Can I stay in my house after the bankruptcy even if I am no longer keeping the home?
The first rule for keeping your house is to keep current on the payments. If you are not current then the lender will begin to take steps to foreclose on the property. In a bankruptcy, the court will slow the process for a foreclosure but they will eventually allow the lender the latitude to foreclose on the home.
If you decide to let your house go back to the lender then the normal rules apply for a foreclosure. The owner can stay in the home through the required steps the lender has to take to complete the foreclosure. In Michigan, with the way the rules for foreclosure work and how slow the system moves, it is not unusual for a owner to stay in the home for a year or more. In one case, I had a client stay in their home for nearly 3 years due to the failure of the mortgage company to do the proper steps of foreclosure (Note: This is not typical – the typical time is 1 to 1.5 years from the time of your last payment). Many bankruptcy clients who wish to give the house back to the lender, will stay through the redemption period and simply wait for the lender to give them notice that it is time to move out.
Call my office to set up your consultation today. Todd Courser 810-245-0813