Your Home Finance
An IVA doesn't automatically stop you getting a mortgage.
Whether yours is active or completed, and how long since completion, the right specialist usually matters more than people think.
30+ years
IVA & insolvency
Active vs complete
expertise
Specialist lenders
matched daily
FCA regulated
advice
Situation grid
Which sounds most like you?
How your case is assessed
How lenders assess an IVA
An IVA is formal insolvency — not a DMP. Active, recently completed, and years post-completion are three different conversations.
Active or completed?
Active IVAs usually need Insolvency Practitioner permission and a larger deposit. Completed IVAs open a different lender set.
How long since completion?
Time since completion opens lender tiers year by year — recently completed is a different market from three or more years clear.
Payment history on the IVA?
Clean payments throughout the arrangement strengthen the case. Missed IVA payments are a red flag for mortgage lenders.
Deposit, income and the rest of the file?
Stronger deposit and stable income since completion matter — as do any defaults or CCJs that sit alongside the IVA.
You don't need to work out IVA lender criteria yourself — we assess the full file and timing first.
Specialist insight
Not every lender treats an IVA the same way
Active or very recent IVA
Higher challenge
Fewer lenders · larger deposit typical · IP permission often required · premature applications burn searches.
Completed IVA — clean since
More lender choice
Specialist tiers that price discharged IVAs · clearer path when completion is documented and conduct since is strong.
Independent reviews
Verified client reviews on Reviews.io
Live verified reviews — not cherry-picked on-page quotes.
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Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in IVA and insolvency mortgages
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“Completing an IVA changes the lending landscape far more than many applicants realise — active and discharged are not the same conversation.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Where IVA mortgage applications go wrong before completion timing is understood.
Treating an IVA like a DMP
Formal insolvency and informal plans have different lender rules — wrong chapter wastes time and searches.
Forcing a purchase mid-IVA
Even with IP permission, options are narrow. Finishing often widens choice more than hope.
Only trying high street after completion
Mainstream policy often excludes IVA history. Specialists price discharged arrangements.
Ignoring payment history on the arrangement
Missed IVA payments are a red flag — clean payments through the plan strengthen the case.
Real client scenarios
How we've helped after an IVA
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
IVA completed ~18 months
- Completed
- 22% deposit
- Clean IVA payments
- Specialist approved
Situation
IVA completed about eighteen months ago. Declined by two high street banks.
Challenge
Assumed mainstream declines meant no mortgage was possible — and that the IVA still defined them as a borrower.
What changed
Matched a specialist who prices discharged IVAs with strong deposit (22%), clean payments throughout the arrangement, and stable employment since completion.
Outcome
Right tier found — high street criteria exclude IVAs by policy; specialist was always the realistic route.
Why it worked
Completion timing and clean IVA payments reached a specialist who prices discharged cases — not high-street policy screens.
Mid-IVA — wanted to buy early
- Active IVA
- Advised wait
- Placed post-completion
Situation
Mid-IVA and wanted to buy before completion.
Challenge
Options were extremely limited even with IP permission. Deposit alone would not fix the lender tier.
What changed
Honest timeline: finish the IVA, build deposit, apply around six months post-completion rather than force an application now.
Outcome
Premature applications would have burned searches. Waiting produced a placeable file.
Why it worked
Completion changed the market more than another mid-IVA attempt would have.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no hard search at this stage.
- 1
Tell us what happened (no hard search at this stage)
- 2
Jay reviews your circumstances
- 3
We discuss the appropriate route — honestly, without promising approval
- 4
If proceeding: Agreement in Principle → application → completion
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We do not promise approval — we match honest advice to your file
- Wrong lender first hurts more than waiting — we guide the sequence
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- Active or completed IVA?
- Completion date (if finished)
- Deposit available
- Income and conduct since
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to apply today.
We may advise waiting where your IVA is still active — or only just completed — and finishing the arrangement (or a short period of clean post-completion conduct) is likely to increase lender choice dramatically.
If waiting would meaningfully widen options, we'll say so and help you plan that path. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about IVA mortgages
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't judge your credit history. We help you understand what's possible.
Find out what's possible
Active or completed IVA? We'll assess how lenders are likely to view your case.
We don't recommend a lender until we've confirmed whether your IVA is active or completed, and how long since completion.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Let's review your IVA
Free adviser assessment • No credit search • FCA regulated
We review your whole situation — CCJs, defaults, declines, all of it — before recommending a lender. No credit search at this stage.
Related guides
Not an IVA? Explore similar situations
If your arrangement or credit history looks more like one of these, start here.
Bankruptcy mortgages
If bankruptcy is on the file instead of — or as well as — an IVA.
Open guide →
DMP mortgages
If you have an informal DMP rather than a formal IVA.
Open guide →
Default mortgages
If defaults sit alongside your IVA.
Open guide →
Missed payments mortgages
If payment pressure started as late marks before the IVA.
Open guide →