Wish me luck folks

[jellybean]

I have just received my proposal through and wanted your input. I am really concerned that I being left with so little that my iva might fail. Basically here are the figures

Salary 2272
Mortgage 952
Coucnil 130
IVA 678

This leaves me £490 for all other bills and living expenses. I know I have to budget and this all my fault for getting in this mess but what do think about this amount? I live in London so things are a bit more expensive than in other areas.

[jpj]

Looks pretty tight to me! literally half that should be your food budget alone!
I lived in London (hence my IVA...lol)
I would post a breakdown of your monthly expenses as on the proposal,and the experts will tell you if its realistic or not!
Chances are if you feel you cant live on that amount,then you will struggle.
You need to be comfortable with the figures from the start!!

[Adam Davies]

Hi jellybean
What are your total unsecured debts ?
As jpj has said you need to be reasonably comfortable with your expenditure otherwise you will find your IVA unbearable,five years is a lifetime on a very tight budget
Regards

[Reviva UK]

Hi
would be great to get feedback from the site as it is a lot easier to change the proposal before you start rather than after.

House value
Mortgage value
Live alone or with wife / partner
their income
children
do you run a car
how much was the debt
what do you do for a living
etc

on the face of it it seems a little tight but without the other info nobody can really make comment

thanks and look forward to seeing the numbers

[MelanieGiles]

And it is difficult to give definitive advice on the forum without the full facts of the case. But a quick glance at this suggests that these payments will not be affordable in the long run, and therefore caution should be exercised in agreeing to a long-term repayment plan.

As a gut feeling, how much do you think you can afford to pay to creditors each month?

[jellybean]

My debt is £100K. I am offering 35p in £. Originally was going to offer 25p which is tight but then got a new remortgage and had an extra £160 which they have added to amount offered to creditors.
Allowances are £120 Food and Housekeeping, £110 petrol, PHone 45£ Utilities £40, Council Tax £130 and the rest is little amounts to cover insurance, clothing, car tax etc.
House value £265K
Mortgage £210K
Take home pay 2272
Live alone in full time employment. Small chance of overtime now and again. I think it is too little but I feel really bad asking them to give me more. With GT and they tell me that they are going on strict guidelines but which ones? Need advice before I sign.

[MelanieGiles]

That is a dreadfully tight budget - were these your figures or ones suggested to you by your IP. Those figures do not follow any sort of guidelines that I am aware of, and even the CCCS will allow up to £184 for housekeeping. I suggest that you have a chat with someone a little further up the food chain within GT to see if you can get the payments reduced - and preferably your own IP.

[jellybean]

Thanks Melanie for replying so quickly. These figures were put to me by GT, I did not have any say on the matter. I will call them tomorrow and have a chat. I am so nervous that the Iva will not be accepted if I change anything. I feel you just have to go along with what the professionals tell you but this forum really helps. Thanks everyone out there.

[Reviva UK]

Hi jellybean

what sort of mortgage are you on? You really need to make sure everything is Ok before you start otherwise it may be difficult to modify after the event.

Mortgage :- is it fixed for 5 years? if not you need to check what will happen if the mortgage payments increase in 2, 3 or 4 years time. Will GT play ball or will you be left without a paddle.

an IVA is a great solution to debt but you need to go into it with your eyes wide open and fully understanding the terms and conditions. If after reflection it is too tight and won't be manageable then you need to try to change the conditions now before you start.

Do you have any allowances if your budget for repairs to house or car etc. Some money will need o be spent on it during the next 5 years.

Good luck

[Adam Davies]

Hi
GT should not be dictating your expenditure.
What do you consider as a true and reasonable expenditure ?
Regards

[jellybean]

I dont know what I am allowed to have regarding expenditure. If anyone has any guidelines I would be grateful to receive them before I make my call. As I said originally they were going to offer £517 as payment then I got my 5 yr fixed rate mortgage and this brought down payments by £160which they have taken the whole amount and put it onto the iva payment. Am I right to question all this?

[emma_t]

Hi jellybean

I can't stress enough the need for the figures to be right from the start or the iva will surely fail which will not help you.

I would make a list of income and expenditure by yourself and what you need to be able to live and not worry too much about what you can have. IVA's are individual and your expenditure may differ a lot from someone else's.

The below link will take you to a post from last year which lists the cccs guidelines which creditors seem to think reasonable.
http://www.iva.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7238

Don't worry if any of your figures are more, and if you have reasons for higher figures explain them. I for example have an oil central heating system and oil prices are very high.

Sit down with all your utility bills, food reciepts and anything you can think of (prescriptions for medicines, glasses, contact lenses, dentist, etc) and list your income and expenditure and then discuss with your IP.

My i&e was never dictated to me and I think this is dangerous
Good luck
Emma

[Skippy]

I agree with Emma - you need to make sure your I & E is realistic from the start. If it isn't you will struggle and find it hard to sustain your IVA. My I & E was wrong but I thought I could manage, but when it came down to it I couldn't.

As Emma says go through everything, and put down what you actually spend, not what you are told you should spend.

[MelanieGiles]

GT use the CCCS guidelines when they are seeking to modify other people's IVA's as they represent a number of creditors, so if would be unfair if they did not also use them in their own cases.

[aguise]

As everyone says put down what you need, you wont manage if your I and E is not enough. Work out what you actually need and speak to them tomorrow..
All the best

Ang