Adverse Credit Mortgage Specialists
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a serious mark on your credit history, but it does not permanently prevent you from getting a mortgage. Once your IVA is complete and time has passed, specialist lenders will consider your application - and homeownership becomes a realistic goal again.
Important distinction: Getting a mortgage during an active IVA is very difficult and usually requires your insolvency practitioner's consent. After your IVA is completed or settled, your options open up considerably - especially with a specialist broker on your side.
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a formal, legally binding agreement between you and your creditors, overseen by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, to repay a proportion of your debts over a fixed period, typically five years. At the end of the arrangement, any remaining balance covered by the IVA is written off.
During an active IVA, you need your Insolvency Practitioner’s written consent before taking on any significant credit, including a mortgage. In practice, this is rarely granted. The right advice in almost every case is: complete the IVA first.
An IVA is a formal insolvency event. It appears on the Insolvency Register during the period it is active and on your credit file for six years from the date it was approved, which means it may remain visible for up to a year after you have completed it. Completing an IVA in five years does not mean it disappears in five years.
After completion, specialist lenders can consider you. The timeline from completion to mortgage application has three broad phases:
0 to 3 years post completion: Around 17 specialist lenders may consider you. Deposit typically 20 to 25% minimum. Rates reflect the higher risk.
3 to 6 years post completion (IVA still on file): Wider specialist panel of around 48 lenders. Deposit requirements begin to ease. Rates become more competitive as the IVA ages.
6+ years (IVA removed from file): Near-mainstream options. Over 70 lenders may consider you assuming clean recent credit. Standard deposit requirements may apply.
Lenders and brokers will ask to see your IVA completion certificate, which confirms the date the arrangement ended. This date determines which tier of lender criteria applies to your application.
Beyond the IVA itself, lenders look at: conduct since completion (has your credit file been clean?), current income and affordability, deposit size, and reason for the IVA.
Even if the IVA has dropped off your credit file, you must answer honestly on application forms. Failing to disclose could be treated as mortgage fraud.
Start by obtaining your IVA completion certificate and checking your credit file with CheckMyFile. Verify that the IVA is recorded correctly, including the start date, completion date and status.
Look at the underlying account entries (the defaulted debts that formed part of the IVA) and check that these are correctly marked.
Once you have a clear picture of your file, speak to a specialist broker.
At Alexander Southwell, we work regularly with clients post IVA and know which specialist lenders consider which timeframes. We will assess your full position and, if the timing is right, prepare a strong application with the most appropriate lender.
Our specialist advisers understand IVA mortgages inside out. Fee-free advice, no obligation to proceed.
Speak to an AdviserCan I get a mortgage while in an IVA? It is extremely difficult: you need your Insolvency Practitioner's consent, and very few lenders will consider it. The practical advice is to complete the IVA first.
How long after an IVA can I get a mortgage? Some specialist lenders consider applications 1 to 3 years after completion. After the IVA drops off your file at six years from the start date, mainstream lender options open up.
What deposit do I need after an IVA? Typically 15 to 25%, depending on how long ago the IVA was completed and your current credit health. A larger deposit always improves your options and rate.
Do I have to disclose a previous IVA on a mortgage application? Yes, even if it no longer appears on your credit file. Failing to disclose could be treated as mortgage fraud.
Will my IVA completion certificate help my mortgage application? Yes. Lenders and brokers use it to verify the end date of the IVA, which determines which lender criteria apply to your case.
Alexander Southwell Mortgages is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA Ref: 1011890). Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The information on this page is for guidance only and does not constitute financial advice.
Getting a mortgage after an IVA is a timeline question. The same applicant who struggles to find a lender one year after completion can have a choice of dozens three years later. Here is how the stages tend to play out, based on the cases we place.
Two dates control everything: the IVA start date, which fixes when it leaves your credit file, and the completion date, which most specialist criteria count from. Get both confirmed before you plan anything, because assuming the wrong date is the most common reason post IVA applications are rejected at the first stage.
Post IVA applications succeed on evidence. Before any application goes in, we help you gather a file that answers the underwriter's questions before they are asked.
Issued by your insolvency practitioner when the arrangement ends, this is the single most important document. Lenders will not rely on the credit file alone to confirm completion status.
