Does the Insolvency Bill do anything for you?
I would not hang around for it to be honest. It won't be in force until the end of the year and it will take a long time to implement.
The only benefit of it is that you might be able to avoid the stigma of bankruptcy. I don't think you should worry too much about the stigma to be honest. I think we will get used to the idea of bankruptcy and it will lose its negative connotations.
The Personal Insolvency Arrangement
You
might be able to keep your home under a PIA.
If 50% of your secured creditors and 50% of your unsecured creditors and 65% of your total creditors agree to a proposal, then it becomes binding on the rest.
This is what I would propose:
Write the mortgage down to €200k. If the property is sold at a later stage, ACC get any increase in value up to the amount written off by them.
Sell the investment property and give the proceeds to Bank of Ireland.
Write off all unsecured debts immediately.
ACC might agree to this. Bank of Ireland might agree to it.
If the unsecured creditors object, as they probably will, then the proposal will be rejected.
If your ex returns after some years, he might be more motivated if he knows that the mortgage has been reduced to €190,000.
So again, I would not want this uncertainty hanging over me, so handing back the house is really essential.
How about a Debt Settlement Arrangement?
The Debt Settlement Arrangement applies to people who have no secured debt. If you sell your home now, you will convert the €170,000 shortfall into an unsecured debt.
Assuming you also sell your home and your investment property, this will be the situation:
ACC|€180k|56%
BoI|€80k|25%
CC|€30k|9%
CU|€24k|7%
OD|€8k|2%
Total|€322k
You will need the agreement of 65% of your creditors to impose a solution on the rest. You will only get this comfortably if ACC and BoI agree.
So you could put a proposal to them now as follows:
"I will cooperate with you in the selling of the properties if you agree to vote for a Debt Settlement Arrangement writing off all my unsecured debts immediately as soon as the legislation comes in"
I think that this is too messy and that the others could challenge it. Under the current legislation 65% of the creditors
attending the meeting must vote for it. What if ACC or BoI don't turn up at the meeting? Their majority will be gone and the deal will be rejected.
Whatever way I look at it, the simplest, cleanest, most definite is to simply hand back the keys and go to London.