The bank and auctioning law firm refuse to tell me what is happening. Additonally they have been paying taxes and home ins these past 4 years, post bankruptcy discharge and have never billed me for this. Can they come back after that amount? I would like to leave the home but worry about legal liabilities.
Robert W GambrellChapter 13 Bankruptcy AttorneyOxford, MS ·
If you filed a chapter 7 and did not reaffirm and the creditor did not object to your discharge of the debt, then you have no liability under the promissory note. It is possible that you could have liability for post bankruptcy actions if you intentionally destroyed or damaged the home after the date the bankruptcy petition was filed.
If you filed a chapter 13 and proposed to pay the mortgage payment as part of the plan, then the long term home mortgage was not discharged when the discharge order was granted. If you proposed to surrender the home in the plan or the plan was modified to surrender the home, then your obligation under the promissory note should have been discharged.
You should contact your attorney if you had one. If not, you should contact a local bankruptcy attorney to make sure that the debt was discharged. If it was not, you should qualify to file another chapter 13 and receive a discharge at this time.
Your bankruptcy discharged your personal obligation to pay the mortgage debt, but costs to maintain the property after filing such as taxes wouldn't be covered by the discharge. Why don't you talk to some local realtors about selling the property even if the sale is a "short sale." You should also check to be sure that your bankruptcy case was closed. Just having been discharged is NOT evidence that the case has ended. Hope this perspective helps!
Herbert WeinbergBankruptcy AttorneyNorth Andover, MAMA licensed ·
You should try to do a short sale if you can. Banks have walked away from properties. They do not tell the owners when they do that. There are stories of owners being held liable when the properties become a public hazard. You also should check the insurance. Inch Sherance arrange by the bank typically does not protect the owner from personal injury on the property.
Good luck
You should call your bankruptcy attorney because he will know if you reaffirmed the debt or not. If you did not reaffirm you should not be responsible for the debt any shortfall, this assumes you received a bankruptcy discharge and there were no objections filed by the mortgage company. You should also be careful of the property being insured by the mortgage company because it usually does not insure against personal liability such as personal injury, etc. Remember you are the owner of that property until there is a foreclosure and there is a new deed recorded. I usually advise clients not to abandon the property until the foreclosure takes place.
