Very old IVA, does it need to be declared?

[whiteonesugar]

DH had an IVA about 15 years ago. It’s settled, completely gone from credit files etc and obviously salary and affordability is lots better now. When we bought our house we had to go through a specialist broker due to the IVA and got an ok rate, but not great. Due to remortgage this and I don’t know if it still needs to be declared and whether it’s worth going through the broker again or not. Obv with the general cost of living we want to get a lower rate if possible. Any advice? Thanks 😊

I too had an IVA a very long time ago and as far as mortgages go, it now might as well not exist. We got a standard mortgage from HSBC, who are apparently quite strict, within a few months of the IVA dropping off my credit record - we haven't had to remortgage for over a decade because we got a good lifetime tracker that we still have.

But I've been able to take out credit as normal and as far as I know it's not affected my life - I'm now a 'rate tart' so take out 0% deals and other free offers to make money so have made a few applications that have always been approved.

The only time I've been slightly unsure is when I was about to apply for some type of 'premium' home insurance product (we have very expensive mountain bikes that send standard providers running for the hills) that said they wouldn't cover anyone who had ever had any credit problems, I think I found another company that didn't ask the same question but did wonder if it is possible for them to find out information that is apparently too old for the normal credit history records.

I suppose what you have to do is read all questions carefully and answer them honestly.

If they say 'have you ever....' then you have to say yes, but it doesn't necessarily follow that a problem 15 years ago will stop you getting a good rate today, if your affordability stacks up and he has a good history over the last few years.

Lenders will know that people's circumstances can change significantly over time and from the IVA experience, I really learned to budget, be careful with credit/spending and sensible prioritisation so it could be argued that someone who has had problems in the past is a lower risk than many people who haven't, because they've had experience of budgeting and saving for unplanned expenses/covering loss of income etc and they will try their hardest to not get into difficulties again.

Thanks both. We have no issues getting credit now, it’s more about that ‘have you ever’ question. As I know some lenders won’t consider anyone who’s had one ever, despite, like you say, generally those who’ve had issues are more likely to be better with money now!

I’ve contacted a broker to ask now, I think it’s probably the best course of action,