Sell a House While a Bankruptcy Case Is Open

This is not a lien list and not a sheriff-sale calendar

The liens guide is recorded claims. Foreclosure pages are Indiana judicial foreclosure and the sheriff sale. Stay here when a bankruptcy petition is open (or you think it might still be). The U.S. Courts Chapter 7 overview and Chapter 13 overview explain, at a consumer level, that filing creates an automatic stay and that a trustee administers estate property. Those pages are not Indianapolis closing advice.

This page is informational only and is not legal, tax, or bankruptcy advice. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 rules, the automatic stay, exemptions, and sale procedures are case-specific. Consult the attorney on your case and, if needed, the case trustee. We do not file motions, speak for the court, or promise that every house in bankruptcy can be sold. Offers depend on review, access, title, and court process.

What a written number is for—and what it is not

A cash offer during an open case is information for you and counsel to compare with keeping the house, converting a Chapter 13, or waiting. It tends to fit as a planning document when equity might exist after payoffs. It is a weaker fit when you treat the number as permission to close. That trade-off is legal, not marketing.

For example, a Chapter 7 trustee sale and a Chapter 13 debtor sale are not the same motion practice. In practice, net proceeds may be claimed by the estate. You do not have to accept an offer, and you do not have to shop buyers before you talk to your attorney. First, confirm the case is open. Next, ask counsel who can convey. Then, if a sale is even possible, use a written price instead of a hallway estimate.

This page is not legal advice. A cash buyer does not mean the stay is lifted. Timelines vary by chapter and by the Southern District of Indiana’s notice practice. What happens after a court-authorized sale still includes ordinary title payoffs.

Distinguish the rules that actually apply

• Legal requirement: the automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362) and, when the house is estate property, sale procedures such as 11 U.S.C. § 363 after notice and a hearing.
• Court / trustee practice: local motion practice in the Southern District of Indiana, what your trustee will sign, and whether a Chapter 13 plan has revested the house in you.
• Title-company practice: they will not insure a deed that violates the stay. That is not optional because the buyer is paying cash.
• Contract term: any closing date in a purchase agreement is a target, not a court order.

A discharge last year, with a closed case and a house that was not left in the trustee’s hands, is usually a normal sale—not this page. If you are unsure, ask counsel before you guess.

What we will not promise

We will not promise that foreclosure is stopped, that the house can always be sold, that proceeds will be yours after exemptions and trustee distribution, or that cash can close faster than notice periods. HUD-approved housing counseling can still be useful on the mortgage side; it does not replace bankruptcy counsel. See HUD’s foreclosure-avoidance page. Title disbursement after a court-authorized sale still looks like an ordinary closing from the outside, with extra documents the closer will list.