Can you sell a house while you are in bankruptcy?
In most cases, yes, but not on your own. Once you file, the house is tied up in the bankruptcy case, and a sale generally needs the trustee's or the court's approval. Your bankruptcy attorney is the person who asks for it and tells you how it works in your case.
Bankruptcy cases in Shreveport, Bossier City and the rest of north Louisiana are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Rules and local practice differ by chapter and by judge, so the first call belongs to your attorney.
Want a cash offer, or to have us take over the payments? Call or text Charlie at (318) 714-4321, or Get My Cash Offer. Cash is not promised on every house. No fee, no obligation.
What the automatic stay does
Filing bankruptcy generally pauses most collection actions, including a sheriff's sale. This pause is called the automatic stay, and it comes from federal law, 11 U.S.C. 362. While the stay is in place, the sheriff generally cannot sell the house.
The stay is not permanent. A lender can ask the court to lift it, and a case can be dismissed. If your sheriff's sale date is close, ask your attorney exactly where the stay stands. For how a Louisiana foreclosure works from the notice of seizure to the sale, see facing a sheriff's sale.
Whether to file is a decision for you and a lawyer, not for us. We do not tell anyone to file bankruptcy, and we do not tell anyone not to.
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are different
Chapter 7 is a liquidation case. A trustee is appointed to look at what you own, and property that is not protected can be sold to pay creditors. If you want to sell the house yourself, the trustee is part of that conversation. If the house has little value above what you owe and what the law protects, a trustee may have no reason to sell it. Your attorney can tell you how that applies to you.
Chapter 13 is a repayment plan, usually three to five years. You generally keep your property, and you pay creditors through the plan. If you need to sell the house during the plan, the sale generally needs court approval, and the plan may need to change, because the sale money may have to go to the trustee, to creditors, or both.
Neither chapter works the same for everyone. What you can keep, what you owe, and what the sale proceeds can be used for all depend on your own paperwork.
What a sale looks like when you are in bankruptcy
A sale in bankruptcy follows your attorney's lead. In most cases it goes like this:
- Your attorney decides if selling makes sense and asks the trustee or the court for permission.
- We look at the house and the numbers once your attorney says a sale is on the table. We give you a plain offer, on paper.
- The court or trustee approves the sale, and the order spells out where the money goes.
- A local title company handles the closing. They pay off the mortgage and any other approved liens from the sale, and send the rest where the court order says.
We do not promise a closing date until the approval is in hand, because nothing closes without it.
Who to talk to first
You have free and low-cost people to talk to before you talk to a buyer, and they should come first.
- Your bankruptcy attorney, if you have one. Tell them you are thinking about selling. They know your case, your trustee and your deadlines.
- A bankruptcy lawyer, if you do not have one yet. The Louisiana State Bar Association can point you to lawyer referral help. Legal aid groups in north Louisiana may help if money is tight.
- A free HUD-approved housing counselor, who can look at your whole housing picture. Search the HUD counselor list or call Catholic Charities of North Louisiana in Shreveport.
- Your servicer, if you want to ask about options on the mortgage. Ask in writing.
We buy houses. We are not a bankruptcy service or a foreclosure-relief service. We do not give legal advice, we do not negotiate with your lender, and we charge homeowners no fee.
Where The LN Co fits
If your attorney and the court agree that selling is the right move, we may be able to buy the house as it sits. We work around your attorney's timing, not the other way around. You don't pay commissions and you don't have to fix anything.
We may pay cash, or we may take over payments or pay you over time. Which one fits depends on the house, the loan and what the court allows, and we go over it with you and your attorney before anything is signed.
If the house is worth less than you owe, a regular sale may not pay off the loan. In that case, read about owing more than the house is worth. If you are behind but not in a case, see behind on payments.
Why talk to The LN Co
We are a local company in Keithville. We buy houses in Shreveport, Bossier City and DeSoto Parish, and we sell homes on rent to own, so we keep a lot of the houses we buy. Charlie takes our seller calls and is glad to work with your attorney on timing. You won't get passed to an out-of-state call center.
Updated November 1, 2026