worried im going to loose house through divorce and IVA

sapphi2ndrow

Hi 1st post! I would really appreciate some help!

I'm a single mum of 2 young (primary school aged) kids.

I have a mortgage of £750 a month which my ex is paying in lieu of maintenance which he doesn't want to pay anymore.

I've asked the mortgage company if they can help me by reducing my payments somehow but are not interested because of IVA which both of us have.

My IVA does not finish for another 2/3 years and my current mortgage deal for another year. I can't see a way of keeping my house and I'm not likely to get a big wage rise soon.

I will be £300 worse off when my ex reduces him money down to basic maintenance and doesn't care that we will be out of a house. Rent around here is around the same as my mortgage.

Wouldn't be so bad but he took out a 2nd mortgage to clear HIS credit card bills off. Without that I would be able to make the payments.

I am very worried.

Thanks

DorisTrousers

There's nowt as queer as folk, so the saying goes.

It may be no consolation, but if you entered interlocking IVA's with the same I.P., then any reduction in maintenance paid by him will have to go into his IVA, which means he will be no better off. Make sure your I.P. is aware of this, and more to the point make sure your ex is as well.

It makes financial sense for him to keep things as they are if he still has a stake in the property, as with a mortgage and second charge the likelihood of equity release at the end seems negligible. That way, when you are both out of it, you will both come out of your journey with something to show for it.

foxy-stoat

How much is your IVA payment and what happens after the IVA finishes and he wants to remove his interest from the mortgage, assuming he will at some point?

Is its your mortgage or joint...you mention HE took out a second mortgage to clear HIS debts, but he still is in an IVA.....confusing.

What happens after the IVA is done, do you have to release equity, can you afford the mortgage on your own or will you have to down value the property?

sapphi2ndrow

Hi thank you for the replies!!

He took out the 2nd mortgage when we moved 10 years ago. He then built up around 30k more debt... I'm both our names. So we both have individual iva's.

Mine is £129 per month his £150. The idea is that in 2 years if we can 're morgage to clear the remaining debt we will or be in the iva for another 12 months.

No I can't afford the mortgage alone. If he gets away with. Just paying basic maintenance it will leave me £300 short every month.

I have been trying to find extra hours..but to no avail yet. Plus my kids are little and child care is expensive plus I don't have much support for school holidays illness and so on.

If he was decent he would help pay the mortgage to keep a roof over the kids heads. I've made myself ill with worry. I have a solicitor but don't have the money to take my ex to court to make him pay more than basic maintenance.

Feeling desperate and don't known what to do.

Thank you

sapphi2ndrow

Yes the mortgage is in joint names

sapphi2ndrow

I can't down value as this is the cheapest housing in the area. Even to rent it would cost more then the mortgage and there is only 30k equity.

sapphi2ndrow

Thanks... I'm going to call the iva firm tomorrow find out exactly where I stand. Surly the iva agreement is based on us having our mortgage together and even if he was going to 'give' me the house he would still need to be able to pay off his iva (which he can't having no savings....) and like you say it's in his best interest to keep paying it... at least until the iva is over?

foxy-stoat

Looks like your biggest issue is not your IVA its the break up of the relationship and you not being able to afford the propety you live in.....its going to be when your Ex stops paying his share for the joint mortgage - letting it get into arrears and so on.

Its not in his interest to stop paying for the mortgage if he lives there or not as he is still jointly liable for the debt and equity - his name will unlikey be removed for the mortgage and deeds without forcing a sale - very hard to do when there are children involved. The lender will need you to pass their affordability checks before his name can be removed anyway.

Best advice is try and save as much as possible until your home is at risk, as there will be a point in the future where you will have very little useful equity left in the property. Maybe you can look at shared ownership properties.

sapphi2ndrow

Thank you! I've spoken to our IVA company who explained he wouldn't gain anything by selling as any profit will go towards his IVA. I've written to them to explain everything and asked for my exact position should the property have to be sold and also what will happen at the end of his IVA if he does not have a mortgage.

I'm hoping to prove selling doesn't benefit anyone yet and in the mean time I can increase my hours at work, save and be in a better position to be able to afford the mortgage at the end of the IVA.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

sapphi2ndrow

Hello again... the IP told me that a restriction is placed on our property for the IVA duration. Do you known what this means? Does it mean it can't be sold by any chance? I understand that that no further credit can be secured from.it. thanks!

DorisTrousers

It doesn't mean it cannot be sold, it means that the I.P. has to be informed in the case of a sale. Effectively, it is a safeguard for creditors so that people cannot just sell up, pocket the money and do a moonlight flit.

Generally, it doesn't make sense to sell during an IVA as it becomes an asset of the estate, i.e. the funds are captured by the IVA, but sometimes it does happen. Divorce and separation, along with a desire to be out of the IVA and make a fresh start are the most common reasons.