www.iva.co.uk

Hello

I'm currently 1 year into my IVA.
I'm desperately unhappy living at home with my parents! I'm wanting to try and move out to save my sanity!
Where do i stand if i try and apply for a mortgage with my boyfriend, if thats not possible, and we rented a place together, my outgoings would increase ... could i get my payments reduced??
Just to put this in context, moving out something i need to do to maintain my mental health and prevent me having a breakdown!
Thanks in advance

Sorry to hear that you are struggling living at home.

You could look at taking out a mortgage with your Boyfriend but you would need the express permission of your IP and this is unlikely to be accepted unless the deposit is funded by a third party and the mortgage costs (plus utilities etc...) are no higher than your current lodgings payment to your Parents (which you have already commented is unlikely).

You could look to rent a room in a shared house for the same money that you pay your Parents.

It's worth talking to your IP about this but I don't want to give you false hope and believe that the above will be applicable in most cases.

As an alternative you could look to move out and then opt for Bankruptcy after finding new rented accommodation.

It seems unfair that some people are unable to carry on with their life while in an IVA. 5 yrs is a long time and to be restricted to living at home and being miserable or to finding alternative accomodation at the same price seems very harsh.

As an alternative you could look to move out and then opt for Bankruptcy after finding new rented accommodation.


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Why should bankruptcy be Mich's best solution, surely, if she moved out and she didn't have any disposable income to put into an IVA, then resort to bankruptcy, but for IP's to refuse to allow extra allowance for IVAer's wanting to live on their own is unfair.
I sometimes get the impression that people are punished while in an IVA, very tight budgets and restrictions, when they should be commended for being in a position to and wanting to pay back as much of their debts as possible. IVA's don't work for everyone but it seems that sometimes it is made very difficult to continue in one and live life aswell.......[V] [:(]

"I sometimes get the impression that people are punished while in an IVA, very tight budgets and restrictions, when they should be commended for being in a position to and wanting to pay back as much of their debts as possible. IVA's don't work for everyone but it seems that sometimes it is made very difficult to continue in one and live life aswell"

I thought I was the only one that felt like this. I refused to walk away from my debt and yet I sometimes wonder if I would have been better off doing that.

My boyfriend would pay the deposit, and the lion share of the bills and mortgage re-payments. My part would probably only increase alittle - around £100. This is the approx value that my IVA payments have increase over the last year.
As my creditors passed the IVA at the lower level, can we not go back to that.

Is getting a joint mortgage completely out of the question then? Even if i'm not paying half of it.

My bf knows about my IVA and still wants us to explore this option before my remaining 4 years are up.

You would need the permission of the IP of course, but so long as it did not affect your ability to contribute I can't see that being withheld.

I believe your IP would have a problem if you wanted to reduce your payments, even if it's back to the original payments. Two reasons for this:

1. When your Income is reviewed and there is an increase in contributions the revised contribution replaces the original. I suspect few IPs would see themselves as having the discretion to reduce them again without calling a meeting.

2. Your reduced ability would be as a result of an active decision on your part, rather than a downturn in your fortunes.

A joint mortgage is not entirely out of the question but if you do it you will have to bear in mind that you will during the course of the IVA acquire a financial interest in the property. The legal effect of joint ownership is 50/50 although it is possible to show a different split but you would need to supply some fairly robust evidence to demonstrate that its more in your boyfriends favour.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty however is that if you apply for a joint mortgage the application will be affected by your credit rating which as you are in the IVA will be worse than your boyfriends. If he can get a mortgage in his own name it would probably be best for him to do so and during the course of the IVA you make payments to him to reflect your occupation of the place.

Hope this helps

ian

That makes loads of sence. Thanks so much

What would happen if my parents forced me to move out? That wouldn't be an active change, and no where is as cheap as living at home is it

I suspect you would still need a variation. Basically for any IP the exercise of discretion can be a very dangerous game and we tend to be a risk-averse lot. For example if the IP were to unilaterally reduce your payments there would be a risk of a complaint from one of the creditors which would from a regulatory point of view open a can of worms.

You can ask your IP but if he has any sense he would probably say you need a variation. Having said that, there is a fair chance that the creditors would then go along with it.

Ian

what do you mean by a variation?

An alteration in the terms of the VA, which can only be put into place by getting the consent of the creditors. That would need a further meeting.

In your case this would be the reversal of an increase in contributions which arose as a result of the standard income and expenditure review. You lose nothing by speaking to the IP about it (if you move you will have to anyway) and who knows he/she might take a rather different view to me and see it to be something that can simply be done.

Ian

Cool, talking to them seems the best option really.
Beginning to think about council house schemes, any thoughts?

Outside my sphere of expertise I'm afraid[:)] Good luck!