Home for the Holidays: Teresa's Giudice's House Is Out of Foreclosure

The mortgage is now current, her lawyer James J. Leonard Jr. confirms to PEOPLE.

Photo: Dave Kotinsky/Getty

When Teresa Giudice leaves prison this Christmas, her home will truly be hers.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star’s house is out of foreclosure, and the mortgage is now current, her lawyer, James J. Leonard Jr. confirms to PEOPLE.

“Like a lot of people, the Giudices had fallen behind on their mortgage payments, which then puts the home into foreclosure as a way to protect the bank,” he explains. “Fortunately, they were able to pay back the money owed in full and the home is no longer under the threat of foreclosure.”

The Giudices’ Montville Township, New Jersey, mansion went into foreclosure in April, according to NJ.com. They put the 10,000-square-foot estate on the market for almost $3 million that month.

“Losing the family home was never an option. Teresa made that very clear to me,” Leonard says. “There was no way we were going to let that happen. I am very happy it all worked out.”

Teresa and her husband Joe, both 43, pleaded guilty to mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud in March 2014.

“They are really happy because they love that house,” a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE. “It means the world to them.”

Joe, who works in construction, has been raising their four daughters ever since his wife began her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, in January.

Originally sentenced to 15 months, Teresa is expected to be released Dec. 23 to spend the holidays with her family until Joe must begin his own 41-month sentence.

But for now, they are just happy to spend Christmas together in the house they built.

“This is the family home where they have raised their daughters,” Leonard says. “There is a lot of sentimental value there for Joe and Teresa, who are thrilled and relieved that they get to stay in the house.”