Will I Lose My House If I File Chapter 7 in Nevada?

This is the first question almost everyone asks, and it stops a lot of people from filing who should. The short answer is that most Nevada homeowners who file Chapter 7 keep their homes. Here is how that actually works.

The number that matters is equity, not value

People hear that a trustee can sell property and picture their house being auctioned because it is worth $500,000. That is not how the analysis goes. What matters is your equity — what would be left if the house sold and the mortgage was paid off.

Say your home would sell for $500,000 and you owe $380,000 on the mortgage. Your equity is roughly $120,000, before selling costs. That $120,000 is the only figure a trustee is looking at.

Nevada protects $605,000 of it

Nevada's homestead exemption protects up to $605,000 of equity in your primary residence. That is one of the more generous exemptions in the country, and it is well above the equity most Las Vegas homeowners are carrying.

In the example above, $120,000 of equity sits comfortably inside a $605,000 protection. There is nothing for a trustee to reach, and the house is not part of the conversation.

The exemption applies to your primary residence. A rental property, a second home, or land you are holding is a different analysis.

Record the declaration

Nevada is not a state where the homestead protection simply attaches on its own for all purposes. A Homestead Declaration should be recorded with the county recorder. It is a short document and it costs very little to file. If you own a home in Nevada and have not recorded one, do it — it is worth doing whether or not you ever file bankruptcy.

Being current on the mortgage is a separate question

Here is where people get tripped up. The homestead exemption protects your equity from the bankruptcy trustee. It does not do anything about your lender.

A Chapter 7 discharge wipes out what you owe personally. It does not cure missed mortgage payments, and it does not remove the lender's lien. If you are current on your mortgage and stay current, you keep the house. If you are three months behind, Chapter 7 buys you a pause through the automatic stay, but the arrears are still there when the case closes and the lender can resume foreclosure.

If catching up on a mortgage is the actual problem, Chapter 13 is usually the answer, because it lets you spread the arrears across a court-supervised plan while you keep the property. That is the main reason people choose one chapter over the other.

Do not sell the house first

This is the trap that catches people who are trying to be careful. Someone with a judgment against them sells the house, plans to hold the cash, and files afterward — assuming the money carries the same protection the house had.

It does not, or at least not for long. Under Nevada law, sale proceeds keep their exempt status only if they are reinvested in another qualifying homestead property: you must identify the replacement property within 45 days of the sale, and take possession within 180 days. Miss those windows and the money is exposed.

If you are thinking about selling and thinking about bankruptcy, talk to someone before you do either. The order of operations changes the outcome.

Where this leaves you

Most people filing Chapter 7 in Las Vegas keep the house, the car they need to get to work, their retirement accounts, and their household belongings. Chapter 7 is designed to clear unsecured debt — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans — not to strip people of the things they need.

The only way to know where you stand is to run your actual numbers: what the house would sell for, what you owe, what other assets you hold, and what income the means test shows.

We can tell you in one conversation whether your house is at risk. The consultation is free, takes about thirty minutes, and happens by phone or video call. Call 702-386-8600.