im confused as to the best option for me

[jln]

my monthly income is £1315. i own my home with my partner and have a mortgage of £799 of which i pay half.i also pay half the bills which is approx £100. i have a loan with my bank of £464 a month (loan total £32k.)i also have a credit card and pay £80 a month (credit card total £3k. i also have a catalogue and owe £600.(pay £50-70 a month) i pay a mobile phone bill approx £40 a month, car insurance and contacts of £30 each. i have recently had a baby and am worried about paying for her as i barely have any disposable income. would an iva be the answer and how does this work? the loan,credit card and catalogue i take it would be what i pay off and would the payments a month be less than combined £464,£80, and £50? my partner earns his own wage too but im guessing this would be just about me and my debt? im confused as to the best option for me to know what to do.hope this explains it all, sorry for long winded message! thanks

[carlmcmullen]

Hi,

This is a difficult one, does your partner know about your debts ?

In my experience it is normally better if you were to approach this as a couple, however there are still options available for you.

An IVA is not always the best advice and a lot of factors to consider. You would need to look at the amount of equity in the property, who you owe the money to and how much disposable income you are able to offer.

Have you taken any independent advice?

[ianmillington]

Hi

An IVA will only be right for you if you have disposable income. A Very broad brush starter would be to eliminate the amount you pay each months on your unsecured debts (i.e the ones an IVA would take care of) and see how much is left after that. If the answer is nil or below £200 or so, then an IVA is probably not right for you. If it is more than that, then an IVA is worth considering, but it depends on many factors.

I say "probably" because it is not uncommon for a persons partner to assist with the contributions into an IVA,or it might be that your partner has debts too and you might both need to do an IVA. Alternatively, if you are the only one with debt then Bankruptcy might be your best option, however your partner would then have to buy your sghare of the equity from the trustee. Also, you don't say whether the Bank Loan of £32k is secured on the property, which could radically alter things too.

There is further information required before a definitive answer can be given.Basically you need to speak with a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner. Most of us will give advice for nothing. Make sure that you have all options drawn to your attention and that the pros and cons of each are discussed.

Hope this helps

Ian

Help is at Hand!

[MelanieGiles]

Hi jln

Regardless of affordability, I would be concerned that bank, who are by far your largest creditor at £32k of an aggregated debt of £36k - ie 88% would feel that an IVA is not necessary and prefer you to come to some form of ongoing payment programme with them directly.

Depending upon the amount of equity you have in your property, if the above option is not attractive, then you may also wish to consider bankruptcy proceedings, where you would probably only be required to pay over 50% of your disposable income, leaving you with more money to spend on the little one.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

To have me propose an IVA for you, please visit:
http://www.melaniegiles.com/ivaEnquiry.asp

See customer feedback at:
http://www.iva.com/iva_companies/IVA_Advice_Bureau.asp

[Adam Davies]

Hi
I would hazard a guess that your bank would be willing to restructure your existing loan into a longer term and reduce your monthly payments.
Regards


Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and Website Manager

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