Criteria run from the start date, so getting it right determines which lenders you meet. We verify it against the register entry and your paperwork rather than trusting memory.
The Insolvency Service removes your entry from the register around three months after completion. We check it has actually gone, because a stale entry raises questions during underwriting.
Every account included in the arrangement should show the correct IVA marker and a zero balance. You can pull all three reports in one place with CheckMyFile, which we ask every client to do before we approach a lender.
What led to the arrangement, what changed, and how your finances run today. Manual underwriters read these, and a clear, honest page of context is often the difference on a borderline decision.
The most common error we discover is a creditor recording a default dated after the IVA start date, which makes old debt look like new adverse credit. Getting entries like that corrected with the credit reference agencies before applying can move you into an entirely better tier of lender, and it costs nothing but a little persistence.
Early post IVA deals are priced for a high risk borrower, which means higher interest rates and a larger deposit than the high street. That is the starting point, not the destination. As your arrangement ages, pricing steps down, and affordability often looks better than you expect: the IVA payments that consumed a slice of your income every month have finished, which lenders factor into what your mortgage repayments can be.
Expect a full affordability assessment: income, outgoings, any remaining debt, and stress testing against a higher interest rate. A stable income matters more here than a big salary, and self employed applicants can absolutely qualify after an IVA, provided the accounts tell a consistent story. One of our recent clients, a teacher who completed her arrangement two years earlier, assumed she needed a 25 percent deposit; her clean post IVA record meant a specialist lender accepted 15 percent, and her monthly payment came in under her old rent.
If you kept your house through the arrangement, the equity in it works like a deposit. Remortgaging away from a legacy rate once your IVA is complete can cut your monthly costs substantially, and where the current value of the property has risen, your loan to value may already sit in a cheaper band. Some homeowners also ask about remortgaging during an IVA to settle it early: this is possible in limited circumstances, requires your IVA supervisor's agreement, and needs proper advice, because it swaps unsecured debt for borrowing secured on your home, which is repossessed as a last resort if not kept up.
The months between completing your IVA and applying for a mortgage are not dead time. Used well, they are when your file turns from a story about old debts into evidence of financial recovery, and every improvement feeds directly into the deal you qualify for.
Registering to vote at your current address is the quickest, cheapest credit rating improvement available, and lenders use it to verify who you are.
A credit builder card, used lightly and repaid in full every month, shows you can manage new credit responsibly. Keep the balance well under the limit and never miss a payment.
Phone contracts, utilities and subscriptions all report to the credit reference agencies now. Eighteen months of clean payments carries real weight with an underwriter reviewing a post IVA application.
Each application leaves a hard search on your file. Space them out, and never apply for credit in the six months before your mortgage application if you can help it.
Time does the rest. The IVA drops off your credit file six years from its start date, and from that point most lenders assess you on what your file shows today, not on where you were when the arrangement began.
The short answer: technically possible, rarely sensible. You would need written permission from your insolvency practitioner, a lender prepared to accept an active arrangement, and a large deposit. The handful of deals that exist carry heavy pricing. In almost every case we advise completing the IVA first, then applying with your completion certificate in hand.
From the day you receive your completion certificate, a small number of specialist mortgage lenders will consider you. Realistically, the twelve month mark after completion is where options start to feel workable, and each year that passes improves both the number of lenders and the interest rate you can achieve. The six year point, when the IVA leaves your credit file, is where near mainstream pricing returns.
Lenders generally read an IVA slightly more favourably, because it shows you committed to repaying your creditors over a set period rather than walking away from the debts. In practice the criteria for both follow similar time based rules. If your history includes bankruptcy rather than an arrangement, our guide to getting a mortgage after bankruptcy covers the differences.
Because the six years run from the IVA start date, not the date you finished. Complete a five year arrangement and it remains visible for roughly another year. Check that your file shows the correct completion status, and keep your completion certificate safe, because lenders will ask for it long after the register entry has gone.
It will no longer appear on your credit file or the insolvency register. However, some application forms ask directly whether you have ever entered an insolvency arrangement, and you must answer honestly. Plenty of mainstream lenders only ask about the last six years, and a broker who knows each lender's questions can route you accordingly.
Sources and further reading: GOV.UK guidance on individual voluntary arrangements, the Insolvency Service individual insolvency register and StepChange IVA guidance.
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