// August 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Debt, Finance, Loans, Money, iva
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a legally binding agreement between you and your unsecured lenders. It’s a form of insolvency and an alternative to bankruptcy.
It might sound strange to think there are benefits to becoming insolvent – but in certain circumstances there really are! This is especially true for people who have a large amount of debt that they are struggling to repay and who could potentially face legal action from their lenders, or even having their home repossessed.
IVA Benefits
Carrying the burden of a large debt has been proven to affect people’s health – both physically and emotionally. With an IVA, you could have part of your debt written off. An IVA could provide the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for anyone who has no idea how they will ever repay what they owe.
If you owe around £15,000 or more (in unsecured debt) and you have more than one lender and you are struggling to keep up with repayments, an IVA could allow you to repay what you could for a fixed term (usually five years). At the end of that, the rest of your unsecured debt would be written off and you would be debt free, as long as you’d kept making payments into the IVA for the full term. You would also be protected from further legal action from your lenders.
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement can help you to afford your mortgage payments, since your IVA payments would be based on what you could afford after you’d covered all your essential costs.
Another benefit is that you wouldn’t have to speak to your lenders anymore. It might be that you’ve had many phone calls with them, or received many letters. Once an IVA begins, an IP (Insolvency Practitioner) would take over speaking to them on your behalf.
IVA Consequences
You would only be able to get an IVA if the lenders who own 75% of your unsecured debt agree to it. If they didn’t, you’d have to find another debt solution. If they did agree to it, it’s your responsibility to keep making payments for the full term of the IVA.
An IP is a qualified professional (normally a solicitor/accountant) and their services aren’t free – you’d pay fees. Remember that they would deal with your lenders on your behalf and organise the legally binding agreement between you.
Entering into an IVA will affect your credit rating, which can affect how much it costs you to borrow money for six years – and even your ability to borrow money. It would also be listed in the Individual Insolvency Register.
Finally, you may be asked to release some equity in your home towards the end of the IVA, if that is possible.