Do I need the trustee’s approval to sell my house in Chapter 13?

You need the court’s approval through a motion to sell, and the trustee gets notice and can object. In practice your attorney clears the sale with the trustee before filing the motion.

Can I keep the money from selling my house during bankruptcy?

Only the part the court order allows: your homestead exemption and anything the plan does not require to go to creditors. The order spells it out before closing.

Will a cash buyer wait for the court?

We do. There is no lender rate lock expiring on our side, so the contract date follows the court’s order.

Maryland

Can I sell my house while in bankruptcy in Maryland?

Yes, with the court’s approval. Once you file, the house is part of the bankruptcy estate and the automatic stay covers it. In Chapter 7 the trustee decides whether to sell; in Chapter 13 you ask the court by a motion to sell. A written cash offer with no financing contingency is what the motion needs.

The short version

Chapter 7: the trustee controls the house. If the equity after the mortgage, sale costs and your homestead exemption would pay creditors, the trustee sells it; if not, the trustee usually abandons it back to you and you can sell it yourself after the case.
Chapter 13: you keep the house and keep paying the plan. To sell, your attorney files a motion to sell that states the price and where every dollar goes; creditors get notice, and the court signs an order if nobody objects.
Maryland law protects a set amount of equity in an owner occupied home through the homestead exemption. The amount changed in 2026, so ask your attorney for the current figure rather than a website.
Old Line Home Buyers works with your bankruptcy attorney and the trustee, puts the written offer in the form the motion needs, and closes on the court’s timeline. Cases run in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, in Baltimore or Greenbelt.

How a sale in bankruptcy runs

Tell your attorney first. Selling without court approval violates the stay and can unwind the sale.
Get a written cash offer. The court wants a firm price, a named buyer, proof of funds and no financing contingency; ours comes that way.
Your attorney files the motion to sell (Chapter 13) or the trustee files it (Chapter 7). The order says who is paid and in what order.
The title company closes under the order, pays the mortgage and allowed claims from the proceeds, and sends the balance where the order directs.

Questions to settle with your attorney

Is there equity above the exemption? That decides whether the trustee wants the house or will abandon it.
Is the house in the plan? A Chapter 13 plan may need to be modified when the mortgage it was curing is paid off by the sale.
Foreclosure already started? The stay paused it. A sale that closes under a court order ends it. See selling before a Maryland foreclosure.
Timing. Motions take weeks for notice and objection periods. Start the offer before the motion, not after.

Get your Maryland cash offer

Written, usually within a day, with the math shown.

Prefer to talk? Call (443) 505-7653

Maryland seller questions

Do I need the trustee’s approval to sell my house in Chapter 13?: You need the court’s approval through a motion to sell, and the trustee gets notice and can object. In practice your attorney clears the sale with the trustee before filing the motion.
Can I keep the money from selling my house during bankruptcy?: Only the part the court order allows: your homestead exemption and anything the plan does not require to go to creditors. The order spells it out before closing.
Will a cash buyer wait for the court?: We do. There is no lender rate lock expiring on our side, so the contract date follows the court’s order.