If you own your property, the effect of bankruptcy will depend on whether you have equity or not.

Little or no Equity

If you have little or no equity (normally less than £5000) or your home is in negative equity, you will be able to keep your house.

Soon as you declare yourself bankrupt, it is advisable to buy back your title to the property from the Official Receiver. If you do not do this and equity grows in the property, the OR is still able to sell the property to release this new equity for up to three years.

Note: in certain situations where your property is in serious negative equity, it may not be necessary to by back the title of your property from the OR. You should take further advice about this before declaring bankruptcy.

More than £5000 of Equity

If you have more than £5000 of equity in your property and you declare bankruptcy, the Official Receiver can force the sale of the home to release the equity for the benefit of your creditors.

It is therefore vital that you take expert advice before deciding to declare bankruptcy if you have more than £5000 of equity in your property. 

How to Start

Got a question? Why not use the Bankruptcy Forum which gives you direct online access to debt management experts

Call us now on 0800 077 6180 to discuss how Bankruptcy could solve your debt problem