Gone on too long

Jaxno5

Hi I've had debt of 60k have split from my wife 3 years ago debts are all in my name apart from 5k I'm paying a debt management company at the moment , I have my works van (. Self employed sparky ) which has 1000k finance left on it value of 8k I own my house joint mortgage with my ex I live in it 169000 mortgage value of 185 000 Ono. Please help had enough of this weight over my head
Do I go bankrupt ?
Can I keep my house ?
Can I keep my van ?
I can't live like this anymore
Forgot too add there is already a 14500 charge on property

dancingfairy

You are best off getting advice from one of the debt charities such as StepChange, National Debtline or your local CAB. They can tell you if bankruptcy is right for you (And if you do go bankrupt you have to be able to tell the judge you have taken advice).
StepChange have an online debt remedy so you can put your figures in there to get a feel for what might work for you.
All the best.
df

TheGardener

Hi, sounds like you really need some relief from this - there are lots of us on here who have been where you are now. dancingfairys advice is good - use the online debt remedy on the StepChange website and them give them a call.
Do I go bankrupt ? You need professional free advice fromStepchange, CAB, National Debtline etc to make that decision
Can I keep my house ? It is very possible but not guaranteed
Can I keep my van ? Possibly - The OR is not interested in the tools of your trade/van but you will need to check the small print on your finance agreement if there is still money owing on it
I can't live like this anymore - you don't have to. If BR is the right solution for you, you will have a fresh start and the stress and despair (many of us have felt the same) will be lifted.

We will all try and answer as many questions as we can and you will be given as much support as possible. Chin up.

arcon5

£16k equity in the house, can this be safely assumed to be £8k each?
It's likely the receiver will show an interest in this equity - although due to the amount may not see it as viable to force a sale, especially if it may be defended by another party. So it may end up that the receiver places a charge on the house for your value - unless you have somebody that can buy their interest in the property..


The van... Although a tool of the trade, you may find yourself having the justify its valuation. With cars for example, if you owned an £8k car and could demonstrate a need for it - the receiver would likely sell it and give a thousand quid back for a car. Vans are obviously much different but I suspect you may need to justify its valuation.
It's likely the finance company will let you keep it tbh but you'd really need to discuss the possibility with them.

skintandfat

Do I go bankrupt ?
Take advice

Can I keep my house ?
Maybe - possibly not
The available equity will be split between you and your wife.
You will have to buy out the 'beneficial interest' to keep the house
if you go BR the house may be repossessed and the mortgage company can and will pursue your wife for the mortgage balance.

Can I keep my van ?
Probably not. As it's on HP there are rules
You can't keep a van for work worth more than £1000-£1500- it depends on the AIB

Don't sell your van unless you buy a cheaper van. The money you have left should go to pay any debts first
1st debt- mortgage debt (unless you want to have it repossessed)

It is important if you sell any assets you sell them for market value and it is traceable- ie in to the bank etc.

If you bite the bullet you may have to move to rented property, do this before you go BR

A trust deed is also an option

Look up the aib website

The AIB site is a gold mine of helpful information

ps
Don't pay any debt management company

It will cost £200 to go BR

I was a sole trader and went BR in 2011. For me it was the best move I had ever made.
There are downsides- no credit allowed over £500 while you are BR. This applies to wholesalers
I told all my wholesalers and they all said- don't worry we know out money is safe with you
I have always paid my wholesalers when I get paid- I never waited until the end of the next month.
It paid off

One wholesaler even said- you as well !

arcon5

Don't sell your van unless you buy a cheaper van.

Personally I wouldn't recommend selling the van until the receiver makes his/her move. If you tell them you could probably raise more through selling yourself than through auction then they will likely accept this.
The finance complicates it though - as they technically own the van until the final payment.

The money you have left should go to pay any debts first
1st debt- mortgage debt (unless you want to have it repossessed)

If he doesn't want it repossessed, I trust you mean arrears and standard payments right? Otherwise this will simply increase the equity further, increasing the chance of a repossession rather than a charge placed on the house.

It will cost £200 to go BR

Not sure how much you paid, but I paid £700 in Jan 2013.

Some good points above though op.

Jaxno5

Forgot too add there is already a 14500 charge on property
Thanks for the advise
I have my 3 young boys that I have shared custody with my ex
My van is my only transport
Obviously the figure for the house is top price not a quick sale price
I just need somewhere for my boys , how do I get a definite answer about the property ????

Jaxno5

Looked at aib web site isn't that for Scotland ??

Anondebtadvisor

Yes AIB is in Scotland

Have a look at https://www.gov.uk/bankruptcy/overview for bankruptcy.

longtermplanner

Jaxno5 wrote: »

Forgot too add there is already a 14500 charge on property

Is this 14,500 debt included in the 60k debt you mentioned?

What would it cost to rent somewhere, because if the value you quoted is optimistic, then you may have serious negative equity in the house.

arcon5

The £14.5k charge on your property is a secured debt so wouldn't be included in the bankruptcy order. If though the property was sold and the charge paid, any remaining balance would fall in to the bankruptcy - even if you've long been discharged this would be the case (assuming you don't sign anything post-BR).

If the mortgage plus charge is greater than the value of the property then it would be seen as negative equity in which case they would monitor the valuation for 3 years and if nothing drastic changes it will be released from their control back to you