Home Liens

If you are facing bankruptcy, you want to stay in the family home. Unfortunately, due to market conditions and the reduced demand for real estate, your home is worth far less than it was a few years ago when you borrowed that money for home repairs and to open a small business. Lien stripping is a concept which, subject to certain requirements, can remove the second and third mortgages from your homestead while you retain the home and all the benefits of home ownership.

Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Home Lien Lawyer

Liens are a difficult source of debt, particularly when attached to something as important as your home. However, bankruptcy may offer a solution if you’re drowning in debt. The Cincinnati home lien lawyers at Steiden Law Offices can help you determine your options and how you may be able to keep your home in a bankruptcy filing. Contact us today at so that our experienced bankruptcy lawyers can review your assets and the liens against them, starting with a free consultation.

Our lawyers are able to help clients throughout Hamilton County in Southern Ohio and Boone and Kenton Counties in Northern Kentucky. We have offices in Cincinnati, Florence, and Covington.

Secured Creditors and Liens in Southern Ohio

As a general premise, in bankruptcy, a secured creditor is only considered secured to the extent that the security or collateral has value which is equal to or greater than the ‘secured’ debt. For many years that very basic bankruptcy premise applied to anything and everything except your primary residence, your homestead property.

Once the value of a homestead property is determined by the Court, if the second mortgage lien were fully and totally unsecured (the value of the property is less than the amount of the first mortgage debt and there is no equity for the second mortgage to attach) the second mortgage lien is removed (‘stripped’) by Court order. This means that this debt is removed from the property and the entire debt or financial obligation is discharged without any obligation to make further repayment to the creditor or any adverse tax consequences.

This is an incredible benefit to consumer debtors whose home has declined in value. It gives new and significant meaning to the term “Fresh Start” and allows the Debtor(s) to retain their homestead and discharge debt which would certainly strain the budget of a newly discharged Debtor.

Lien Stripping for Northern Kentucky Homes

The real practical significance for the Debtor is that once the junior lien is stripped off the property, it becomes significantly easier to seek and obtain a mortgage loan modification because the debt to income ratio improves because the debtor will not be paying the stripped second mortgage and that money is now available to pay a modified first mortgage. The removal of the second also makes a sale of the property after the bankruptcy easier and more feasible for the debtor.

If you are considering the filing of  Chapter 7 or even a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you certainly want to make certain to evaluate the fair market value of your homestead property in contrast to the mortgage debt structure of your homestead.  You may have a unique bankruptcy opportunity to dramatically reduce your homestead debt. Your lien stripping attorney can help you review your options.

Steiden Law Offices | Kentucky Attorney for Stripping Home Liens

If you have liens on your home and are concerned what it could mean for a possible bankruptcy filing, our Cincinnati home lien lawyers at Steiden Law Offices can help you examine your options. It’s possible that, in bankruptcy, your home lien could be removed. Call us today at to schedule a free consultation. We proudly serve the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, including Florence, Covington.