The judge presiding over Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy on Thursday granted a reprieve by declining to decide, then and there, whether the former New York City mayor should have to sell his million-dollar Florida condo, but the jurist also issued a clear warning: The worst is very likely yet to come.

Before a Thursday hearing, Giuliani asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane not to force him to sell the condo as he appeals the $148 million Georgia election workers defamation judgment that sent him into bankruptcy. Giuliani has maintained that the judgment was “unreasonable on its face” and has expressed doubts that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss suffered “any” damages.

Giuliani argued that ordering him to sell the Florida condo now when, in his view, the judgment may be significantly reduced on appeal, would cause him irreparable harm — and, in any event, he’s already agreed to sell his Manhattan property. He also said he’s “working diligently to grow his broadcast income” and plans to use the Florida condo to do so, which would “only serve to benefit creditors.”