A Simple Guide To An Individual Voluntary Agreement
It would seem that with the state of today’s financial crisis, more people are struggling to keep up with their debts, Payments are being missed and people are really feeling the pressure. What many don’t know is that there are all sorts of help out there. If your debt situation has got out of hand and you are nearing bankruptcy then an option available to you would be an IVA which means an Individual Voluntary Agreement.
An IVA is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors which is supervised by a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner. It is a good option for anyone that has unsecured debts of more than £15,000 who cannot make the payments and is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Looking for a resolution between the creditors and the debtors means that normally the creditors will have to make a compromise on the debts owed to them. It is normal for the creditor to lose money as the Insolvency Practitioner will look into the borrower’s earnings and work from there as to how much monthly payments should be.
Once payments have been agreed a contract will be structured between both parties. There is nothing that can be done to change the agreement once contracts have been signed by both creditor and debtor. Which means that creditors can not pursue you for money or make any legal actions against you.
IVA’s are usually taken over a short period of time ranging between 3 and 5 years. Once all payments have been finalized and all the requirements that an IVA has asked for have been suitably met borrowers can find that 70% of their debt has been removed.
An Iva is not available to everyone to be eligable you will have to be in regular employment and have money to cover your living expenses. Your debt would need to be more than £15,000 and you must also be able to prove that you cannot make the monthly payments of the personal loan or credit card. It is vital that you take into account the consequences an IVA can have on your financial future and your credit rating.
Final comments
If you are looking into getting an IVA, it is important to do your research first there are a lot of fee-charging companies out there that are more interested in making a profit, they can actually make thousands out of you. Your best option would be to look at fee-free charging companies who only have your best interest at heart and can help give the best advice for your circumstance.
