www.iva.co.uk

Hello very new to this - I need advice- I am in debts of nearly £20000 but i own a flat - my income has gone down and worried- if i apply for iva- would they take my flat in any case.

Hi Zak16 and welcome to the forum.

If you were to have an IVA approved you wouldn't lose your flat but you would be required to release equity in year 4 by remortgaging.

Hi
The remortgage would also be down to affordability and the most that you would have to borrow is 80% LTV, with the cost of the extra mortgage payments not exceeding 50% of your IVA payment at the time.
An IVA allows you to keep control of your property, unlike bankruptcy
Regards

Hi there Zak 16 and welcome to the forum.

The best advice i can give you is to have a look on IVA.com read the reviews of the Companies listed and contact a couple of the companies by telephone to go through your personal circumstances with them to give you full advice (free) as to the best solution for you through your present difficulties.

If i can be of any further help, please feel free to post any queries. We're all here ready to help

Melanie

Hi Zak.
It is difficult to answer your question without a bit more information. If there is substantial equity in the flat then an IVA would not be the correct option as you could remortgage or sell to clear the debts. If there is little or no equity then an IVA may be the way forward.

However, regardless of the level of equity, if creditors believe that you cannot afford the flat or it would be much cheaper to rent, then they can demand a sale as a condition for acceptance of your IVA. This normally happens when there is a mortgage and at least one secured loan and the monthly cost of the flat is excessive in relation to what you earn.

In essence creditors do not set out to punish people in IVAs but they try and get the best possible return. Everyone needs to live somewhere and it is quite rare for people to lose their homes in an IVA.