Sell2Rent - The Leaseback Corner

Home Equity: The Smart Way to Face Bankruptcy and Leaseback

Written by Danny | Nov 8, 2025 1:30:00 PM

Your Home. Your Equity. Your Future.

For decades, you have worked to build stability, and your home is the proof. But when life throws a major financial curveball, perhaps medical debt, business failure, or job loss, the stability you built can feel terrifyingly fragile. You are not alone; economic uncertainty has amplified the pressure on homeowners across the country.

We understand the emotional weight you carry: the profound sense of failure, the shame, and the isolation that often accompanies severe financial distress. This stress isn’t just emotional; it actively harms your physical health, increasing risks for cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure according to the National Library of Medicine. 

You need a clear path forward that moves beyond the emotional paralysis, a path that recognizes your wealth and preserves your dignity.

The conventional options, foreclosure or filing for bankruptcy, are often destructive, forcing you to choose between sacrificing your savings and sacrificing your home. There is a third way, a strategy that is both highly effective and humane: the Sell2Rent Leaseback program.

This approach is specifically designed for the equity-rich but cash-missing homeowner, offering immediate liquidity while maintaining your family’s most critical asset: stability. Our goal is to empower you with objective data, transforming fear into a clear, actionable plan.

The Financial Crisis: What You’re Really Up Against

Many homeowners facing financial distress today are caught in a cruel paradox: they are sitting on a massive amount of wealth, yet they can't access it quickly enough to solve an immediate cash flow problem.

The Equity Paradox: Cash-Missing, Asset-Rich

The average amount of equity in U.S. homes stands at a significant $315,000 as of 2024.Nearly half (49.2%) of all mortgaged residential properties are "equity rich," meaning their debt is less than 50% of the home's value. Read more about the Average Equity In U.S. Homes.

Your wealth is not the problem; its illiquidity is. Traditional options seize or diminish this equity. For instance, a shocking 81% of homeowners in active foreclosure had at least 10% equity in their home. Foreclosure or a forced Chapter 7 liquidation will strip you of this wealth, turning years of prudent homeownership into a complete loss. CFPB talks more about this data here 

The Rising Tide of Distress a 2025 Market Snapshot

The market confirms that this is a nationwide liquidity crisis, not just an isolated personal failure. Foreclosure filings across the country have been climbing. In September 2025, total foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions) According to ATTOM reached 35,602 properties         

  • Foreclosures: This figure represents a massive 20% increase year-over-year compared to September 2024, marking the sixth straight month of year-over-year increases.
  • Bankruptcy: Concurrently, nonbusiness (personal) Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings rose by 18.7% for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2024. Read an overview of Bankruptcy Filings in 2024 from the library of congress. 

This convergence of rising foreclosures and increasing personal bankruptcy filings underscores the urgent need for a better, equity-preserving solution.

Option

Equity Loss or Access

Credit Score Damage

Lien Duration

Stability Risk

Foreclosure

100% Lost

Most Severe (Long-term impact)

7–10 years

Forced Displacement 

Short Sale

100% Lost (All to lender)

Severe (100–150 point drop) 

Up to 7 years

Deficiency Risk 

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Nonexempt equity is seized 

Most Severe (Liquidation)

10 years

High 

Sell2Rent Leaseback

Up to 100% Unlocked in Cash

Less Severe (Clean Sale)

Minimal (Debt Resolved)

Low (Stay in Home)

 

Why Traditional Debt Paths Fail Homeowners

When facing financial failure, the first advice you often hear is to consider a short sale or bankruptcy. These options are debt-focused, meaning they prioritize resolving the debt by sacrificing your assets.

The Cost of Foreclosure: Zero Equity, Devastated Credit

Foreclosure is the financial "nuclear option." It begins after significant damage has already been done to your credit via missed payments. The final blow is the loss of 100% of your accumulated home equity, followed by a stain on your credit report that can last for seven to ten years. This severe drop will restrict your access to future loans, housing, and favorable credit terms for a decade.  Read more about Foreclosure here 

Bankruptcy’s Double Bind: Liquidation vs. Years of Repayment

Filing for bankruptcy is complex, and the choice between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is critical.

