Debt Management to IVA

There are a huge number of people in Debt Management Plans in the UK. Many of them have varied circumstances as to why they are in Debt Management over other solutions. Some may be solvent but to pay off their debts in full in accordance with the terms on which they borrowed the money in the first place they would have to dispose of some of their assets such as a house, and many of them are not prepared to do this. Continue reading

Can I Do an IVA with no money?

If you are insolvent and have no assets and/or no disposable income can you still do an IVA or to put the question a little differently, is there any chance that creditors will accept your proposal for an IVA if you have no money? Incredible as it may seem, the answer is yes, provided you can ‘bring something to the table’. First, let us look at the ‘normal’ scenario in which an insolvent debtor goes forward with an IVA. Continue reading

How an Individual Voluntary Arrangement Works

If you have debts you cannot afford to repay you might still like to reach a binding agreement with your creditors based on what you can afford. Provided you have a regular income, an IVA may help you to reach such an agreement and to repay some of your debts in a reasonable, finite and fixed period of time. Continue reading

Dealing with Personal Debt via an Individual Voluntary Arrangement

In our first two articles in this series, we looked at Debt Consolidation and the Debt Management Plan as two of the main approaches for dealing with personal debt problems. In this article we will briefly look at the first of two formal processes that are specifically targeted at debts who are insolvent i.e. an Individual Voluntary Arrangement. Continue reading

Teach yourself about IVAs

The purpose of these pages is to give basic and straightforward answers to queries that individuals want to pose on the subject of IVAs and insolvency in general but may avoid doing this for all sorts of reasons. Let’s begin with examining a scenario when somebody is preparing to get married but is concerned that their fiancé may perhaps be insolvent and that their insolvent fiancé’s creditors might seize their money after the wedding. Although love may be blind, it would be natural for partners to reveal to each other the state of their financial situation prior to getting hitched or even before beginning to co-habit. This is desirable simply because failing to reveal monetary troubles before starting to live together could lead to a failure of trust subsequently in the union in the event that one partner happens to be insolvent and their financial difficulties come to the attention of the other solvent party.
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Getting an IVA Accepted

If you’re planning on entering into an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) with your lenders you would naturally like to be in no doubt that they are going to accept and agree to your IVA proposal. The overriding concern is whether your offer will be sufficiently attractive to a minimum of 75% of those lenders who make a decision to exercise their power to vote to persuade them to approve your proposals. Exactly what do creditors need to see in your IVA proposal documents?
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Self Employed workers and IVAs in the field of construction/property

Despite the record level of insolvencies in the UK, the Bank of England again has raised interest rates taking them up to 5.5% which is a six year high. It is expected that at least one more rise will take place this year as the bank attempts to keep a tight control on inflation. These increases are hurting businesses especially in the construction industry as the property market slows and first time buyers in particular feel the squeeze. Continue reading

Self Employed Workers and IVAs

Over the past few months there have been numerous press articles concerning the increasing level of personal insolvencies and in particular Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s). IVA’s were introduced in England and Wales in 1986 followed by Northern Ireland in 1989. Initially, they were aimed specifically at trading businesses and the self employed but are now most commonly used by individuals who have amassed uncontrolled levels of unsecured debt. Continue reading