www.iva.co.uk

hi there, i have a lot of debt, some secured some not. Can anyone tell me if you lose your house and car if you take out an IVA? not quite sure how it all works.
What exactly happens.

many thanks.

Hi and welcome,

Unsecured debt can be captured by an IVA. Secured is taken into account when sorting out payments.

It all depends on your disposable income after your priority debts have been paid.

If you have a house, it is unlikely that you will lose it as long as you maintain mortgage and secured loans on it. However, you will be required to release some equity by way of remortgage in the 4th year of an IVA. Your car will be ok as long as it is not worth too much money.

I recommend that you speak to an Insolvency Practitioner. Visit www.iva.com for a list of companies and reviews. Visit one or two for free and impartial advice as to all the options open to you and the best one for your circumstances.

The forum is always here for any questions and support you may need.

IVA generally do not result in the loss of any assets, unless they are surplus to requirements or of an unjustifiable value - however as Kallis rightly says you will need to consider the implications of potentially remortgaging your property during the final year, to raise additional funds for creditors if there is sufficient equity to allow you to do so.

It is difficult to answer what would be the best option with limited information but I can give you an idea. The purpose of an IVA is to return more monies to creditors than they would get in bankruptcy while leaving the debtor in control of their assets. Depending on the value of the car and the equity in the property both are normally excluded in an IVA. If however, there is substantial equity and/or high value vehicles, an IVA may not be the best option and a DMP may be preferable. If there is no equity and the vehicle is not very valuable, bankruptcy may be the best option depending on whether or not there is any monies than can be paid to creditors.

Thanks for that, do you need to have a considerable amount left over each month to pay the IVA? im not sure its for me, i live hand to mouth each month and have nothing left over, im on a reduced payment for 3 of my debts and only pay £5 each and stil struggle.

Ive just been told i need an operation and three months of work i knwo this will be the straw that brakes the camels back which is why im now looking into this, i certianly cant survive on 3months ssp when i barely manage now [:(]

How does remortgaging work if theres a secured loan already on the property??

well im not sure how much my house is worth in the current market, it needs quite a bit of work i cant afford to gte done, i ahve a mortgage of £2000 and a secured loan of £2000. I owe £4000 on my car and its worth £2000.

i have tried to sell the car to several garages and downgrade but they wouldnt do it, i cant sell it private as its financed, i said i would hand it back but i dont have cash to get a run around and there is a £2000 short fall id still have to pay, i cant afford the car but i cant afford to get rid.

I tried to put all my unsecured debts onto my mortgage but nationwide wouldnt let me, they also said they dont do secured loans anymore so that wasnt an option either.

I have a very bad crdit rating, halifax wont give me a bank account full stop and Lloyds have given me a basic one but i cant have an overdraught or any form of credit.

sorry my mortgage is twenty thousand as is my secured not two thousand (unfortunatly)[;)]

How much is the house actually worth?

Depending on the total equity and total unsecured debt a DMP may be the best option at this time considering you will suffer reduced earnings. It is worth discussing with an IP the various options as an IVA may be a reasonable option in the future. It may also be worth discussing with a financial advisor about a remortgage on a temporary interest only basis to reduce your outgoings until you are back at work full time.

i have no idea, but i would of guessed more then £40,000???? arnt most houses worth more than that? i hope so anyway.

What is a DMP?

I have used up all my payment brakes on my mortgage and they wont allow me any payment brakes on my secured loan, i have just found out i dont have payment protection on my secured loand and i dont have any protection on anything else/car etc

I did not anticipate an operation and that in itself is bad enough without the owrry of losing everything becasue of it.

I may as well also say i have wuite a lot of pets having previoulsy running a rescue, when i wnet to the CAB they said my creditors wouldnt accept plans because of the outlay on my pets. Since then when filling expenditure forms i have had to work the cost of the animals into other areas, such as saying i spend more on food/petrol etc etc so in fact it looks like im living better than i actually am.

Im just told to get rid of the animals but this is not that simple, they are my pets and part of the family. i no longer have the rescue but have a duty to the pets i have, its at this point most people withdraw their help and advice.

I know it looks bad but i can get another house/car but i cant replace my pets. My parents usually buy my food so i usually work the cost of the aniamls into my food budget on paper.

It may well be worth talking to someone about bankruptcy. No one would want to take your pets away but working out your income and expenditure in the way you do may catch you out. How much of an outlay per month are the pets? Could your parents money not fund the pets and you buy your own food(on paper at least?)

Its cheaper to feed my son and i than my pets, i cant ask my parents for any more.

On paper i dont say my parents buy food i put down i spend the reccommended amount for my son and i when in reality i either do without/buy smart price and only what is essential or my parents buy it.

No one would know about the animals, i just declare a small amount when it asks about pets then i bump up the cost of petrol but i actually spend less, its the only way i can do i tried being honest with the CAB and national debt helpline and they both questioend the pets, said there was nothing they could do to help as i refused to get rid of them so re working things on paper is the only way i can do it.

I dont change the actual outcome/income figures just rework a few other things.

I think that bankruptcy is definately worth looking at, as even if you are required to make any payments on an ongoing basis, these will be lower than you are likely to make in either a DMP or an IVA.

One key thing to consider will be the equity in your property - so it would be wise at this stage to get the property valued to see whether there is any risk to your home under such proceedings.

And a chat with an insolvency practitioner is always a good idea - as they can give you full advice on all options available.