Bankruptcy & Keeping Your House

Will I lose my house even if I'm current? 

Debtors may elect state exemptions in the state in which they have lived for the 730 days prior to the bankruptcy. If they have moved during that 730-day period, the state exemptions are those for the state in which they lived the majority of the time for the 180 days before the 730-day period. 

Regardless of the level of state exemptions, the debtor may only exempt up to $125,000 of interest in a homestead that was acquired within the 1,215-day period prior to the filing, but the calculation of that amount does not include any equity that has been rolled over during that period from one house to another within the same state. 

For those who have violated securities laws of engaged in certain criminal conduct, the cap is $125,000, notwithstanding a higher State law allowance. To the extent the homestead was obtained through fraudulent conversion of nonexempt assets during the 10-year period before the filing, the exemption is reduced by the amount attributed to the fraud. 

If there is no equity in the house (today's value less costs of sale less payoff balances on all liens) the trustee in a Chapter 7 will abandon the house to you. That is, you keep it, as long as you pay the mortgages.

A bankruptcy does not relieve the property of the liability for voluntary liens, like mortgages or deeds of trust, nor for tax liens. So, the lender retains the right to foreclose if you don't pay. 

If you pay, everyone is happy. Remember, the lender doesn't want the property; it wants you to pay regularly on the loan. Foreclosure is a last resort for the lender if it concludes it can't get its money any other way.