www.iva.co.uk

Hi I me and my wife have about 20000 pounds debt and a overdraft of 1200 pound we earn about 2400 a month we also have a mortgage is a iva a option for us

Hi Denis. It is certainly an option worth looking at. I would suggest that you have a chat to a couple of firms, to compare advice and to see who you feel comfortable with -- as you will be stuck with them for 5 or 6 years !!

You can see general opinions by looking around the forum, you can also get a comprehensive list of companies, with reviews, on www.iva.com

When you have narrowed it down to a few, ask on here in case anyone has first hand experience.

Hi and welcome to the forum...glad you found us! As Foggy says an IVA could be potentially an option but to gain case specific advice would be your next step and discuss all debt remedies. All the best and do keep posting.

Welcome to the forum .... We are all here to help you and answer any questions you may have ... Good luck !

You would need to do an income and expenditure exercise, which most IPs and debt management companies would do with you.

Of your £2.4K per month income, what would be left after paying all of your day to day bills including your mortgage but excluding servicing the debts? This would be your remaining or disposable income that could form payments towards an IVA or debt management agreement.

Is there any equity in your home? If you sold it today and paid off the mortgage and all of your debts, would there be anything left?

An IVA is a good option for many, but do not rush into what may seem like a quick fix, ask the opinion of a couple of the experts that post on this forum.

An IVA is not an easy option - so consider it carefully. It will take over 6-7 years of your life ,of strict budgeting , penny pinching & yearly income & exspenses reviews. You will be given a budget of which you will be expected to live within .

Your credit file will be useless until a year after you have completed an iva. Anything that is credit checked creates problems .eg,,new mobile phone contract, car insurance etc. some of us have & some of us havn't had issues with these things- we did.

Iva.com have reviews of all the iva firms.

On the plus side,,if you have creditors biting your ankles it will stop them in their tracks & being in an iva retrains you & how you view & spend money.

As heretoday has said - do an honest budget without your debt included & see what you have left over. That is what your iva payment " disposable income" would be.

Does your house need any repairs? Could the boiler pack up? Windows need replacing? & will your cars last another 7 years? You will not have any spare cash to sort these problems out during the iva. However you can take a payment break in emergency situations but then these payments will be added on at the end of your iva,,adding on to the timescale.

Sorry,,don't mean to be a negative Nellie but I think these things have to said- if I'm honest we went into an iva blind,,,I wish I'd have been a bit more prepared as to what to expect.

You can end up paying more than the original amount owed in an IVA plus fee's (plus interest in some cases) because of the windfall clause & bonus's/overtime ect. On the flip side the IVA does force disapline and a single minded attitude towards debt freedom and whatever you would have payed over the period without an IVA, its unlikely you would net the same amount. For me it does work.