Case Study 2: Victor opens his black book

The problem

Jane had just set up her own business as a virtual marketing assistant. Her boyfriend Tom, worked as a security guard.

Tom was fortunate in that he had been given money by his parents to buy his first home. So far so good. However, the property needed substantial renovations and rather than take out a mortgage, or a traditional loan, Tom borrowed money from a payday lender.

But, before he knew it, Tom struck financial difficulty and missed a payment. Unsurprisingly, the letters came flying in demanding payment. Things spiralled out of control. He ended up in an IVA and was fortunate not to lose his house.

Fast forward four years and I met Jane at a networking event. We got chatting and she told me that she and Tom wanted to move to a new house, but felt they would struggle to get a mortgage with his IVA still in place.

How we helped

While I specialise in working with self-employed people, I don’t give mortgage advice.

Having said that, I was keen to help Jane and Tom. So, the first thing I did was pass them to a trusted mortgage broker, who I have recommended for years.

Despite Tom’s IVA, the broker could secure them an affordable mortgage, which allowed them to move to a new house.

I then undertook a thorough review of Jane and Tom’s finances to put them on a far sounder financial footing. That included:

• Ensuring that their new mortgage was fully protected should either of them die or suffer a serious, or long-term, illness
• Jane had no savings, other than a small emergency fund, so we set up an ISA (Individual Savings Account) to allow her to save flexibly each month
• Finally, we also set up a pension for Jane, with contributions paid by her business

How Tom and Jane benefited from my advice

Our help allowed them to move house and put them on a far sounder financial footing, in the short, medium and long-term.

Both Tom and Jane are immensely happy with the advice they were given and relieved to have solved their financial problems.

I’m delighted to report that a regular flow of recommendations has been forthcoming from them; a testament I believe, to how pleased they were with my help, service and the fact I was willing to spend as much time as needed with them.