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I have a joint mortgage and loan with my Ex-wife, I now find I am in negative equity situation and can not afford to make both payments, in arrears and a few other detbs. I do not want to lose he house in which I and 2 children live. My ex makes no contribution as she has low paid job, can I do a IVA, by myself?

Hi Kevin and welcome to the forum.

One of the experts should be along shortly to advise you.

In the meantime, can you tell us how much your total debt is and how much of it is in joint names? That would be a help

Sorry, by law you need to have an Insolvency Practitioner prepare and supervise the IVA for you, but don't worry too much, you won't have to pay more than you can afford, and the costs will come out of what you're already paying in, so effectively the creditors are paying for the IVA. You won't have anything extra to pay beyond the monthly payments that you will propose.

Can you tell us how much debt you have and how much you believe you could afford to pay each month into an IVA ?

Hi, totally new to this so sorry for asking some stupid questions. The mortgage is £110000 and the loan is £72000 , both in joint names. How does it work with the mortgage, would this be paid from the IVA monthly payment set, what happens at the end of the IVA?

The only question that is stupid is the one that isn't asked! We have all been there so know how mind blowing and confusing it can be, [:)]

Is the loan secured? If so, it cannot be included in an IVA. Do you have any debts other than these two?

Your questions aren't stupid, and we are all here to help you in anyway we can.

Your mortgage isn't included either. Allowances are made for these an any other debts and the usual bills before a payment is sorted out for an IVA.

Kevin

You would have to continue paying both the mortgage and the secured loan, as these are not settled as part of the IVA, if you don't pay them your house could be repossessed.

However, in determining how much you can afford to pay into the IVA, allowance will be given for paying your mortgage and secured loan in full, so you don't get into trouble with these lenders. You would, though be obliged to remortgage your house up to 85% of its value in the final year of the IVA. As currently it stands at around 65% mortgaged, so if house prices don't move and your mortgage/secured loan balances stay the same, then you'd need to release around £20K of equity in the final year to bring the secured debt up to 85% of the propertry's value. However, if property prices plunge as forecast, then it's possible you wouldn't have to remortgage at all in the final year.

How much unsecured debt do you have and how much do you think you could afford to pay per month into the IVA (allowing for mortgage/secured debt to be paid outside the IVA) ?

I have not got much hope really, its the mortagage and loan payments that I am struggling with, not quite sure what to do next.

I take it you don't have much in the way of unsecured debts.

If you are on a repayment mortgage you could always try and change to interest only for a while. That would bring down your monthly payments.

Is the mortgage on a repayment or interest only basis. If on repayment basis then you could consider reducing your mortgage payments by asking your mortgage company to move your mortgage from repayment to interest only until you get back on your feet. Remember, your amount owed (capital) will not reduce while on an interest only mortgage.

Also, speak to the secured loan company and see if they can extend the term of the loan or perhaps even reduce the interest rate. If you don't ask you don't get!

Ok, thanks to you all for your time and advice

When you asked if you could do an IVA by yourself - did you mean could you do it independently of your wife? If so, then the answer is yes - but perhaps I have misunderstood your post.