Can I Sell my House without reaffirming my loan?
Not reaffirming your loan should not impact your ability to sell your house. * This will flag comments for moderators to take action. Reaffirmation has nothing to do with the ownership of your home, you still own the home. You can definitely sell the home, you just need to use enough of the proceeds to pay off the mortgage after the sale.
Can a judge refuse to reaffirm a mortgage?
According to the law firm of Shaev and Fleischman, some judges won’t reaffirm a significant debt like a mortgage when state law prevents the lender from foreclosing as long as you keep up with your payments. Check with a local lawyer to learn where your state stands if you’re trying to make a decision.
What happens if I Can't Sell my House?
If you can't sell the house but need to relocate for a job or have found a better deal, you can stop making payments & let the home be foreclosed without fear of being sued for the difference in what you owe & what the lender recovers at the foreclosure sale. Hope this was helpful. * This will flag comments for moderators to take action.
Should I reaffirm my home loan after filing bankruptcy?
You aren't required to reaffirm a home loan in bankruptcy to keep it and be able to sell it later. So long as you are current, you can sell your home. If you are upside down on the loan, you will need permission from the lender to short sell the property, but you may handle the home as you would if you had never filed bankruptcy to begin with.
What happens if you don't reaffirm your mortgage?
If you do not reaffirm your loan, then your lender will not send out monthly loan statements. Yes, if you retain the car or house, then you still owe the money and need to make a payment, but you'll need to photocopy an old statement to make sure you know the account number and payment address.
Can you sell your home after Chapter 7 discharge?
The short answer is: Yes, you can sell your house after a bankruptcy discharge.
Do I still own my home after Chapter 7?
After filing for Chapter 7, your property will go into a bankruptcy estate held by the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee appointed to your case. The trustee will sell property in the estate for the benefit of creditors. However, you don't lose everything you own.
Can I sell my home after Chapter 13 discharge?
Generally, you cannot sell, refinance, gift or dispose of any of your property during your Chapter 13 case without the approval of the Bankruptcy Judge. This includes your house, car, appliances, furniture, jewelry, etc. Whether the property was acquired before or after you filed your case does not matter.
How soon can you sell a house after bankruptcies?
So long as you wait 21 days, you maintain your right to sell your home after filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you want to sell while in Chapter 13, first, you need to file a motion to sell.
How soon after Chapter 7 can I sell my house Ohio?
The time can be as brief as six months or as long as two years. Also, you might live in a state wherein the courts have concluded that the Chapter 7 trustee cannot collect the sales proceeds even if the state law exemption period has expired.
Does the trustee monitor your bank account?
While your trustee will most likely periodically check all of your financial accounts such as your bank accounts, in order to ensure that you have enough money to continue making your bankruptcy payments, they are not permitted to touch any of your funds, other than the funds which are allocated for your secured loan ...
What can you not do after filing bankruptcies?
After you file for bankruptcy protection, your creditors can't call you, or try to collect payment from you for medical bills, credit card debts, personal loans, unsecured debts, or other types of debt.
What happens to home after bankruptcies?
If you kept your house throughout the bankruptcy process, you are free to keep your home after the bankruptcy – as long as you continue to pay the mortgage. It may be that after you are free of all the rest of your debt you will be able to afford the mortgage payments easily. If so, you'll be able to keep your house.
What happens after you pay off Chapter 13?
When you complete your Chapter 13 repayment plan, you'll receive a discharge order that will wipe out the remaining balance of qualifying debt. In fact, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy discharge is even broader than a Chapter 7 discharge because it wipes out certain debts that aren't nondischargeable in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Can I pay off Chapter 13 early?
In most Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, you cannot finish your Chapter 13 plan early unless you pay creditors in full.
What happens to my mortgage after Chapter 13 discharge?
Mortgage Payments After a Chapter 13 Plan The lien allows the lender to foreclose on your home if you miss a payment. Simply completing your Chapter 13 repayment plan and getting a discharge won't get rid of the first mortgage lender's lien on your home. Find out more about releasing a lien in bankruptcy.
What does a reaffirmation agreement mean?
