Huge personal guarantee on business loan but home owner…HELP

Havingawobble

TheAble said:

Can you explain a bit more about your husband's £60k? Is that debt that he took out in his own name but put into the business? Is it of the unsecured type e.g. credit cards etc?

So it’s on a business American Express card but we have since read these come with joint liability (although I have read that a few people have fought this) so we are assuming that this will be the same as the loan and will become a personal liability after the company is dissolved 

sourcrates

You should take advice from Business Debtline once they re-open after the Christmas break.

It may be possible to re-negotiate the terms of this debt under your personal guarantee, but without any income, all of this is currently just speculation.

Your creditor/creditors, may not be that keen to bankrupt you, as it costs them a whole lot more money to make you bankrupt, than it would if you did it yourself.

How much is your house worth? are there any liabilities outstanding such as mortgages or secured loans?

If you/your husband, can find work quickly, then an IVA might be possible, the debt can be included, and your home would then have legal protection from your creditors, your case is one of the few where an IVA might be beneficial to you, but some kind of income would be needed to make payments with.

Havingawobble

sourcrates said:

You should take advice from Business Debtline once they re-open after the Christmas break.

It may be possible to re-negotiate the terms of this debt under your personal guarantee, but without any income, all of this is currently just speculation.

Your creditor/creditors, may not be that keen to bankrupt you, as it costs them a whole lot more money to make you bankrupt, than it would if you did it yourself.

How much is your house worth? are there any liabilities outstanding such as mortgages or secured loans?

If you/your husband, can find work quickly, then an IVA might be possible, the debt can be included, and your home would then have legal protection from your creditors, your case is one of the few where an IVA might be beneficial to you, but some kind of income would be needed to make payments with.

Thank you, somehow this made me feel ever so slightly better.
The house is worth £440000-£460000 according to our most recent mortgage deal with a current mortgage of £330000 hence my thoughts that if we were struggling to pay maybe selling would be the better option, apply for social housing and live with parents until the point of getting a house. Although not ideal nothing about this situation is ideal.

We have applied for many jobs just a slow time of year to hear but I am confident we will be able to get jobs soon, especially as I am more than happy to go into anything we can right now to get back on track. Can always change jobs down the line.

Am I right in saying with an IVA some of the debt will be written off? My wondering with that is if I came out with say £50,000 equity would the creditor maybe be willing to wait until I sold and then write the rest of the loan off once this lump sum is paid? This is all very new so I am relying on the research I have been doing especially on StepChange website thanks to these forums. 

I will speak to the debt helpline as soon as they reopen to get more clarity as despite there being many ‘what ifs’ my brain needs some questions answered 

sourcrates

IVA`s only write off debt you cannot afford to pay, it all depends on your disposable income.

If you can afford to pay the full debt over 5/6 years, plus charges etc, then you pay the full debt, on the other hand if your income won`t allow this, what you can`t afford gets written off after 5/6 years.

Havingawobble

sourcrates said:

IVA`s only write off debt you cannot afford to pay, it all depends on your disposable income.

If you can afford to pay the full debt over 5/6 years, plus charges etc, then you pay the full debt, on the other hand if your income won`t allow this, what you can`t afford gets written off after 6 years.

Thank you! I think paying off that amount over 6 years would be out of the question. I would however always want to pay as much as I could as morally it feels better than declaring bankruptcy but just the thought that I may not be lumped with this full amount makes me feel a little less on edge.

As you say much of this will have to wait until I have answers to employment, exact amounts etc but thank you for taking the time to at least give a little idea of options