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Help! Depressed & stressed!

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and I'm glad i found you guys.

I am single and with an unsecured debt amounting to around £45K, I feel so hopeless in my situation.

I want to go into IVA as I did borrow the money I owe and am compelled to at least pay what I can. However, there is not much left to my income at the end of the month! So looking at BR so I can still have a roof over my head and food to eat.

Questions:

For BR:
- will they take everything away from you like your jewelry, computer, car, etc.?

- I read that if a car is worth around 2k - 3k then they may allow you to keept it, is this correct?

- properties: i haven't got a propery here but I do have one in my name in another country in the west. This is a mortgaged property and my sister is paying for it now as she lives there and I can no longer afford to pay for it.

Questions for IVA:

I've already consulted an IP, and with the amount of debt I have vs. my expenses, my monthly payments would be in the region of £500+. To be honest I cannot really afford this as I am the bread winner for my parents (as my brother now has his own family) and I send around £300 a month to support them. (i have not disclosed this sort of expense to IP yet as was not sure if it will be considered and since it was just an initial assessment.

Another problem i have is the people I live with now already have an IVA. if I use the same company as them, would their payments be affected if say I pay them a certain amount for my share of the bills - only bec. this may be considered extra income for them. Coz the last thing I want to do is enter into an IVA with the same company then end up increasing their monthly payments bec. of my application.

I will appreciate your advice. Thanks

Hi Carl and welcome to the forum

It is always sensible to cover all options when you are considerng a debt solution, and if you are looking at an IVA it is vital that you ensure the offer made to creditors is affordable.

You are unlikely to be allowed to make payments to your parents either under an IVA or under bankruptcy proceedings, however in bankruptcy you may be allowed to retain some disposable income above any Income Payments Agreement or Order which may be granted against you.

Assets of material value are affected by bankruptcy proceedings - ie equity in properties, investments and cars - I would say of a value greater than £2,000.

Hi Carl - with BR they will not take away computers etc...unless you have items of great value like a £3k sound system [:)]

You may be allowed to keep a car, depends on value and why you need the car, i.e.work.

Property - if you own a property you have to give a valuation and 3rd party can either buy out the equity or the beneficial interest.

As for you giving an allowance to your parents...I don't think this will be accepted as expenditure but in the very least you should disclose it.

The fact that the people you live with are already in an IVA is neither here nor there as long as they have declared your contribution to their IP.

Thank you experts for your quick replies, hugely appreciated.

Mel, why won't IVA or BR allow me to support my parents eventhough they are solely dependent on me? How will they live without my support?

For BR, will they only look at assets I have in the uk or would they also look at for instance the property I mentioned which is in another country?

For BR, do i need to go to court?

Swans_girl, I have a trusty old portable player so I guess I'm alright in that area.

What is the difference in terms of monthly payments between IVA and BR? I was not aware you had to make regular payments to BR as well. I know IVA is for 5 years and BR is 3 years, is there any other difference and which do you think is more to my advantage?

Apologies in advance for my additional questions, I am just at a lost at the moment.

Cheers!

Payments in BR are based on what is affordable and may be for 3 years max,but are often less. Is there equity in your property abroad?
Dont let the court thing put you off,its not as bad as everyone thinks.

Not sure if there is equity at all as if i remember correctly, I still got about 15 years to go for the mortgage. I would imagine it the value has appreciated through the years, but by the time I finish payments, I would've probable paid over its value because of the interest.

How do they compute if a property would have enough equity which would be worth their while to pursue?

Thanks.

Your property would have to be valued to see whether or not you had any equity in it.

Carl S - you need proper advice and I recommend that you speak to an IP as soon as possible to discuss appropriate solutions to fit your circumstances. Visit www.iva.com and select one or two to have a discusion with. Let us know how you get on.

I am afraid that payments to your parents will not be deemed to be essential at the expense of your creditors. Do your parents have incomes of their own, and how would they manage if you were not in a position to pay them?

And under bankruptcy proceeings, an asset is an asset of the estate regardless of where it is situated in the world, so you will need to disclose foreign assets to the Trustee.

Is there any equity in the foreign property currently?

David Mond wrote:

Is there any equity in the foreign property currently?

I will have to have it appraised as I really haven't got a clue. But because of the economic climate in the US, I assume that properties have lesser value now than it was years ago - just like here in the UK.

If that is the case, will my asset be affected if I go for BR? How about if I go for IVA what will be the advantage/disadvantage?

Many thanks for all your advice.

Depends what the property is, location etc. Yes property prices have gone down in USA as well as in the UK. All of your assets will need a valuation and then dependent on your particular circumstances an IVA maybe appropriate.However if you go bankrupt all of your properties will be ultimately sold for the benefit of your creditors. You need to have a discussion with an IP as soon as possible to discuss all options.I have suggested you review a list of practitiones on www.iva.com and talk to one or two of them.