other points....'every time when think of your future...you change it as you just influenced it by worrying about it now'.
Just chill...now that changes it too.

[baldy]

sometimes its very hard going when you see on the outside people/friends seemingly going on holidays, driving around in new cars etc and their lives look pretty nice.

BUT! although there are people in these positions there are still lots of people who will be up to their necks in debt to maintain that image.

I think sadly people in this world do judge people by what you drive what type of watch you wear and the clothes we dress in but most of us know behind all that there are still a lot of unhappy people.

Your IVA is giving you a life line to get your life/finances etc back on track and it will teach all of us how to be more prudent with our money in the future.

You will be DEBT FREE in a few years and there is a lot to be said for that.
I think it takes a lot of courage to admit we were in trouble with our debts and to do something about it which you have done. There will be people reading this site right now trying to decided what to do about their mounting debts.
Ive learnt that if anything happens that effects your finances during your IVA get on the phone to your IP and have a chat.

Ive sat at the table a few times thinking how the hell are we gonna deal with this but after a chat on the forum and a call to the IP things nearly always look better!!

I wish you luck in your journey and in sure like most of us will look back in the future(debt free) and be glad we made that choise.

Baldy

[susieq73]

I can understand each of your points. I for one am very proud that I faced up the Debt problems and didn't hide. Saying that only my partner knows of the IVA but he was very supportive and looking at the way we live now...it's worth it. I like the fact that everything we buy is paid for now, no credit. Even my partner has been lucky in receiving PPI and paying of his debts. So once my IVA is complete, we as a couple will be completely debt free. Luckily I rent and have no plans to buy a property so won't be concerned about trying to get a mortgage etc.

I'd say think nearer the end date of your future credit options - The lessons an IVA teaches is a very wise one!!

Good luck with the rest of your IVA.

[nonewdebt]

Britain is in high personal debt and nothing has changed since ivas went through the roof in 2006.
Stepchange a charity and said on BBC News, 8.3 billion plus debt at risk!
A working persons problem and not a jobless one.
There are ivas waiting to happen,those debt free now will be replaced by equal numbers applying for personal ivas.
Simply, put more IVA newbies are heading to this forum.....

[Foggy]

font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by nonewdebt

Britain is in high personal debt and nothing has changed since ivas went through the roof in 2006.
Stepchange a charity and said on BBC News, 8.3 billion plus debt at risk!
A working persons problem and not a jobless one.
There are ivas waiting to happen,those debt free now will be replaced by equal numbers applying for personal ivas.
Simply, put more IVA newbies are heading to this forum.....

I hope they are and get the gen before committing to the wrong firm or under any misaprehensions.

[LeFran]

Thanks for the information and advice everyone, it really is appreciated. I think I'm going through a bad spell as the temptation is to think what I could have done better and should have 'woken up' a lot earlier and therefore not be in this position along with now wanting a better life for my family. I guess the trick is to not think too much (the mind can be incredible but also destructive) and therefore try to be as positive as possible. At the end of the day our debts were not on fancy holidays, expensive clothes, nice cars, meals out, but just trying to get by on a day to day basis although the cost of living rapidly increasing but wages the same if not reduced. Things spiralled with credit on offer to give support, what a nightmare! Thanks again.

[nonewdebt]

If you been tuning in to the political broadcast from the parties,no one knows what to do about the dodgy economy in the UK.They can't grow it.Stunnted like a drawf.

If you believe Vince Cable about the need to raise taxes to clear the deficit then you can see things can only get worse on the 'standard of living' point.

Nick Clegg today emphatically blamed Labour for getting the UK into debt? Question,Who should people blame for getting themselves in debt? Or is it really the same thing.

Metaphorically,the bible story of Pharaohs dream interpreted as '7 years of glut and 7 years of famine' in Egypt
It is technically here now in the Eurozone.How long it will last I don't know.

[JJSIDE]

I am hoping to put some of your fears to rest. I completed my IVA in 2009 - I had 110K owing to a multitude of Banks and Credit card companies. Since completing my IVA I have 1. Applied for and been accepted for a couple of credit and charge cards from mainstream lenders (Nationwide and American Express), taken out a car lease with BMW Finance, rented a house where they did a credit check ( and that was before my IVA was off the register), got a job with a Major bank - again I was credit checked and I had to declare the IVA on the application form. I had 2 holidays this year - one to New York and the other to Italy. And btw - apart from the Car lease - I have absolutely zero balance on the Credit cards and have paid not a penny in interest since I got them nearly 5 years ago. But more importantly - I don't feel any stigma that I took out an IVA and I sleep a hell of a lot better these days knowing I am debt free! I hope that allows you to feel more positive! 5 years or even longer in an IVA seems like an age - but the end will come and I can assure that life will go on and you will be a lot happier!

[longroad2freedom]

What a great post JJSIDE.

[Goosed]

Great post JJSIDE,

Gives every single one of us in IVA`s a boost to see that eventually things can return to normal for us all...

Though what normal is I have forgotten, having spent probably half of my adult life in debt before taking out my IVA just over four years ago.

I don`t know what will happen when I reach the end of my IVA because I will definitely need a new car and my house is in need of a lot of repair work, inside and out...How I`ll fund all of this God only knows, but...to get to the end of my IVA first.