Your attorney and the trustee drive this
People arrive at this page worried that a bankruptcy has taken the decision away from them, and to an extent it has. That is what the filing did, and it is usually working in your favor while it does it.
What you can still do is find out what the Merrick house is worth, which costs nothing and commits nobody. A written figure is useful information for your attorney and for the trustee, and getting one does not require anybody's approval.
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are different situations
The two chapters put a house in quite different positions, and general advice about "selling in bankruptcy" is close to useless without knowing which one applies.
We are not going to summarize bankruptcy law on a page selling houses. Your attorney will tell you where your particular filing leaves the property, what exemptions apply, and whether a sale helps or hurts the plan. Ask that question specifically, because the answer determines whether the rest of this page is relevant to you at all.
The Merrick market underneath this
The median is up 8.68% year over year as of 2026-10. A firming market gives you a little room for error on price, which is worth more than it sounds when the house is not in showable condition. At a $902,038 median, Merrick buyers are paying enough that they expect the house to be finished. A dated kitchen is a deduction in a cheaper market and close to disqualifying in this one, which is why unrenovated houses here sit while the renovated ones move. The median house here goes under contract in about 24 days, which is quick for Long Island. It is also a figure that only applies to property in showable condition.
Merrick is roughly 22,040 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11566, and the housing stock is mostly hi-ranch, colonial, split-level. Around Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Merrick stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Nassau County for 15+ years. We know what the Merrick Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
What we can offer that a financed buyer cannot
The other thing that matters here is certainty of closing. A trustee and a court are being asked to approve a specific transaction, and a buyer who might not complete is a real problem in a way it is not on an ordinary sale.
Proof of funds, a written number that does not move, and no lender conditions are worth more in this situation than in almost any other. Ask us for the proof of funds early, because your attorney will want it.
The condition of the Merrick house does not matter to us
A house going through a bankruptcy has frequently had maintenance deferred for a while, for obvious reasons. Nobody funds a roof while a filing is pending.
That does not change anything for us. We buy as it stands, we do not ask for repairs, and we do not use an inspection to reopen the price later. The condition is priced once and the number goes to your attorney as a figure that will hold.
What you do not pay when you sell a house in bankruptcy
Every line below is a cost of listing a house in bankruptcy the retail way that simply does not arise here.
- Agent commission
- $45,102 at 5% of the Merrick median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $18,041 on a $902,038 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- The work it needs to show well, out of your pocket first none
- Cleanout and removal
- Charged by the truckload, and done before the first showing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities while you spend 69 to 84 days finding a buyer and waiting for their loan none
The paperwork that moves a Merrick bankruptcy sale along
The fastest bankruptcy sales are the ones where the paperwork is ready before anybody asks for it. Get a written payoff figure from your mortgage servicer, find the latest tax bill, and ask us for a written offer and proof of funds.
None of that commits you to selling. It gives your attorney real numbers instead of estimates, and in a process where the trustee and sometimes the court have to approve the sale, real numbers save weeks.
How selling a house in bankruptcy in Merrick works
- 1
You tell us about the house
An address in 11566 and a rough idea of condition. Two minutes on the phone or the form. We do not need photographs, a clean house, or anything fixed first.
- 2
A quick look in person
We visit once and it rarely takes more than half an hour. On the hi-ranch or colonial houses that make up most of Merrick, we check the roof, the boiler and the electric before anything cosmetic.
- 3
We put a figure in writing
You have a written number within 24 hours, a single figure rather than a "somewhere around". Feel free to check it with a Nassau County agent. When a house is ready to list as it is, listing can beat us, and we would rather you knew.
- 4
You choose when to close
Soon, or months away if probate, a tenant or your next move has to come first. You also avoid the 69 to 84 days a listed Merrick house typically takes to find a buyer and get through the buyer's mortgage.
If a foreclosure was already under way
Many people file for bankruptcy with the mortgage already behind, and some file with a foreclosure already started. The filing can change where that foreclosure stands, and your attorney will tell you exactly where yours is.
What matters for a sale is that the arrears, the mortgage and any fees all come off the proceeds at closing, like any other payoff. If there is equity in a Merrick house, a sale approved inside the bankruptcy can protect more of it than letting a foreclosure finish.
Common questions
Can I sell my house while in bankruptcy?
It is often possible. What makes it different from an ordinary sale is that the house usually sits in the bankruptcy estate, so the trustee is involved and a judge may need to sign off. Your bankruptcy attorney decides whether and how, and should see any paperwork first.
Do you deal with the trustee for me?
We do not, and you should be wary of a buyer who says they will. The trustee and the court are your attorney's to manage. Our part is a firm written number, proof of funds, paperwork on request, and a closing on the approved date.
Will you wait for court approval?
Yes. With no lender involved there is no rate lock or commitment letter running out while you wait for a hearing, so a court calendar does not put the sale at risk the way it can with a financed buyer.
Does the condition of the house matter?
No. Deferred maintenance is normal in this situation. We buy as it stands and we do not revisit the number afterward, which matters more than usual when a court has already approved a specific figure.