Hello, I use to be in a IVA

[James Falla]

I fully agree that question of whether to declare yourself bankrupt or do an IVA is individual and personal. What is right for one is not right for another. However if you have no property to protect and are on a low income I would always recommend that you weigh up the two properly. An IVA is not a walk in the park and if your income falls further then it may be put at risk which would not have been the case had you declared yourself bankrupt.

[kallis3]

I agree James, if I was on low income then it is something I would consider.

No debt solution should be entered into without weighing up the pros and cons for all and seeking professional advice.

Unfortunately, by the time a lot of people find this forum (myself included) they've probably already gone with the first company that they speak to.

[Skippy]

That's what I did Jan and to be honest if I'd found this forum at the start I think I would have gone BR from day one as I never really had enough money for an IVA as this was back in the days where 25p in the pound was usually a minimum.

[kallis3]

Pretty much the same here although to be fair, our company has been fine so far.

We see so many horror stories on here - I wished we could reach more people than we already do.

[back on track]

my thoughts are that br is right if you do not own a property and in my case that was priority,to preserve the family home.i did not want to chuck in the towel as such with my debts just to be able to get back on top of them again as it seemed we never would the way we was going.i like the idea of a bail out(which is what an iva is)and being able to payback a good proportion of the money i owed.it is hard but i was not expecting a rose petal covered path.3 years in and the donkey work is behind me and its getting nearer and nearer to the end.the beginning is the worst bit getting everything together and when it does start not knowing how things are going to be.which is where this site fills a massive black hole of the understanding of the detail thats an iva.each to there own but theres no wrong way when you decide to confront your debt. end chapter 1 [:D]

[Jim978]

I would like to point out that with regards to a credit search if you have been in a IVA you are treated no different if you went BR, you will find this for your self if you try and als my financial adviser as confirmed this

[ginger3232]

Again - its up to the individual to find the option for them - however there are some job which to DONT allow Bankruptcy, and DMP /IVA are the only availible options.

Although future creditors may see IVA /Bankruptcy the same - there are not! and you can truthfully answer "have you ever been Bankrupt" question - with a NO.

[Jim978]

i dont dispute what you are saying, maybe you mis understand me, from my point if you go for a mortgage you are treated exactly the same as if you were BR

[ginger3232]

Unfortunately that the way some creditors group BR/IVA together - the mortgage question however is usually "have you in the last 6 years been in a formal repayment plan with any creditors" - this does cover all of the plans IVA/DMP/Bankruptcy.

[Shining]

I found the forum pre-IVA took the advice of the posters and almost 4 years in for my IVA and never regretted it for a minute, it's given me my life back.

Good to see you again by the way. x

[lem]

BR was and still is never an option for us, we have a home to protect and hubby, as the main wage earner, would lose his job, I am under no illusion that many if not most creditors treat bankruptcy the same as IVA when they look at future lending but c'est la vie, the decision we made was right for us and remains right for us, yes it would be nice to remortgage at some point in the future to get a better deal but as far as any other credit is concerned, I'm done with it anyway.

[kallis3]

Thankfully I'm never likely to need another mortgage - wouldn't get one because of our ages anyway.

There are some posters on here who have managed to get mortgages post IVA.