A reaffirmation agreement means that you are agreeing to pay a debt which otherwise would have been discharged in bankruptcy. Since you didn't sign a reaffirmation agreement on your mortgage, you're not liable on the debt but the lender still has a lien on the house. You can sell the house, but the mortgage would have to be paid off by your proceeds at closing. If the mortgage for more than the house is worth, then you can't sell it unless you get the bank to agree to a short sale.
Can you sell a house in Chapter 7?
You are free to sell the house providing that your Trustee is not trying to sell it. If you have already received an Order of Final Decree from the Court, this means that the Trustee is out of the picture and you can do with the house as you please. You hopefully understand, though, that the outstanding mortgage lien has to be satisfied in order for you to be able to convey clear title, and the way the lien gets satisfied is by paying it at closing. Although the mortgage debt is discharged in your Chapter 7, it would have to be paid in full at the closing for the sale to be consummated.
Can you sell a Chapter 7 case?
You can sell if you can find a willing buyer and if your Chapter 7 case is closed. The fact that you have received a discharge does not mean that your Chapter 7 case has been closed. If your Chapter 7 case is still open, you will need to obtain Court approval to sell.
Does reaffirmation of debt on house matter?
Yes, reaffirmation of the debt on the house would not matter. Do make sure bankruptcy trustee either abandoned any interest in house or it was claimed exempt and the bankruptcy case has been closed by the court.
Is the owner of a house still the owner?
Yes, you are still the owner of the house. Your personal liability on the mortgage that's has been discharged, but they still have a lien that must be paid from sale proceeds and you are still the owner.
Matthew Scott Berkus
1. Yes, you CAN sell your house. 2. If you can sell your house, pay off all the liens and there is still money left over, you get to keep the profits. The bankruptcy and that fact that you did not reaffirm doesn't change the fact that you still own the house. Best wishes.
Gary D. Bollinger
Although you can sell, a short sale might be an issue if you do not have sufficient equity to sell at a profit after deducting costs of sale.
What Does Reaffirm Mean?
Normally, a Chapter 7 debtor is discharged of debt and the secured lender can repossess a car or boat or other property (called “the collateral”) once the bankruptcy case closes, or sooner if the lender files a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay with the Bankruptcy Court.
Reaffirmation Agreements and Bankruptcy Exemptions
In order to retain the collateral and sign and file a Reaffirmation Agreement, the attorney for the Chapter 7 debtor must creatively apply exemptions to any equity the debtor has in the collateral to protect the collateral from the seizure and sale by the Chapter 7 Trustee for the benefit of creditors.
Is a Reaffirmation Agreement Necessary?
Entering into a Reaffirmation Agreement is always wholly voluntary.
How Long Do You Have to File a Reaffirmation Agreement?
A Reaffirmation Agreement must be filed within 60 days after the first scheduled 341 (a) Meeting of Creditors. This deadline may be extended by the Bankruptcy Court.
What Happens When You Reaffirm a Debt?
Once a Chapter 7 debtor executes a Reaffirmation Agreement, the lender or the debtor’s attorney files it with the Bankruptcy Court and the Court schedules a Reaffirmation Hearing.
What Happens at a Reaffirmation Hearing?
A debtor and his or her attorney appear at the courtroom of the judge assigned to the debtor’s Chapter 7 case. The hearing may be in person or held remotely, especially since the onset of Covid-19.
What Happens if I Do Not Sign a Reaffirmation Agreement?
If you do not sign a Reaffirmation Agreement when the secured creditor sends you one, you run the risk of having the collateral repossessed following the closure of your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case.
What happens if Lisa stops paying the mortgage note?
If Lisa should stop paying the note, the mortgage company could foreclose on the property but Lisa’s personal credit would not be affected.
Does Chapter 7 eliminate a lien on real estate?
However, your Chapter 7 discharge does not eliminate the bank’s security interest (or lien) against the real estate. In Lisa’s case, she did not reaffirm her personal obligation, so her personal liability to pay under the promissory note has been eliminated, or discharged.
Is Lisa's house at risk?
