The first of many questions - The House

peachyprice

That's what I don't understand DD, there are people here who have been TOLD by the OR to stop paying the mortgage and let the mortgage company repossess. Did the mortgage money then go in the pot to repay creditors? It couldn't go towards a 3yr IPA cos it wouldn't take that long to repossess, so how would that work, do you just pay it to the OR up until reposession.

Sorry if I sound dim, just trying to sort it out in my head, and trying to decide which corner to fight.

robbstudd

Hi there,

This is the first time I've ever posted on here although I am an avid reader of Martins Web Site, boy doe's that guy know how to save us money, so thanks for that Martin.

Also I can't believe I've just spent half an hour posting a reply to this thread on here only to have my computer crash, $%"@@

Anyway here goes, I suggest you reads Martins GUIDE TO IVA's,on is web site, its really helpful.

I personally four and a half years ago went through an IVA, which I completed two and a Half years later, it still naffs your credit rating for 5 years but so then does going BC or getting CCJ's.

If you want to keep your house then i suggest an IVA, if you ain't bothered about your house , car, any saving, bank accounts etc then go BC because everything you have of value will be turned into cash to pay your creditors.

So with a BC they take every thing of value, with an IVA you still get to live and we found that we kept our house, car, bank accounts, etc.

I personally would go down the IVA route (you will probably find that your creditors would also because they will get more of what you owe them back, typically 50p in the £ compared to say 10 - 20p in the £ if you went BC) and stop paying all none essential household bills like bank loans, credit cards and the like to keep my house and a roof over my head.

I would try and pay the arrears on your mortgage, utility bills and council tax that way you can live, try talking to your mortgage company and I am sure they will come to an agreement about the outstanding arrears, don't forget it costs them money to take you to court, they want the easy option.

No judge or court will make you homeless if you got children and if your up to date with your mortgage neither will your mortgage company.

You need to take professional advice so as already suggested try the CCC'S, Citizens advice or the National Debt Line, (contact details in Martins GUIDE TO IVA's) on his web site.

If you go down the IVA route the first thing that will happen and this will happen very very quickly is that your IVA company will go to court to stop your creditors making you BC, this will also stop your creditors ringing you, sending you nasty letters, calling at your door and also threating court action. (A great relief in its self, no more dreading the morning post or the knock on the door)

The down side I found with an IVA is that when I settled it two and a half years later (I owed £25,000 and paid back £20,000 by re mortgaging my house, so saving myself £5,000) was that the IVA company took £7,000 in fees out of the $20,000 settlement Fee

Talk about making money out of other peoples misery.

Theres money to be made out of other peoples misfortune I suppose that why all these IVA companies are on TV to sign you up.

We personally used Debt Free Direct and found them very helpful but there are other companies with lower fee perhaps. I am sure CCC's and the like can help you on this.

Hope the above helps and good luck for the future, I know what your going through but there is light at the end of the tunnel and after all your CREDITORS can't have what you ain't got.

If you want to talk to me direct on the phone drop me a line and I'll e-mail you my phone number. They always say a problem shared is a problem halved.

[EMAIL="robbstudd@aol.com"]robbstudd@aol.com[/EMAIL]

Rob.

peachyprice

We can't have an IVA, our disposable income after basic living expenses is under £100, I can't really see that working, can you. We have no savings, no equity, so not much to lose in BR really.

Not to mention the 30%ish failure rate of IVA's which result in BR anyway, and make someone else a lot of money along the way.

robbstudd

Hi Peachy, Looks like from what you say then going BR is probably the best thing for you.

We decided to fight for our house because giving it up wouldn't have helped our creditors because at that time there was no equity in the house for them anyway so going BC would have not helped my creditors at all with regards repossessing our family home, I had at the time also two young small children.

We didn't want to move, (to much hassle). I had a steady job and could just afford the agreed payments to the IVA company (£295.00 per month) along with the mortgage and other household bills. Didn't have enough money for holidays or news papers or going to the pub on an evening or any thing like that so really struggled for two years until house prices went up which gave me enough equity to pay off my IVA and an extra £10,000 to so I could fit a new kitchen, redecorate my house and build a garage which put more value on my house for future.

Glad I went down the IVA, but its not for everyone I suppose because house is now worth £135,000 and not £50,000, when I first bought it in 2000. My current mortgage is now £60,000 so I guess an IVA was right for me and my family.

Any way good luck with your BC and I wish you and your family the best of luck for the future

Rob

debt_doctor

If you go BR and you are to be assessed for an IPA then your expenditure is 'actual expediture' and if you are not paying the mortgage then that would free up income for a possible IPA. This would make it very difficult to accumulate any spare funds for saving for a deposit.

You pay your IPA until such time that your disposable income is less than £ 100, which might be when you have to pay rental costs again, possibly after being re housed by the council.


DD

peachyprice

In that case I will fight nail and tooth to keep the house, as I doubt we'll be elligble to be housed by the council

debt_doctor

Why do you feel you wouldnt be eligible to be re housed by the council ?

DD