BK Ch 7 with mortgage and possible future foreclosure

[WilliamKF]

Hello,

I live in California and am about to get discharge from Chapter 7 bankruptcy where my home was included in the BK. The lender applied for relief of stay and was granted but has not given notice of deficiency yet. House is way underwater.

I want to buy a house again and thus want to get my credit score as high as possible.

Question is whether lender can report foreclosure public record on my credit report? My attorney says this is a gray area of the law. My take is that this would be collection activity, and thus is prohibited. While they can foreclose on the property, they cannot do so on me personally.

Should I try and do deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or short sale instead? If they report this on my credit report, how likely would I be able to successfully dispute it? Is this risk worth taking or should I go the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or short sale path instead to reduce risk?

If I move my legal residence to Maine or North Carolina, does that change anything with respect to this issue?

Thanks.

-William