Even though a Miami man made money renting part of his duplex, a judge ruled in his favor and lowered the debt on his residential mortgage by nearly $200,000 in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

The question wasn’t whether the duplex was Luis L. Ramirez’s primary residence, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol wrote in an April 7 order. It was whether the multifamily home on Northwest 26th Street met the legal test that allowed the modification of a first priority mortgage.