As a practical matter, therefore, Lisa’s house is most likely not at risk as long as she makes the payments. At some point in the future, I would advise Lisa to consider refinancing her mortgage so she can gain the significant benefit to rebuilding her credit that would arise from making regular mortgage payments.
What happens if you don't reaffirm your mortgage?
If you don’t reaffirm, the account no longer legally exists so there’s nothing to report. This can make it more difficult to begin repairing your credit post-bankruptcy. Your lender probably won’t bother sending you monthly statements if you don’t reaffirm the mortgage.
How does reaffirmation work?
How Reaffirmation Works. Your bankruptcy discharge extinguishes the promissory note you signed at the time you took out your mortgage. You no longer owe it unless you reaffirm the loan, and you can’t keep the home unless you keep paying on the note even though you're no longer legally obligated to do so. Reaffirming the debt gives it new life -- ...
What to do if you get discharged before reaffirming?
If you receive a discharge before you’ve decided on reaffirming, you must file a motion with the court, seeking permission to reopen your case. If the court grants your request, you then can file the reaffirmation agreement and seek the judge’s approval.
Can you reaffirm a bankruptcy agreement?
The bankruptcy court only has the power to approve your reaffirmation agreement if you have an open case and haven’t yet received your discharge. You can submit your signed agreement to the court during the proceedings. If you have an attorney and he signs it as well, you may be able to avoid a court hearing.
Can you default on a mortgage loan?
You generally must default on the loan before the lender will take such an action, but if you don’t reaffirm, you’ll live in a sort of legal limbo. Your lender might take your home even if you do make the payments because you're no longer obligated under the terms of the promissory note.
Can a judge reaffirm a mortgage?
Otherwise, be prepared to appear before the judge and answer some questions. According to the law firm of Shaev and Fleischman, some judges won’t reaffirm a significant debt like a mortgage when state law prevents the lender from foreclosing as long as you keep up with your payments.
Can you lose your home without a reaffirmation agreement?
It’s not likely your mortgage lender will foreclose if you refuse to reaffirm -- at least not on that basis alone -- but there remains an outside chance exists that you could lose your home without one.
How long does it take to get a mortgage after Chapter 13?
In the case of Chapter 13, it can take between 25 days and 2 months while Chapter 7 typically requires 2 years before you can get a mortgage again.
Can you sell your house after bankruptcy?
The short answer is: Yes, you can sell your house after a bankruptcy discharge. However, the long answer to this question is more complex, and it will require the help of your reliable, experienced attorney. Discharged bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean that your case is finalized and closed. Consult with your legal representative ...
What Does Reaffirm Mean?
Normally, a Chapter 7 debtor is discharged of debt and the secured lender can repossess a car or boat or other property (called “the collateral”) once the bankruptcy case closes, or sooner if the lender files a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay with the Bankruptcy Court.
Reaffirmation Agreements and Bankruptcy Exemptions
In order to retain the collateral and sign and file a Reaffirmation Agreement, the attorney for the Chapter 7 debtor must creatively apply exemptions to any equity the debtor has in the collateral to protect the collateral from the seizure and sale by the Chapter 7 Trustee for the benefit of creditors.
Is a Reaffirmation Agreement Necessary?
Entering into a Reaffirmation Agreement is always wholly voluntary.
How Long Do You Have to File a Reaffirmation Agreement?
A Reaffirmation Agreement must be filed within 60 days after the first scheduled 341 (a) Meeting of Creditors. This deadline may be extended by the Bankruptcy Court.
What Happens When You Reaffirm a Debt?
Once a Chapter 7 debtor executes a Reaffirmation Agreement, the lender or the debtor’s attorney files it with the Bankruptcy Court and the Court schedules a Reaffirmation Hearing.
What Happens at a Reaffirmation Hearing?
A debtor and his or her attorney appear at the courtroom of the judge assigned to the debtor’s Chapter 7 case. The hearing may be in person or held remotely, especially since the onset of Covid-19.
What Happens if I Do Not Sign a Reaffirmation Agreement?
If you do not sign a Reaffirmation Agreement when the secured creditor sends you one, you run the risk of having the collateral repossessed following the closure of your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case.