  1. Chapter 7 (Liquidation): This is fast (around four months) but extremely precarious if you have equity. If your home has "nonexempt equity" value exceeding state protection limits the trustee is legally required to sell your property and distribute the proceeds to your creditors. Furthermore, if you are behind on payments, the lender can still petition the court to lift the automatic stay and proceed with foreclosure shortly after discharge.

 

  1. Chapter 13 (Reorganization): This path allows you to keep your home, even with nonexempt equity or missed payments. However, you must commit to a strict, court-approved repayment plan lasting three to five years. This multi-year commitment demands a massive financial burden: covering current mortgage payments plus the new repayment plan, a strain that often proves unsustainable for those whose financial instability was income-related.

The Bottom Line: Traditional paths leave you with zero or minimal equity, years of strict credit penalties, and often, the painful trauma of being forced to leave your community.1

The Sell2Rent Leaseback Advantage: Saving Your Equity and Stability

The Sell2Rent Leaseback model is an exit strategy built for the modern, equity-rich homeowner. It converts an illiquid asset (your home) into immediate liquid capital, providing the working cash necessary to stabilize your finances without the credit devastation of bankruptcy or foreclosure.

Unlock Your Home’s Value

The S2R process involves selling your home to an investor at its Fair Market Value (FMV) and immediately signing a long-term lease to stay as a tenant.

The critical advantage here is cash maximization: a sale-leaseback enables you to extract up to 80% of the property's appraised value in cash proceeds. This is significantly more than what you would get from a typical mortgage loan or HELOC. 

This massive cash infusion allows you to achieve a true, clean slate:

  • Pay Off the Mortgage: Immediately halt any foreclosure process and eliminate the largest source of debt.
  • Discharge Unsecured Debt: Use the remaining capital to settle or pay off overwhelming debts like medical bills, credit cards, or business loans, bypassing the need for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
  • Zero Deficiency Risk: By selling at FMV and resolving the original loan, you eliminate the risk of deficiency judgments common in short sales.
Stability Over Eviction: Staying in Your Home

The psychological impact of maintaining your address cannot be overstated. Remaining in your home allows you to preserve your social networks, keeps children in their schools, and mitigates the severe grief and health risks associated with housing displacement.

You transfer the entire financial burden of ownership to the investor, including property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and, most importantly, all major maintenance and repair costs. Your budget is simplified: you only focus on the predictable monthly rent payment. This stability is the crucial foundation for your credit and mental health recovery.

Beyond the Crisis: Rebuilding Your Credit and Life

The S2R model offers the fastest route to financial recovery because it avoids the longest, most damaging credit labels.

While a Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains on your report for up to 10 years, and foreclosure for 7 years, the S2R transaction is a clean, debt-resolving sale. It is simply a real estate transaction followed by a rental agreement. By using the unlocked equity to settle all overwhelming debt, you immediately start with a clean financial slate. Read more about how Sell2Rent works.

This freedom, combined with housing stability, allows you to focus on the essential task of credit rebuilding. Once the immediate pressure is gone, you can regain control, which is crucial for mitigating the psychological distress linked to financial strain.

Your Next Step: A Confidential, Data-Driven Plan

For the homeowner with significant equity, the choice is clear: don't let the threat of bankruptcy force you into financial annihilation. The Sell2Rent Leaseback is the superior, asset-preserving alternative, designed to maximize your cash recovery and accelerate your return to stability.

We are committed to being a transparent and reliable source of expertise, guiding you through the legal and financial complexities to ensure a sound, sustainable outcome.

Our process is defined by competence and clarity, addressing your needs with empathy and respect. The first step is a confidential conversation to analyze your equity position and potential cash proceeds, that is why we have advisors available to guide you through the process with ease. 

Contact us today for a no cost customized analysis of your Sell2Rent potential. Your path to financial stability starts with knowing your best options.