What should we do?

[luluj]

We entered into an IVA in Sept 2007 - no problems paying the monthly amount. We had to sell our house as part of the IVA approval and we moved into rented in October last year - we moved to one flat but was faced with an immediate repossession order on it as the landlord had not paid his mortgage - we moved within 48 hrs toanother flat in the same road via a lettings agent - all was ok until xmas eve when we received a leter telling us the landlord was being repossessed on the 2nd January....I attended the court hearing on the 2nd but with 30 minutes to spare he paid up....however his mortgage is not a but to let therefore our tenancy agreement is non-existant and we are squatting - we have paid our rent up front until April- our letting agent now says that however sympathetic he is towards us, he also has a duty of care to the landlord and will not pass over the last months rent to us so that we can move on from this mess.....we either face loosing a months rent or having to sit through wondering whether we come home at night and stuff has been taken ....we have also found out the landlord has not paid his maintenance charges and they are threatening court action too...........
having had 4 months of renting a propery I really want to get back on the housing market but is this possible....we earn £55k a year between us, we could raise a 10% deposit via relatives if we could mortgage the rest ....would this be possible....would anyone be prepared to lend us the rest - a two bedroom house or flat is around £175k in our area....we have up to £800 per month that we could use towards a mortgage??????

[aguise]

Hi Lulu
I think getting a mortgage will be ok if as you say the deposit comes from a third party and the mortgae payments are no more than the rent you have been paying or thereabouts. I am no expert opn this so please wait for other answers..
What a rotten time you have had, I dont blame you for wanting a stable roof over your head after what has happened.
I hope all goes well.

Ang

[luluj]

Thanks - we have sourced a two bed house to rent from March onwards ...however that means we have to find a deposit and six months rent up front again....in an IVA this is almost impossible unless you rely on relatives to unofficially help you out!
We just need to know that the roof over our heads is stable and not going to give in every six months or less....hence we are seriously considering a mortgage, but not sure if we will get one with only a 10% deposit available - that is the maximum our family could get for us.

[carlmcmullen]

Hi Luluj

You certainley have not had the best few months.

Can i ask why you had to sell the property in the first place, was it something that you proposed as part of your arrangment or was forced to by creditors as a modification to your proposal ?

Carl

[Adam Davies]

Hi
It is possible in relation to having an IVA in place.I believe that most mortgage companies have a minimum criterea that you have to have an IVA in place for six months so you are not far out there.
Next is the deposit,our mortgage experts will give you a better answer but probability is that you will need 15% deposit.
You will need your IPs permission so have a good chat with them and then speak with a broker[Andrew from Brightoak,Tony Parsons and MikeB all post on this forum and are bona fide brokers].
It will not be easy but is possible
Good luck

[aguise]

Another option. could the letting agent not find you another property and use the rental time and money you have left upfront, or not take six months as they know you pay.

Ang

[luluj]

We had secured loans on the property totalling more than 40% of our income each month in payments, therefore to propose a payment for our IVA we had to sell - this was stated by three different IP's before we acted and therefore took their advice -sold at the highest before prices started to fall, cleared all of the secured loans and just had the solicitors fees and estate agents fees outstanding which my mum paid for us...not paying her back until after the IVA has concluded so that our creditors receive all that we can pay back...hoping to pay back 100%+8% stat interest over the 5 years

[luluj]

Unfortunately they have paid the landlord in cash the six months rent we gave them ....therefore we have no choice but to remain squatters until we are forced out or our rental money has been used up - we have removed all personal possessions from the flat and are living with essential things only incase baliffs coming knocking.... we are laughing about it now, but seriously we need stability for our own health and of our families - they have been really supportive of it all...however we would just like to be settled ...every time we move it costs between £300-£600 in expenses with final utility bills etc etc...let alone cost of a van, deposit and months rent in advance etc etc....in an IVA this is impossible to keep up with!

[carlmcmullen]

As Andy rightly pointed out, i work alongside a mortgage broker who often tells me that the maximum he can achieve for a client in an IVA is normally 85% so the deposit might be a problem.

Assuming you can come up with the extra 5% then i dont see a problem so long as you are not putting yourself back in the same position (the 40% rule).

You need to disucss with your IP as they know your case best.

[Lisa2009]

Lulu, what a horrible few months you have had. I cant offer any advice, however i just wanted to say i hope your luck changes very soon xxx

mrs skint

[luluj]

The £800 I state available for the mortage is what was allowed / agreeable when we commenced our IVA to help us rent a property in our area - this is not near the 40% mark so may be ok. We probably could raise the extra 5% deposit via a second relative...but it would be tight....worth looking into I guess as it would give us piece of mind!

[aguise]

I wish you well Lulu and hope you get sorted soon.

Ang

[J-DOUBLEYA]

If you raised a mortgage and then moved in, are you not puting yourself at risk of having to remortgage in yr 4 ?

The sort of mortgage that you would get now is sub prime anyway so why not just go bankrupt ? 3 years with an IPO and away you go rather than 5 ?

[Skippy]

Sorry to hear you've had such an awful few months Lulu.

If Lulu was to buy a property now surely an equity release wouldn't be an issue as she is already in an IVA?

[J-DOUBLEYA]

I think that the asset will not be overlooked by her creditors but not sure !!