Your Home & Chapter 7:
Keep It or Surrender It, You Have Options

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SAVE YOUR HOME WITH CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY IN AKRON, OHIO IF:

|You are current on your mortgage when you file (or can become current soon)

|Your equity in your home is protected by the Ohio Homestead exemption. If the equity in your home is valued less than $132,900, then your home is protected and the trustee cannot sell your home to pay creditors.

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NOTE: if you and your spouse file jointly and both names are on the deed, the Homestead exemption may be doubled and you could claim $265,800 of the value of your home to be exempt.

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Despite filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are responsible for all payments throughout and after your bankruptcy for the entire life of your loan if you want to keep your home.

If you are behind on your mortgage payments and don’t think you’ll catch up any time soon, an Akron, Ohio Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be a better option for your situation; Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a way to keep your home by spreading out your missed payments over several years. Read more about Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Akron, Ohio here.

Example using the Ohio Homestead exemption to save a home:

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Stephen has built up $20,000 of equity in his condo while staying current on his mortgage. However, credit card debt has gotten out of his control and he’s considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy to eliminate the credit card debt. If he eliminates his other unsecured debt, he’ll be in a much better position to afford his mortgage for twenty more years. Stephen lives in Akron, Ohio so his exemption amount is determined by the Ohio Homestead exemption, which let’s him keep $132,900 of equity in his home. If Stephen files Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Ohio, the trustee would not take his house to sell it because after paying off his mortgage, only $20,000 would be left. Because that amount is smaller than Ohio’s Homestead exemption, that money would have to be paid to Stephen and not to his creditors. So, the trustee has no interest in trying to take and sell property that wouldn’t result in paying creditors.

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