IVA and House Repossession

The repossession of a home can be stopped with an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement). Many debtors, struggling under the weight of large unsecured credit commitments, usually also have mortgage arrears. An IVA can help restructure debt repayments to make it easier for the debtor to keep up their mortgage payments and also make good any mortgage arrears.

Statistics from Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that nearly 20,00 Possession Orders are made each year. The reasons for these house repossessions include people's inability to juggle their family finances across both secured and unsecured debt, particularly in an environment of increasing interest rates. There are many ways in which a house repossession can be delayed or stopped to give time to attempt a restructure of the debtors overall financial position.

Measures available to help stop house repossessions include :-

• The issue of a Suspended Possession Order by a judge in Court, thereby allowing the mortgage arrears to be paid off, in a controlled way, over a period of time.
• An Insolvency Practitioner obtaining an Interim Order to provide time to review the debtors overall financial circumstances with a view to putting an IVA proposal before all the creditors.
• Mortgage arrears can, in certain circumstances, be included as a debt in your IVA.
• A mortgage broker may be able to propose a new mortgage lender, prepared to take the current mortgage arrears and put together a new mortgage proposal which absorbs them into a single new mortgage payment. Any new mortgage offer would be based on usual lending criteria of affordability and property value.

If you are in arrears with your mortgage and other secured/unsecured borrowings then do not allow your house to be repossessed from under you. Seek professional unbiased advice as a matter of urgency. House repossession can be stopped and an IVA can put you back on the road to financial freedom.