Purchase a house that has been surrendered in Ch7 and now discharged

[Jer77]

I want to buy a house that has been surrendered in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Just today the bankruptcy was discharged in favor of the debtors. How will I go about purchasing the house? How long does the mortgage company have to accept the surrender of the the deed after discharge proceedings? Should I negotiate with the Debtors/Owners or should I be negotiating with the mortgage company? Could the house be sold as a short-sale or will it have to be foreclosed? Thanks for your insight.

[despritfreya]

Unfortunately, it is not the discharge that you seek. It is the abandonment of the property from the bk estate. That happens either when the case is closed or earlier, if the Trustee issues a Notice of Abandonment or the Court grants a Motion to Abandon.

You need to determine if the property has been abandoned by the Trustee.

Once abandoned feel free to contact the debtor to see if he/she is interested in selling. Certainly, any short sale can only happen if the lender agrees.

For bankruptcy purposes, a "surrender" of the property does not mean that the lender has to foreclose (or do anything for that matter). If not paid, the lender will eventually foreclose but there is no way to predict when that will happen.

Des.

[jo23171]

you should contact the BK trustee. Usually they sell at auction before the case is closed.