With Bankruptcy You Can Save Your Home

By Larry Leeds

The American dream, as we all know, is owning our own home. This is a very important investment, one where we see our children grow up and where we enjoy so many family moments. The dream is built. Is is not merely an investment, but is where we reside, and where our joys flourish. A place to call home, relax, kick up our feet, lay our heads. At all cost it is something you want to protect.

Shame of filing bankruptcy is what many of us endure, when poor credit, overwhelming debt, businesses collapsing, poor investments and financial decisions knock on our doors. People by the many believe a question raised scares them, "Will I lose my home when I file for bankruptcy? Saving the home seems out of the question, while not out of the question is the guilt that is raised when they think of their family's future and all the overwhelming burdens.

You will be pleased to learn that it is not out of the question to save your home and you can do this successfully when filing for bankruptcy. "How is that possible?" you may ponder. "Bankruptcy won't put my home at a risk?" In an effort to save their homes from reaching foreclosure, many people will file for bankruptcy. With Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, a good chance will be that you will be able to keep your home, yet still be required to continue with mortgage payments as well as paying back payments if any were missed.

How much equity you have in your home is the first thing you must figure out. Once you do analyze your home's current worth, subtract what you still owe from that amount. That will decipher your equity amount. If your house is worth $200,000, for example, and you have $185,000 of mortgage loans still owed, $15,000 would be your home equity.

If you have less than $18,450 in equity, as this is the current federal homestead exemption, you may be able to keep it. A risk of losing your home may occur you have more than this exemption amount. As stated earlier, first check your home's worth, the amount of equity, and then you should proceed with filing for bankruptcy. You may be able to keep your home, this is not out of the question, and experienced bankruptcy attorneys, once you have your papers in order and retain them, would be the best step you can take.

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