www.iva.co.uk

Equity Release: Our property valuation was £305k and we owe 252k on our mortgage therefore 85% LTV meant we had £6,700 of equity between us. Aperture have come back and said that we need to remortgage for £6700 which I think is wrong. They state that as my husband is also in an IVA then we only get £5k between us but we have individual contracts that state we are to remortgage for our share of the equity and if that is below £5k then it is De-Minimas. As we are divorced we will not be looking to take on another joint mortgage as the only reason we have not sold the property or dealt with ownership is because of the IVA. I believe that we each have a £3,350 share therefore the IVA should end on in Feb 2017 at the 60 month mark.
Question - We have separate chairmans reports, separate letters each year and contracts that read 'My Share'. Should we have to pay another year of payments? I have raised a complaint with Aperture as I believe that they are interpreting the rules to their own advantage as I have been paying such a high dividend and therefor it is in their interest to push me for another year , which I can not sustain anymore.

Please could you advise as I am feeling pretty helpless at the moment.

You seem to be pretty sure of your ground already so see how the complaint goes. The IP may well overrule the caseworker and let your IVA close. Pity the valuation was not £300k as then there would be no argument at all.

Hi and welcome,

Not 100% sure about equity but I can tell you that, regardless of what Aperture say, you will not be able to remortage. It may well be that you have to continue for another year.

I agree that the equity should be calculated on shares --- the IVA's might be interlocked but they are still individual arrangements.

Might I ask how the valuation was carried out, and do you agree with it ?

It was an estate agent valuation but we have since had a further one that was a quick sale valuation which was 295,550.

I would submit that valuation and argue that there is no equity to address, even using their contention of shared de minimis levels.

We were in the exactly same position as you; interlocking IVA's but separate chairmans report and each had our own IVA protocol contract stating "My share" and not "Our share" and the IVA company telling us that the equity was between us. We argued the case just as you have explained it and they eventually agreed equity was £5000 each. Put your argument to them just as you have on here and good luck.