With the increase in the number of houses that are foreclosed on in Florida, more clients are being sued for a deficiency. A deficiency is basically the difference between what you owed on the house and what the bank sells it for when it is sold at a foreclosure sale. Generally the deficiency amount is a fairly large number and the bank will sell these deficiencies to collection companies. The collection company will begin to call debtors, asking them to pay up or be sued. Typically debtors don’t have that kind of money and they ignore the collector, which leads to a process server knocking on their door and handing them a lawsuit.
If you have been served by a deficiency lawsuit or lost a house to a foreclosure (expect to be hit with a foreclosure suit), and are wondering if this debt can be discharged/wiped out in a bankruptcy, then you should know that any deficiency or potential deficiency judgment can be wiped out in a bankruptcy filing. It doesn’t matter if the creditor has already filed a lawsuit against you or they can potentially file one, if you file for bankruptcy then you can eliminate the debt and potential lawsuit that comes with it.
If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy and would like to schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney, then please contact Ofer Shmucher, at Shmucher Law, PL by calling 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553. We offer free consultations in our main Miami office as well as our satellite offices (by appointment) including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and Sunrise Florida.