www.iva.co.uk

Hi there. Just gone passed our 5 yr point and IVA is now in the hands of the closures team. What a fantastic feeling having a pay that is all ours. We are now about to start saving for our first mortgage over the next year or so and I was wondering if you could recommend some mortgage companies that deal with post iva mortgages. Many thanks

Hey jack, congratulations, you must be over the moon. Andrew Graveson who posts on here may be able to help, he can be contacted on www.brightoak.co.uk Good luck. Although, I'd be going on a fab holiday rather than getting a mortgage![8D] Viki X

lol Vicki -I'd go down the holiday route too.

well done Jack - how did you find the 5 years in an IVA?

Would recommend that you speak to an Independent Financial Advisor (and make sure that they are a IFA) and they will search the market for you and provide you with the best poducts for your credit status.

I can endorse Andrew Graveson who is a mortgage expert I have used in the past and provides a good service.

lol!!! we did do the holiday thing - just back from 3 weeks in Florida.
How did we find the 5 years? Quite straightforward really as I got a couple of promotions during it and ended up increasing our contributions a few times. Just got used to realising what was in the account was all we had for the month once all the bills were paid. Took a bit of getting used and of course there was the odd tough month if you had an unexpected bill. Holidays were a no go either so that made Florida extra special.
Looking forward to a bit more stability now and a bright future.

Hello,

A year after the five year IVA period the IVA should have vanished from your credit file. As such the choice of lenders should be very wide indeed.

This might represent good timing for buying a property. The most important thing will be to save up the biggest deposit that you can as this will widen mortgage choice and generally reduce the likely costs.

Many thanks Andrew. Do you think that we can expect standard high street rates after the IVA drops off completely. I know that all the defaulted accounts drop off next year also but of course we will be starting from scratch again so is it just being 18 again with no credit rating at all and if so do you have any suggestions on raising a credit profile for mortgage purposes. I certainly do not have any interest in going down the line of credit cards etc. again or will the simple fact of getting a mortgage raise it and then we can shop around for a better deal a couple of years later.

Is getting one of the pre paid credit cards not a good way of building up a bit of credit history?? Pre mortgage application I mean??

I got a pre paid credit card a few months ago and it has come in very handy but as far as I am aware it has nothing to do with credit rating as you do not get credit scored to get one.

Re-establising a credit record could be very helpful. The choice of lenders may increase as a result and choice often leads to better value.

If that means using a credit card then perhaps a low limit, disciplined but regular small usage, and a direct debit set up to pay the card in full each month would offer some safeguards? Might be worth speaking to your own bank on this.

I don't think a prepaid card would help at all I'm afraid.

Once a mortgage is in place this will definately help to rebuild a credit profile.

Many thanks all for all the advice. Time to start saving hard for that deposit but at least we are in a position to do that now.

Hi
Good to hear of someone coming out the other end of an IVA.
Try the Vanquis card to rebuild your credit.
I had one after my IVA with an initial £500 limit,now after a year it has gradually increased to 2k.
The APR is high but if you keep on top of your balance it is a very useful card and will rebuild your credit file
Regards

Many thanks Andy. Did you get that straight away or did you wait a few months. As I said not interested in having one full time but would possibly use it and pay it off as you recommended just to boost the credit profile.
Would it be worth waiting until we have a completion certificate?
Does the credit file distinguish between past the 5 year point and a certificate of completion?

Hi again Andy. Just been reading your debt history and whilst not on such a grand scale of settling early I recognise some similarities in the progress that we made over the 5 years. You mentioned that one down side was that you did not have a debit card for a while. We have been with the same Building Society the whole way through and asked a couple of times to upgrade to an account with a debit card and cheque book but were plainly refused. Could you maybe also recommend any bank/building societies that may offer these services now that we have passed the five year point or is it worth waiting the extra year until the IVA drops off completely. Sorry to ask all of these questions but it sounds like you made a fantastic job of piecing your financial life back together and would welcome any further advice.

Many thanks again.