im being sued for an injury that happened 6 months ago in a house that was in my BK

[HHM]

i just found out that the lender does in fact have lender placed insurance on the property. does this change anything?

Yes, it does change things to some degree.

The insurance company needs to be notified of the claim, the insurance company will generally take over the defense at that point. (depending on the terms of the policy).

To sum up.
1. This is a problem, and you cannot ignore it
2. If for some reason the squatters win against you (unlikely, but if you do nothing, 100% likely), you will be responsible to pay (your prior BK is of no help).
3. You should probably get in touch with the legal department of the bank (or whatever division handles this) and see how a claim can get submitted to the insurance carrier.

[TBA]

Dumb question, but this prompted me to start thinking of a few of them...

If foreclosure was started but never completed, did you file a notice of abandonment? If you did, would this help limit your liability?

If you signed a deed to the bank and had it recorded (Technically, i dont think the bank has to agree to take ownership of the property - you can sign a QCD to the bank and have it recorded cant you?), would this help to limit your liability?

There has to be some way to help to prevent these issues.

[pathfinders]

Wow, that was our fear as well Fortunately with a lot of calling and finding the right contact the bank finally agreed to do a DIL.

Anyone in that situation of chapter 7 BK that has been discharged and has the left the Home I would really try and just get to the correct person in liquidation and they were happy to take it back,

I must have spoken to 15 different people that told me NO or you have to jump through 100 hoops to be approved, I would tell them it has been discharged in chapter 7 I am not looking for a loan modification, I do not want to do a short sales, the house is vacant and broom swept and in good condition please take it back, they kept telling me no When we Officaily foreclose we will take title.

Until I stumbled on to a person that said we can do that. (DIL) The bank paid for the appraisal title search and than completed the DIL, it is now in there name has been recorded and on county records it is out of our name.

The HOA was all over US ( Burn out Lawn someone threw trash in the yard a random spare tire??? not sure if they were telling me the truth on the tire, and were going to call code Enforcement, it felt good when the HOA called and I could say go check public records NOT my problem and have a nice day...

[justbroke]

This is no different than the burglar that injures himself while burglarizing a home/office. It may just as well be frivolous, but the debtor/homeowner still needs to deal with this!

And yes... this is the worst scenario of abandoning a home that was surrendered in bankruptcy. Without liability insurance, you put yourself at risk.

[keepsmiling]

Boy are those some giant cojones on those squatters.
Stuff like this should NEVER be allowed to happen.

[panda]

Wow, what a mess. I am really sorry to hear of this happening to you. Unfortunately, as has already been stated, this is one nightmare all of us going through foreclosure/vacant property/no insurance are left worrying about until the house is out of our names. I will be watching closely, as I am sure many others will as well. Please keep us updated, and hopefully somebody here will be able to help, but as far as I know you are the first I have seen with this issue coming to a head with an injury and law suit, with no insurance, on this forum. Several of us on this forum have vacant homes with no insurance or our insurance is getting ready to be canceled due to the home being vacant. We have wondered what would happen in the situation you are now facing.

[ValleYum]

i dont understand what you mean. are you saying that i cant be held responsible because it was post bk?

No - what they are saying is if this goes to trial and you lose you WILL BE liable and have to pay them. At least until you can file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 6 years.

Even if you "gave up" the house in a bankruptcy until there is a sale and/or change of ownership on the title you still own it and are supposedly liable for any injuries incurred by others on your property.

If the bank has force-placed insurance - point the attorney their way - the bank obviously has deeper pockets than you do. Hopefully they will be happy with whatever they can get from them.

Good luck.

[Freddy03]

i dont understand what you mean. are you saying that i cant be held responsible because it was post bk?

No that you can be held responsible because it's POST BK. You need to find out what kind of coverage the lender placed on the property. Most of the time it's very limited coverage.

[jturk]

/////

If the "squatter" is awarded any damages it would be a new debt b/c it happened post BK.

i dont understand what you mean. are you saying that i cant be held responsible because it was post bk?

[jturk]

////

i just found out that the lender does in fact have lender placed insurance on the property. does this change anything?

[Freddy03]

HHM, what did you mean by this statement...

". Also, since the injuries occurred after BK, it is a post BK debt and is not subject to discharge. "


it has been discharged. i dont understand what you mean.

If the "squatter" is awarded any damages it would be a new debt b/c it happened post BK.

[jturk]

1st, need to clarify a few facts, have you just received a letter, or has a lawsuit been filed?

2nd, is the house insured?

i was sent a letter & just had a conversation with the attorney. i dont think a lawsuit has been filed. im not sure though.
idk if the house is insured or not. its not by me obviously. im going to try to find out if the bank has it insured.

[jturk]

???

HHM, what did you mean by this statement...

". Also, since the injuries occurred after BK, it is a post BK debt and is not subject to discharge. "


it has been discharged. i dont understand what you mean.

[HHM]

1st, need to clarify a few facts, have you just received a letter, or has a lawsuit been filed?

2nd, is the house insured?

[jturk]

????

what do you think i should do? besides the obvious thing being hire an attorney. how can i be held responsible for a house that....

1. i included in a bankruptcy that was discharged.
2. the injury happened to someone who is basically a squatter. i didnt know they were living there & they didnt have my permission.

can i just ignore this? what would happen if i did ignore it?