If you have no judgments against you and the title is truly clear on the home which is not in foreclosure, the ongoing foreclosure should not be much of an impediment to sale of the free and clear property. However, in WI, any judgment creates a lien against all real estate in any WI county where it is docketed with the clerk of courts. This includes judgment on otherwise unsecured debts such as credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, car repossession deficiencies, etc. This could also include the judgment of foreclosure on the other home, once that is granted, if the bank preserves its right to seek a deficiency judgment against you. It is therefore critical for you to immediately hire an attorney who is experienced in advanced real estate law, such as any bankruptcy attorney with past experience as a chapter 7 panel trustee. It may be possible for the attorney to do a few things quickly and cheaply which could assist your sale going through successfully on the free and clear property. After a bankruptcy, a good bankruptcy lawyer can also often go back into court and get judgments satisfied so that they are no longer liens against your real estate. Most lawyers, however, will charge a small additional fee for this service, since it involves their appearance in a totally separate lawsuit from the bankruptcy you hired them to handle. Since judgment can cause so many eventual problems like this, even after bankruptcy, anyone who is being sued, even in routine collection matters, should also seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney, who can usually assist you in avoiding all this, provided that you retain him early enough in the process, before the 20 days to answer the complaint expires. Please be aware that my responses to you in the public web forum do not make me your attorney and that I am not representing you or taking any action on your case. These answers are intended for public educational use only. Regardless of this, however, you are still welcome to contact me during business hours at my in Racine if you still have questions.
