Debt Questions

I am in full time employment as a lorry driver and take home about 1500 per month. I have a house which is valued at about £135,000 and a mortgage on it of £125,000. I also have a secured loan of £32000 against it. On top of this I have about £35000 owing to various credit card companies. My mortgage and secured loan is costing me about £530 per month at the moment with my living costs/expenses running at around £800 which leaves me about £200 to pay off all the credit cards. I have fallen behind with these and am being chased quite vigorously by debt collectors. What is my best course of action, an IVA or bankruptcy? I do not mind losing the house as it is in negative equity, I just want to get out of this debt as soon as possible and as stress free as possible as my health is beginning to suffer.
Any advice would eb greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Quickest and cheapest way is bankruptcy unless it would affect your job. .... Unlikely I would have thought.

In bankruptcy you could buy back the notional beneficial interest from the OR for £1 plus the OR inhouse conveyancing costs. But then you would still be paying the mortgage and secured loan payments. If you went bankrupt and put the house into the bankruptcy as it were then you could end up with a bigger surplus income as most rents are not as high as secured loan and mortgage costs together so you would probably get an income payments arrangement with the OR. This would last for three years from the date it was set up but the OR (or trustee) would not take the whole amount so it would still leave you some spare cash which would not be the case in an IVA where there would be just a small amount left over for contingencies.

So five years in an IVA - plus an extra year for notional equity in the "protocol" IVA scenarion. 1 year bankrupt and possibly 26 months of income payments arrangement and both sit on your credit file for six years. The question asked in the future when you try to obtain credit is - have you even been made bankrupt OR MADE ARRANGEMENTS with your creditors.

The choice is yours. Take advice from others - see you local CAB or talk to National Debtline, CCCS or Payplan.