IVAs are a common solution for those who are in serious trouble of debt. The individual voluntary arrangement was introduced in 1986. It is a solution for those who want to avoid bankruptcy. It means that you make a legally binding agreement with your creditors, so they cut a proportion of your debt. They will cut an amount so you can pay an affordable amount in every month for five years. After this period you will be debt free. An IVA is good, because it protects you from any legal actions that can harm your credit.

An IVA is not always a good choice, because it marks your credit record. If you have a lot of debt, however, and you want to get rid of it, it’s probably the best solution. You can forget the debt after five years and can live happily. Getting an IVA, however, is not the easiest thing. This is not like getting a bank loan. This involves a lot of negotiating, a lot of headache and a lot of paperwork. Also it requires the involvement of an Insolvency Practitioner. This person is a specialist in this domain and he will help go through the process.
We have seen that getting an IVA is not easy. The real problem is not with the getting of an IVA. The real problem is if we are adequate to get an IVA. This method of debt relief has some requirements. These conditions need to be met otherwise we can forget IVA and have to think about bankruptcy.

The first criterion is to have more than 15000 pounds of debt. If we think a bit, this is a nice sum of money. If we meet this condition, the second one is to have more than three creditors. This means that we can’t have three debts at the same bank or company, the loaners have to differ. The third one is to have a stable monthly income over 200 pounds so you can pay regular and in every month. Many IVA cases fail because the client is not able to pay the money. If your job is not paying you enough, you should take another job or any extra occupations that bring money. The fourth in the row is the ability to live besides paying the debt. This means that you have to show that you can buy all the necessary things for living and you can pay your basic bills and taxes. The last condition is decided by the Insolvency Practitioner. He or she has to make a report that the arrangement is good for both sides and you are reliable.

If you meet all these requirements you will be able to get out of trouble in just five years.