Once you file a bankruptcy an automatic stay goes into effect meaning all creditors must stop their collection efforts. In the case of your mortgage company, this means they must stop their collection efforts too and must now work through the bankruptcy court system.

What the mortgage company will do is file a "Motion for Lift of Stay" in your bankruptcy case which will allow the automatic stay to be lifted so that they can continue with their collection efforts and proceed with foreclosure. If you want to try to keep your house, you will have to file a response to their motion to lift the stay stating why you believe you can still make the payments and how you plan to cure any back payments owing.

A mortgage company will usually file their motion to lift the stay fairly quickly in a bankruptcy case. It is possible that only a few months after you have filed, they might be able to continue with foreclosure if their motion to lift the stay is granted.

Even if they do proceed with foreclosure, you are allowed to stay in the house during the redemption period. The length of the redemption period varies from state to state, but it is usually somewhere between 6 months to a year.