Aug 29 2007
Andy Davie, site manager for IVA.co.uk, commented,

“We at IVA.co.uk are worried to hear reports of the growing number of people being forced into the sub-prime market for loans and mortgages. Sub-prime lenders specialise in offering mortgages to people with poor credit ratings at very high interest rates and this will particularly apply to those undergoing IVAs.

A condition of the majority of IVAs is that holders are expected to release around 85% of the equity in their property through a remortgage in the fourth year of their IVA. With sub-prime mortgage providers tightening criteria and increasing interest rates to unfeasible levels, those in an IVA will suffer the financial hangover of their remortgage far beyond the terms of their initial IVA contract.

My solution is simple. Property issues should be dealt with in the first year of an IVA, as is already the case with bankruptcy. In this way, even if people do need to accept less favourable mortgage deals, the cost of these will be accounted for within the IVA structure and will therefore remain affordable. Then after 5 years, once the IVA is completed, individuals will be able to remortgage, changing to a more favourable rate. This will help to prevent those coming out of IVAs from entering further spirals of uncontrollable debts.”

About IVA.co.uk

IVA.co.uk is the UK’s biggest online IVA community for information and advice about Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs). It is a leading authority on debt and finance in the UK and receives over 2,400,000 hits a month. IVA.co.uk was formed in 2005 to help improve understanding of debt and debt solutions in the UK by providing expert advice and a live forum alongside a regular roundup of the latest news, statistics, and research from the world of debt solutions.

The ‘IVA Forum’ (iva.co.uk/forum) was launched in January 2006 to enable the community to discuss IVA issues. The IVA forum now has 3,000 members and over 33,000 posts. Online TV channel ‘IVA TV’ (TV.iva.co.uk) was launched in December 2006 to report on issues surrounding IVAs and debt. ‘IVA Community Blogs’ (blogs.iva.co.uk) was launched in January 2007 to provide free blogging space for anyone from the IVA community.

IVA.co.uk was created by, and is maintained by, Community121 (www.community121.com), builders of niche community websites.

About Andy Davie
Andy Davie, site manager and spokesperson for IVA.co.uk, drives the development of the site in its continuing commitment to provide a forum for IVA experts and people in IVAs.

Andy is passionate about helping others and ensuring that people involved in IVAs have the best advice and support possible. Having successfully completed and experienced an IVA puts him in an ideal position to do this.

Andy regularly publishes articles on site which explain some of the most complex IVA issues in terms that can be easily understood by the average consumer. Andy also remains an active part of the free IVA.co.uk Forum, having already answered over 500 questions in the last 6 months.

When he is not working on IVA.co.uk, Andy owns and runs his Fruit and Veg shop in Gamlingay, Bedfordshire. Andy sold his original business in 2003 before entering into his IVA in 2004. The shop had been empty for about a year but once Andy had completed his IVA, he decided to reopen his shop, which he now runs with his wife and two children.