Why would you chose IVA over Bankruptcy ?

A question about : Why would you chose IVA over Bankruptcy ?

(sorry if you have already seen this, I mistakenly posted this to an existing thread when meant to start new one)

Sounds like IVA's
- Cost a lot more than Bankruptcy
- Take more of your disposable income
- Last longer (5 versus 3 years)
- Good for Solicitors, Accountants, School Governer Wanna-Be's etc

Light bulb moment is >Ј60,000 (all credit card / converted to loans)
Unemployed since 1-Aug-06, interviewing for sales jobs Ј45,000 + commission
Not claiming benefits - been there a few times in recent years
No assets - lost house and all in divorce that settled about 18 months ago
Living with friend/partner (she has her own house)
- no financial link, but I have been paying some bills + food

Can anyone see any reason why Bankruptcy would be a bad route ?
Any other thoughts please?

Best answers:

• Ive thought of this a lot.
  It is much harder also to be accepted for an IVA.
  I guess it avoids the restrictions of bankruptcy such as member of the council, directorship, you keep your home and car, your not in the peper, you dont have to do the degrading court thing, you dont have to have your life examined by an OR, and it avoids the stigma...
  BKY was the only route open to me... Im still here !
• How does it work with getting a mortgage later on etc with either an IVA or bankruptcy ?
  my SILs business has failed and she is in the process of doing one of the above
  I thought once you were bankrupt it stayed on record for 10 years ?!
• You are bankrupt for 1 year, if you have exess wage you pay into it for 3 and it stays on your credit file for 6.
  IVA and Bankruptcy are the same as far as mortgage underwriters look...
• I see that you are currently unemployed - you would need some income to be accepted for an IVA.
  You are not claiming benefits - do you have savings? - These could be at risk in bankruptcy, but probably also in an IVA.
  Your partner's situation should not be affected by your bankruptcy.
• No savings... just a few hundred quid stuffed under the mattress (so to speak).
  Been living on redundancy money, but that has just run out and I've missed out a couple of times at the last stages on interviews.
  Guess the s**t is still hitting the fan at the moment.
  However, can_do and will do... just need to keep the vultures off so I can continue to clean the swamp! Seems it's the American ones that are most aggressive - must be in the blood!
  Appreciate all your input so far - given that I have nothing (no house, no savings, no PEPs, no ISAs, no car [was on lease and got to the ballon payment point, so I let my partner buy it] - just a bit of Pension fund, clothes and chattels) it seems to me that Bankruptcy is the way to go.
  I will keep reading and post when I have done the deed, so please feel free to keep posting... it's really good to know that others are here to offer advice and support.
  Thanks.
• A quick question about bankruptcy.
  Do they take your house off you if you file for bankruptcy??? What happens to the actual debt, is it written off???
  Cheers
  Wayne
• It all depends if you have equity or not...
  here is some great online vids to take a look at... Your answer will be there in full....
  https://myvesta.org.uk/media/video/bankruptcy/index.html
• I wouldn't dol either unless I had no choice. Bankruptsy would be my choice and I'd let the banks pay for it.
• In an IVA the official listing is with the Bankruptcies.
  In an IVA you still have your outgoings examined but by an IP
  The IVA takes all of your disposable income whereas a br takes roughly half
  The period of no credit is the same for both
  The debt management companies get paid a lot of money for setting up an IVA, but not for br.
  If your car is on a loan or hp and you include it in your IVA you will still lose it.
• An IVA also helps you sleep a bit better at night though. I feel better knowing I'm paying back a lump of the money that was lent to me and I spent.
  Also, I believe on morgage applications you can be asked if you have ever been bankrupt.
• Some of us had no choice in an IVA or bankruptcy.
  Looking back I would still choose bankruptcy since it totally wipes the slate clean.