September 2, 2010
An IVA can Protect your Assets
One more advantage of agreeing to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is being assured that you can pay off every one of your creditors while protecting your assets in the process. Stress from knowing you have too much debt on your hands increases more with trying to figure out a way to keep your properties from being repossessed anytime. This kind of situation will not be avoided by continuing to dismiss notices for debt settlement or by choosing to file for bankruptcy and giving up entirely on rescuing your finances.
The crucial first step is to get adequate debt advice and have an IVA expert go over your current financial standing. You should be prepared to produce pertinent documentation that will help in ascertaining the actual amount of debt you have and what possible choices there are in managing it more effectively. All sources of income must be declared, along with every asset you have acquired over the years. You will not be allowed to pursue an IVA if your total debt falls below £15,000. Note that only unsecured loans or credit will be covered by the arrangement. Repayments for any mortgage or secured loan that you may have taken out will be marked as necessary expenses and will automatically be deducted from your earnings. The remainder of your income dictates the exact rate which you will be offering your creditors to settle what you owe all of them. You will be expected to submit a single payment each month throughout the next 3 to 5 years. Because an IVA is a legally-binding document, the borrower and every creditor he or she has listed would be held responsible to follow all the terms set within it once the agreement is approved in court. No bank or lender can seek repossession of your home or car as long as you are fulfilling your end of the bargain.
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is certainly not for everybody, although it would not hurt to look into it as a viable option before deciding to declare bankruptcy and have your assets liquidated in no time. Regardless of which kind of debt management plan you enter into, your ultimate goal should be to clear your credit history and increase your rating as a borrower at the soonest time. You may be surprised at how much easier you can get out of debt with everything you have invested in kept safe and still under your ownership.