I know very little about IVAs and bankruptcy etc but have found myself in the position where I may, possibly, want to consider the former if it is not too damaging.
A long story short, a failed relationship where i was left with all of the combined debt (plus a small previous debt of my own) has left me in debt by a total of around £17,000. i have got myself in to a position where I have taken other loans/credit cards etc to try and lower my costs but all I seem to be doing is extending the period of time I have to pay back.
I now have a new girlfriend and we live together in a rented property. she is a full time student so the main source of income is from me which is around £20,00 pa.
She is a very ambitous person and we obviously would like to consider mortages and a family in the next few years.
After all bills and debts are paid at the start of each month, I am left with little to 'play with' and I am starting to feel very inadequate and quite scared about the kind of life I am able to offer her. I am also very seriously considering getting a degree myself with the aim to start my own landscape architecture/gardening company.
My combined monthly repayments total around £450-£500 at the moment.
I am just looking to try and get some proffessional advise at the moment as to my situation i.e would we be better just trying to pay off this debt as we go, would these steps cause more issues with mortages, business etc...basically could I end up possibly holding us both back due to debt??
many thaks in advance for your thoughts and look forward to reading your advise and utilising your knowledge.
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum and a very familiar story - similar to my own actually. I had over £40000 credit card and loan debts. Never missed any payments but just "maxed up". Well, you've come to the right place and importantly recognised that things are getting out of hand. An IVA may be the right solution but best to discuss this in detail with a few recommended IVA firms on www.iva.com.
They will look at your situation in detail, income vs expenditure and each call may take up to 45 mins. Debt should not alone hold you back and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Best policy, hard that it is is to confront things, discuss with family and get support. Does your girlfriend know of your debts?. Is there anyone in your family that could assist you financially?. Keep us posted and good luck on whatever you decide to do.
Last edited by winter_blues on Mon Jul 21, 2014 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steve
IVA's are just as brutal as BR in credit rating terms, you'd be stuffed for six years for any hope of a mortgage, or any lending at all! 17k is a lot, but in IVA terms, not so. If you can manage to escape the gravity of the interest and eat into capital in a realistic timescale that's a path I would peruse.
Maybe a sit down chat with GF and hatch a plan, part-time work maybe, whatever it takes to find a way out rather than an IVA.
You may think I'm little anti IVA, not so having had one myself, and whilst they are a life saver they're also a life changer!
We have quite a few experts who post on this page. You can find their contact details in the ask experts a question section.
Hopefully they (or someone else) can talk you through the options you have. As the others have said, it is damaging to your credit history. But if you have little to play with now you may find it hard to get a mortgage with the debts anyway.
There is always a solution but take your time and keep firing away on here with questions.
If you can avoid a formal insolvency it would be best for you in the long run but if you cannot meet the payments you should consider some free advice. Consolidation may even be a possibility as it could reduce your monthly payments to an affordable level but if you do choose this option try and destroy your existing credit facilities [or at least do not use them] until the loan is repaid. Otherwise you could find yourself in greater debt.
