Unsure what to do!

debtfreewanab

Hi

This is a bit of a long one - I apologize in advance.

Me and my boyfriend have the following situation:-

Unsecured Debt: 18k (ccards/loans etc)
plus 17k as part of a together mortgage
= 35k Unsecured

Secured Debt:Mortgage - 65k
Picture Loan - 54k
= 119k Secured - 90k = 29k shortfall

Our property is only worth at a maximum £90k as above.

We make a huge payment of £550pm to Picture + £490pm to Mortgage

My boyfriend makes around £1700pm and I make £1085pm and we pay into a Debt Man scheme. We do have money left over but heres the problem,

I am 6 months pregnant and will be paid maternity leave but I feel like we will never be able to pay all this off especially if I can't go back full time and wont be able to have government help because of a higher wage from my boyfriend, we have been paying debt management for 2-3 years now and this is not decreasing so it feels like we are not getting anywhere.

I worry that picture or mortgage will increase interest and if I have low wage we won't be able to afford much.

I am unsure what to do, I get so depressed about all this debt and don't want to stress while pregnant too

Any advice would be much appreciated - Thank you

sniggings

Hi,

might sound a daft question but do you really want to keep the house? is renting an option?

debtfreewanab

Hi

I am not really happy where I live as I would like to be closer to my parents with having a baby, I would be happy to rent

sniggings

debtfreewanab wrote: »

Hi

I am not really happy where I live as I would like to be closer to my parents with having a baby, I would be happy to rent

great! so are you thinking maybe BR is your best option? because you say you are paying ok now but "what if" sorry just trying to understand,if you're paying ok now as soon as your income drops to where you can not manage then maybe BR is a good option,without knowing all details it's hard to say for sure,giving CCCS or CAB a ring will really help as they will then have a clear understanding of your case.

but atm if your income is highter than your payments then a BR might not get passed but if you could not make the payments/dmp then BR would seem like the prefered option.

debtfreewanab

Yes, I am definitely considering bankruptcy but was thinking the same and it may be wise for me to wait until my income drops and then I wouldn't be able to afford the payments and live.

The main reason we have put bankruptcy off as an option for so long has been that we had a car on hp years ago but struggled with the 167 payment pm, so my Dad took the payments over 2 years ago and has been using the car and sole insured on this since. The last of the car payment is due at the end of this month and the car is already registered in my Dads name. The one problem we had with this is proof as my Dad mostly gave me the cash at the end of the month and we used this for food/petrol and let the direct debit collect from our account.(Which I know was very silly but never thought things would become worse).

He has proof of over 2 years insurance and we have our own cars too so logically ,there would have been no need for 3 cars.

I know even if we waiting a year they would probably look back and we would have to declare this and never wanted this to have an impact on my Dad.

I will speak to CAB and see if they can suggest anything. Thank you for your advice

sniggings

if you can prove your dad had the car for 2 years which it sounds you can then it really should not be a problem,at worst if it is and the OR wants the car then you making a deal with your dad about repaying him for the car at some later date would be what I would do,but for the price of a car don't let that make you live with debt and stress,as you say just get some advice from CCCS or CAB in the mean time as it's needed as part of BR anyway and as soon as you are in trouble then look into BR,one more thing,mybe start saving for the fees and deposit now as finding the money when BR is not easy,good luck.

sniggings

sorry just wanted to asks as not sure on this point so someone may know the answer.

if on a DMP and paying it OK can you still go ahead with a BR?

I know you need to be insolvent to go BR but not sure if being on a DMP and paying ok is still classed as inslovent?

tigerfeet2006

Well if the OP is on a DMP she can't meet the full repayment as it comes due so I would say that means she is insolvent.

sniggings

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Well if the OP is on a DMP she can't meet the full repayment as it comes due so I would say that means she is insolvent.

well thank you

sniggings

so it looks like you can see about BR before you start getting into trouble with your payments on the DMP which is good news for your stress levels :beer:

Ineedaname

The best thing to do is have a read through the Look Here First sticky thread and contact one of the free debt advice agencies listed. They will be able to go through your entire finances and suggest the best route forward for you.

Just out of interest, who are you paying the DMP through and are they charging a fee?

Also, please bear in mind, if you have two cars and you are on maternity leave when you go BR, you will probably need to be returning to work quite quickly in order to keep your car. Both of you will need to prove a need for your own car anyway (assuming you both go BR), if public transport to work is an option for at least one of you then that car may be taken by the OR.

To confirm Tigertfeet's comment. I was on a DMP for 5 years prior to going BR and only stopped payments one month before doing the deed. You don't have to fail a DMP as you do an IVA and as TF said, just being on a DMP usually means you are unable to meet minimum contractual repayments as they are due - which is the criteria for being insolvent.