Michigan Bankruptcy Lawyer

One of the primary reasons that people are filing for bankruptcy these days is to let go of and truly walk away from real estate that is significantly underwater or in foreclosure. Bankruptcy is in nearly all cases a vastly more cost-effective and time-efficient means of walking away from a home than is a short sale in which homeowners must negotiate with and often pay off lenders to get their agreement on the sale (not to mention the tax liability that short sales can leave them with!), and it is certainly more effective than simply letting a house go to foreclosure, which, particularly here in Michigan, can result in potentially huge “deficiency debts” to the mortgage-holding bank.

However, the surrender of a home in bankruptcy, which requires no negotiation with creditors or banks, incurs no tax liability, and leaves you free from worry over collections for deficiencies owed, unlike short sales, does not instantly immunize a homeowner from all costs associated with the property. Until the home is, per the deed or title filed with the register of deeds for the county in which the home sits, no longer titled to the homeowner, there will remain some costs: insurance and maintenance, primarily.

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