any help is appreciated..

OCTOBER

Where to start ?... firstly, can I say I have been reading lots of your posts on here and your stories and advice are inspiring.
To my own story – I have hit rock bottom, I need help , after trying to keep afloat for years I now have few options available – I think my situation will shock so please be gentle
Basically all my credit card debt is now being charged interest, I have had no new promotional offers for transfers for a long time.
We have 2 mortgages – one was taken on a buy to let – we thought it would be a good pension option back in 2006 before prices slump– however this property is rented out but in negative equity. We are worried but hoping it will achieve near purchase price in years to come .
Our main home mortgage is interest only , we should be overpaying but it is all going on my credit card debt, we have no savings. My OH is aware of the debt but he has his own HP loans for a car and van.
I cannot see a way out of this mess. I have kept going making bad decisions I am totally gutted that it has got to this stage I have buried my head in the sand for too long
I have completed a Stepchange online personal plan, the outcome advise was to do an IVA or bankruptcy before a DMP, as the DMP would take too long to complete.
I have rang them and I now need to make a decision on going forward, I know an IVA can affect our home – does this affect only my equity in the property or both ?
I have not missed any payments yet but I am using overdraft to keep afloat, it is matter of weeks before I cannot pay
My worry is that I have joint bank accounts, mortgage and do not want my OH to suffer because of my debt
What will happen next, I owe to a credit card in my name connected to the same joint bank account which is overdrawn
Do I contact the credit cards ? I owe around 40k
Should I switch bank accounts first, cancel all standing orders etc
Can the creditors come to my home, or send me to court

Sorry for the rambling, I am a mess all my own fault :(

sourcrates

Hi,


Remember quite clearly been where you are now, best advice i can give you is not to make a choice in haste, as a homeowner, you only have two choices here realistically, and that`s IVA or, in the short term, a DMP.

You should separate yourself from your partner financially, so a new basic bank account, with a bank with whom you have no debt is essential, preparation is everything.

If you opt for an IVA straight away, then it gives you legal protection from your creditors, they won`t be coming to your home, and they can`t take you to court, with a DMP both those things would remain an option for creditors.

IVA `s are basically for homeowners who cannot go bankrupt, there is a re-mortgage clause in year 5, but if that is not possible for any reason, a further 12 months of payments are the norm.

Initially you can write to your creditors outlining your position, they are all obliged now to give you at least 30 days breathing space before any collection activity starts, all that means is they won`t write to you for a month, take your time and educate yourself on the pro`s and con`s of IVA`s.

The debt collection process can take a very long time so no need to rush into anything.

rockabillygirl

Excellent advice from sourcrates.
I just wanted to wish you luck in moving forward and please do not be too hard on yourself. You are now taking positive steps and I wish you well.

OCTOBER

thank you sourcrates and rockabillygirl
I appreciate your comments, I have to approach this like a job - I need to get everything in place, it makes me feel so ashamed but I have to lift some of the stress
I think I may need to try and reduce the joint overdraft somehow asap - as I don't know how the bank will handle it with regards to my OH, but the only way to do that is stop paying my credit cards,
everything else I can separate
thanks again

kwame41

No need to repeat the excellent advice already given but I would suggest you contact your Credit Card suppliers sooner rather than later. The interest on 40K must be a lot of money.



If I read your post correctly you havent missed a payment yet. You should be able to get them to freeze the interest for a while to take that pressure off and give you time to formulate a plan.


Good luck with it all.

OCTOBER

Hello again, just an update, I am still looking at an IVA, I am in the process of changing all direct debits etc, still have not missed payments up to now
I have spoken to SC about my budget and I have to re-hash it to reflect a more equal contribution with my OH, he has one credit card that he is managing and has HP loans for vehicles - one of which is a family car that I need to use for work, I pay the tax and fuel, - does anyone know how the IP will react to this ?
obviously i want to provide the fair budget but if this then leaves my OH with nothing left at the end of the month, we could be in the same position, and it is not even his debt.
are you allowed to save any small amounts monthly for xmas etc.? what if you have emergency repairs or something crops up ?
also SC said that I will need to get our home valued, do they do this at the beginning and end of IVA or every year ?
sorry for ramble again, I am having a wobble x

ERPY85

Hi. I don't have any advice as I'm on here with debt worries like yourself, so I'm sure someone knowledgable will be along in a minute.

However, I just wanted to drop by and say I am going through a similar process (although a DRO and not an IVA) and I am yet to finalise a budget yet. I keep coming back to it and having wobbles too, so you aren't alone. I think the budget is one of the hardest things in this whole process. I haven't got there with mine yet (I'm also struggling to work out even contributions from my partner etc when he has his own debts and financial obligations). It's a difficult thing, and apparently SC notoriously nit pick at things so try not to take it personally. We will get there!

I hope you get your budget sorted soon and start the whole process 'officially' as it were

Willing2Learn

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