Is it possible to joint/co-sign for £8000 if I've had IVA completed two years ago. 31 October 2021 at 11:44AM in Loans 20 replies 831 views

Mike10102

Hi everyone, 
I'm looking at the world of possibilities that are open to me currently to pursue a career change and I'm looking a ways of getting a little money to open a small window speed things up. I've made a few choices with my debt in the past that seem to hamper me personally. My question is:

1) Is there any way I, with a recently paid off IVA, could obtain a loan of £8000ish + if it was jointly taken out with my parent for example?

Anyway, my necessary info is as follows.

I'm 40 years old, previous graduate, and approximately two/three years ago paid off a small IVA.
In full-time work with same govt office role for the last seven years. Paid at close to minimum wage (hence my determination for my current career change). I have been self studying for work for two years but find it extremely difficult to balance full-time work with the requisite study hours. Targeting software developer roles and confident I could reach it with focus and a short window of time provided by cash. 

Would it be a possibility to have my parent (multiple homeowner) jointly assist MYSELF to obtain a loan? E.g. they being there for the bank if I was to default.
I'm just looking at all options. This way seems like it is still mostly me dealing with it but with a safety net provided by my mum which she could afford.

Again, maybe this all pans out to nothing but I thought I'd ask about such joint loans when one person has had debt issues in past. 

Thank you all :-)

Jami74

Your Mum might get better interest rates on a loan than you (assuming she has a better income and a better credit history), so it might be better if she takes out the loan fully in her own name and you repay her. Having her as a guarantor or in a joint loan does not make you less likely to default, it just means it will probably cost her more if you do.

If she could lend you the money without having to borrow it, that would be even better for both of you.

Mike10102

Thank you for your answer.
I'm kinda hesitant to do that though Jami74.

She potentially might help me more than I'm asking but I'd like to go to her with something she was a bit removed from at least initially. E.g. a loan for me that she was hands off unless I default/miss payments.

If we look at it and it's horrendously more expensive or impossible then at least I can say I've tried and THEN maybe I could ask for her to take a loan but I don't know.

Would joint loans be a possibility? How could I enquire about it? Just an appointment with my bank or are there decent providers anywhere?

sourcrates

You say you "paid off a small IVA, a couple of years ago".

What do you term a "small IVA" ? can you elaborate on that, also, have you received your certificate of completion for the IVA ? 
I assume it still shows on your credit file under "public information" does it ?

Mike10102

IVA was for about £9000 or so at it's maximum (on a few credit cards).
I was unemployed and bit depressed so was unable to make payments so went through a debt charity StepChange to help me stop it escalating. I paid off the majority of it myself though mum helped with 20% of it at end.

I've not sought out the "certificate of completion" and I've never heard of that before.

I've not checked credit file although I presume its awful as I was refused a small overdraft on my current account recently of only a few hundred pounds :-(

bris

Basically you want your mum to be a guarantor, this is not a good idea because the interest rate is going to be very high.

The loan will essentially be your mums, you might think it's joint but they only see your mum as the real borrower.

Bringing your mum into it isn't a very good idea because the chances are she will end up paying it for you. But if you must do this then your mum getting the loan alone will be more affordable interest rate wise which means lower payments.

sourcrates

Mike10102 said:

IVA was for about £9000 or so at it's maximum (on a few credit cards).
I was unemployed and bit depressed so was unable to make payments so went through a debt charity StepChange to help me stop it escalating. I paid off the majority of it myself though mum helped with 20% of it at end.

I've not sought out the "certificate of completion" and I've never heard of that before.

I've not checked credit file although I presume its awful as I was refused a small overdraft on my current account recently of only a few hundred pounds :-(

Right, so it wasn`t an "Individual voluntary arrangement" an IVA, is a form of insolvency, set up by an Insolvency practitioner, and is a regulated debt solution that gives you certain legal rights.

What you actually had was a DMP, a "debt management plan" basically an unregulated, informal agreement to repay your creditors at a lower rate than normal, and will not, in itself, appear on your credit file, although any associated defaults and late payments will show, I think that probably paints a more accurate picture of your situation, would you agree?

Please don`t apply for loans willy nilly, especially without even looking at your credit file, defaults stay on file for 6 years, after which they drop off, and are gone forever, once your credit file looks more healthy, you may find lenders are more amenable towards you, I certainly would not recommend a guarantor loan, horror stories abound on these forums about those, your other choice would be to save the 8k, maybe give that a go for now.

Mike10102

sourcrates said:

Mike10102 said:

IVA was for about £9000 or so at it's maximum (on a few credit cards).
I was unemployed and bit depressed so was unable to make payments so went through a debt charity StepChange to help me stop it escalating. I paid off the majority of it myself though mum helped with 20% of it at end.

I've not sought out the "certificate of completion" and I've never heard of that before.

I've not checked credit file although I presume its awful as I was refused a small overdraft on my current account recently of only a few hundred pounds :-(

Right, so it wasn`t an "Individual voluntary arrangement" an IVA, is a form of insolvency, set up by an Insolvency practitioner, and is a regulated debt solution that gives you certain legal rights.

What you actually had was a DMP, a "debt management plan" basically an unregulated, informal agreement to repay your creditors at a lower rate than normal, and will not, in itself, appear on your credit file, although any associated defaults and late payments will show, I think that probably paints a more accurate picture of your situation, would you agree?

Please don`t apply for loans willy nilly, especially without even looking at your credit file, defaults stay on file for 6 years, after which they drop off, and are gone forever, once your credit file looks more healthy, you may find lenders are more amenable towards you, I certainly would not recommend a guarantor loan, horror stories abound on these forums about those, your other choice would be to save the 8k, maybe give that a go for now.

Yes, thank you. This is an accurate summary.

Ok so  appears fairly grim as far as that angle goes. I appreciate your input.

Yes, I've not applied for any loans whatsoever as my light enquiry about an overdraft they offered then refused gave me all the information I needed.

Yes, might have to take other routes. Maybe two jobs for a while. I don't know. Silly past Mike.....tsk ..tsk :-( 

annabanana82

Rather than looking at self funding is there any courses through your work you could do to boost your promotion prospects? Or look for an internal CS move to another department with better opportunities?

The department I work in I have almost completed the equivalent of a degree, but there  are opportunities for finance, project qualifications as well as post graduate courses

Jami74

Mike10102 said:

Yes, I've not applied for any loans whatsoever as my light enquiry about an overdraft they offered then refused gave me all the information I needed.

Overdrafts are an expensive way to borrow money. I used to think they were designed to be a sort of safety net between bills and payday, but now realise that they are more like the first step into debt, because they are so expensive to pay off. 

What are you hoping the £8000 would buy/pay for? There might be cheaper or alternative ways.

MalMonroe

Are you wanting a loan to pay for postgraduate study? If so, you may qualify for a student loan. 

There's some info here : https://www.gov.uk/funding-for-postgraduate-study

And it's a cheaper way of borrowing money to help you study. 

You say, "In full-time work with same govt office role for the last seven years. Paid at close to minimum wage". What job is it that is so poorly paid in the government? Close to minimum wage, really?! For seven years? Sorry but that doesn't seem quite right. My brother, sister in law and I have worked in government office roles - retired now - and while the salary's not been brilliant to start with, it's not been close to minimum wage and it has risen each year for each of us.

The civil service offers opportunities for further learning, too. Ask your manager. 

Many of us on this forum have suffered financial difficulty for one reason or another, we all make mistakes and we all welcome advice. You are only 40, plenty of time to turn things around and start to do a more satisfying and fulfilling job. You can actually just google as well, google (as many peeps on here are wont to say) - is your friend!  Good luck