My husband and I live in Charlotte, NC. We really want to purchase a house that is now held up in bankruptcy.

April 22: We submitted our offer on the house (a short sale)

April 28: Sellers filed for bankruptcy

May 4: Sellers signed contract/accepted our offer

May 14: Bank/mortgage lender (CCO Mortgage) accepts our offer

May 30: Bankruptcy hearing date for sellers. We hear that the trustee wil not allow the house to close until the bankruptcy is discharged, which could take 60 days to a year.

My uncle who is a real estate lawyer in Oregon said that the mortgage lender (CCO Mortgage) can petition the bankruptcy court for a release of the house because the sellers owed more on the house than it was worth. He said the bankruptcy laws are federal, so should apply to all states.

We have tried contacting CCO Mortgage, I can't reach anyone who can give me a definitive answer on how to proceed, they say we should go to the bankruptcy attorney for the sellers and have them file the petition for release?

Does anyone have experience with a situation like this, and what should we do next? We don't want to wait for the house to be returned to the market because it could turn into a multiple offer situation, and we have lost out on several mutiple offer situations in the past. We really love the house.

Any comments appreciated. Our realtor hasn't been too helpful and says we should give up.

Denise