Published in on Monday, March 23 2009 by Ideal Debt Solutions
You hear and read a lot about IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) these days, but how do you tell if an IVA is right for you? The people you ask for advice may have a vested interest in telling you that you need an IVA or, similarly, they may have an interest in trying to sell some other kind of financial deal to you.
The best thing to do is to try and decide for yourself based on all the information you can glean before taking expert advice.
An IVA can potentially help anyone who is experiencing debt problems – and notably those people who own property which they would risk losing if they were to be made bankrupt.
Also, if you owe money to any company or individual who refuses to accept any informal debt management agreement, then an IVA may well be the best (or only…) solution. Similarly, if you have already tried and failed to establish an informal debt management arrangement then an IVA may well be the best solution. This is often the case where you money to so many different creditors that an informal debt management arrangement simply isn’t practicable.
On the other hand, if you have already been made bankrupt and wish to reverse that procedure - or if you are facing potential bankruptcy and are dissuaded by the disadvantages of bankruptcy, an IVA could be the best way out of the situation as IVAs have a number of advantages over bankruptcy.
If you’re running a small business which would be difficult to keep going if you were bankrupt, or are in a profession where you could lose your job if you go bankrupt then an IVA may be preferable.
And finally, if you have a good monthly income but high debts – an IVA may be the best solution.
But remember, there are disadvantages to an IVA, which you should make yourself aware of.