IVA or Bankruptcy

MovingForwards

*** OP hasn't been back since September. I'm sure he has made a decision by now ***

Nyaka

Hi,
I was jobless for 7 years, looking for work and not getting a job.  In the 7 years I had a son I was living with.  I was a single mum.  I was not surviving on the benefit money and ended up accruing debt for not paying some bills.  I have now been working for 2 years and have been paying the bailiffs that come to the door and have been struggling.  I know I want to pay it all, but I only take home £1200 a month.  I have bills here which I have struggle to keep up with.  I was eventually advised to look at an IVA,  I spoke to someone about it and then to a company.  They said they could make it easier and they did.  I am not depressed any more and scared of the door bell.  IVA has actually helped.  I did ask at the time if it would stop me from getting car finance or lease and I was told there are companies that provide those services to people with IVA.  And I went online and saw a few companies offering car finance and car lease to people with IVA.  I am in a better place now and have a partner who is helping me with the bills so that I can get myself back on the road again, so that I can go back to a business I had started about 20 years ago.  I can't do that without a car because I need to go do site inspections.  
I have tried applying to car lease with companies that say they offer the services to people with IVA and I have been turned down by all of the.  I spoke to the company that did my IVA and they said they can allow me to get a car on hire purchase for no more than £230 a month which I can afford without any problems.  I have then gone to car hire purchase companies for people with IVA and they too have turned me down.  I have even asked for black box finance and they too have turned me down. 
Does anyone know what I can do.  I had given up until a few minutes ago when my cousin told me she got a lot of help from this forum in getting a mortgage.
If anyone has any idea's I am open to suggestions.
Thank you in advance for all your advice.
Regards
Nyaka

mwarby

You should probably make your own thread. A car and house loan are two quite different products, the car is a depreciating assets and generally the house increases in value over time, this means that a loan secured on a house is safer than a car so more lenders will take the chance. I would look at seeing if you could save the amount and buy a used car instead

Templemore

Coming tyoward sthe end of our joint IVA and the Supervisor has written to say that our IVA provides that we attempt to release equity from our home for the beneft of the creditors - they are suggesting a specilaist broker. When we agreed the IVA it was suggested at the time, it would be very unlikey that a lender would agree becasue of our age (currently 61 & 65) and the probable solution would be top extend the IVA by a further 12 months. We have stuck to the IVA requirements in every respect and are now very converned that the possibility of being forced into equity release may be a reality. One of our incomes is drying up and state pension plus a very small private pension for the elder of us will become the secondary income. We are still heavily mortgaged, interest only and about £100k equity. Can we avoid the equity realse scenario ?

mwarby

I think you still need to attempt equity release, if/when that fails you can look at extending the IVA. There’s a lot of equity there, I can imagine the creditors being keen to try and release some. Worth bearing in mind that it may have been a close thing between IVA and bankruptcy for the creditors, as bankruptcy would have released all that equity