www.iva.co.uk

Hi
I've got a quastion regarding the IVA.
I have a mortgage of 162000, house worth 175000. Together with that we have a secured loan of 15500 paying 343 each month.
My debts are 29000 (paying 700 on to of our mortgage and secured loan bills).
Do I have to realise the equity from my mortgage even if I have the secured loan?
Will my employer know that I'm in IVA?
I'm not sure if we should use IVA however we are stragelling to pay. I have a 5000 worth car, does it mean I have to sell it? If we save any money during the IVA can we still keep them or we have to give them to IVA? When can you tell me during the process of the IVA how much of my debts will be written off? Can I make normal payments to my creditors until the creditors decide about my IVA?
Regards
Tom

Hi Tom. If there is equity in the property and it can be raised creditors will normally ask for you to remortgage. If there is no equity due to the secured loan there would be no need to raise any.
Your employer does not need to know unless it is in your contract to tell them. This would apply to financial advisers amongst others.
The car is not extravagant and if needed for work would be excluded. Any savings made during the IVA are yours as your allowances can be spent as you like. If you make savings from contingencies etc the IP will not ask for them.
The IVA proposal will detail exactly how much the payments are, the fees to be deducted and the total debts. This shows the return to creditors and the amount written off. This figure is subject to change during the IVA if circumstances differ.
Finally, if you are in a position to continue to pay creditors but are finding it a little tight an IVA may not be the best option for you. However, if you are finding yourself constantly overdrawn and withdrawing cash from credit cards to meet direct debits you may well be insolvent and an IVA may be suitable.
Speak to an IP firm to discuss your options as most do not charge for initial advice.

Given the current value of your property, together with the amounts you owe to the mortgage and secured loan companies, your property would have to leap in value over the next few years to put you into an equity raising situation.

How much do you feel you could afford to contribute to creditors in an IVA each month?