“I’m trying to get a short sale through or some other relief from the bank but I just can’t get them to pay attention to me. Is there anything that I can do in bankruptcy?”

Frequently the answer to that question is yes, there are some things you can do. You can, for example, file a motion in Chapter 13 to sell your property free and clear of the bank’s lien and security interest to your proposed buyer. That’s a very powerful feature that you have in a bankruptcy case.

If you want to do that, you have to file a motion for approval of that sale and then serve the bank or the other secured creditor really by regular mail. Then there will be a court date and the judge is going to consider whether you satisfy the requirements for selling this property. If the bank doesn’t answer, the court has the ability to approve your short sale even though the bank hasn’t answered or otherwise appeared in the case.

So frequently banks do appear because they don’t want to lose their rights, and that’s when you’ll get a chance to have a meaningful discussion with them because they’ll have to go through the trouble of hiring a lawyer and defending themselves in the bankruptcy.