Help the house i rent is being foreclosed on?

Question

I just found out the house I rent is being foreclosed on. it goes to auction 9-22-08. The rent money i've been paying each moth my landlord has not been paying his house payment-what's back owed is $7,000. He has 25 properties 9 of them he lost in march and the rest are in foreclosure. As a renter in a lease do I have any type of legal recourse towards him? What are my right's? I found out about the foreclosure the 1st of july, because i now have do move i haven't paid rent for the month and now received a 5 day evection notice....do I still owe him rent for the month? Can he really evict me in 5 day's? Am I just screwed?

Answer 1

as long as you are actually living there you have to pay the rent or be evicted.  the new owners are under no obligation to honor your lease in most states.  i would pay the rent and live there until the lease is up or the foreclosure is done

Answer 2

yes - you still need to pay your rent

unless the landlord as some clause in the lease you signed that allows him to void the lease in the event of foreclosure he might be in violation of it himself

if the lease isn't up by the time the bank or mortgage company wants you out he may be liable to pay you moving costs (and possibly other extra costs) that you would incur by needing to leave early

you need to definitely seek out legal advice  - there might be a free legal aid service for tenants' in your area - you could start by calling your local County Housing Authority

EDIT: btw: the other aspect is your deposit - as long as you take care of your obligations he will still need to pay that back - in many states if he doesn't pay it all back or provide a reason (in writing) for withholding any portion of it within the time limit (usually like 60 days) he could be liable for double or triple the amount

He may not be able to pay that back so I'd sue him for as much as I could!

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Answer 3

They can give you a 3 day notice if they want too.

As long as you live there you have to pay them. What ever he does with his money you gave him is his business. It would be no different than if he put the house up for sale & sold it,you would still have to move. Sounds like you should go see an attorney,to see if you have any rights concerning the lease.

Answer 4

I would definitely not pay the rent. There is no one to pay the rent to, especially don't pay it to that landlord as you know he isn't going to pay it to the person he owes. If he shows up, I wouldn't even open the door to him. There is nothing he can do to help you now except apoloize. If he is in foreclosure it is between him and the company who owns his loan. I know it hurts you what he has done though.

I believe you will have to move but you "may" be able to get more time if you go to the court. Did they give you a court date and place to show up in the eviction notice? If they did give you a court date with the eviction note, the judge should listen to your reasoning regarding your landlord and give you extra time to find yourself a place. But I'd definitely be packing up and finding myself another place to move as quickly as possible. At least this is how normal eviction processes work. I am Director at a Crisis Center and the clients I work with get evicted all the time for non-payment of rent and the judge usually gives them a little extra time if there are extenuating circumstances - possibly a couple of extra weeks. I know this isn't your fault and you DID pay your rent to the landlord and he just didn't pay his mortgage company so this is an unfortunate for you. You are definitely suppose to be given at least 30 days notice so definitely fight for more time. It won't be up to the landlord to give you more time though as it is out of his hands now since his properties are being foreclosed.

I hope this helps. I hope you find something soon and wish you the best.

P.S. As others suggested - get advice before handing over ANY rent money if you do stay for the month of July. But definitely don't hand it over to the landlord unless you have it in writing from the mortgage company. Don't take it verbally from some assistant who answers the phone at the mortgage company that yes, you should pay your landlord, make sure whatever you are advised to do is in writing so that you know you are doing right. Even if you have to go pick up the notice or it is faxed to you. I don't accept verbal agreements, they aren't worth a dime.

Answer 5

Give written notice to the landlord that you will be there those 5 plus 25 more days.  Tell him you dont have the rent $$.  By law you get 30 days.  He can take you to court if you owe.  If you signed a lease and the time isnt up then he broke the lease.  In that case take the 30 days to move and if you paid a deposit tell him to keep it for the rent.

Answer 6

If you contact the foreclosure company b4 the sheriff sale. They will give you the option to obtain the home yourself. You also need to go to your local court house to counter  the eviction. If you've been paying, there should be reason for him to take you to court for EVICTION. Hopefully you've been either paying by check, or money order. this helps when keeping a track record of rental payments. And no he can not evict you in 5 days. The proper procedure would be for him to send you a notice to quit. In order to be evicted from a property , you must 1st see a judge. But time is of the essence.... contact the foreclosure company.... they will either help you keep the home or help monetarily move. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

I recommend you call the party who sent you the foreclosure notice (probably the mortgagee bank or a member of the law firm that represents them).  Explain that you're a tenant in a property they are in the process of foreclosing on, your rent is current and you received an eviction notice.  Explain further that you'd like to continue living in the property and will honor the terms of the lease as long as you get appropriate credit for the payments you've made to date.  I suspect the eviction letter was mailed as a standard procedure and the the bank doesn't want to foreclose on an empty property.  They'll just have to find a new tenant so, chances are, they'll look favorably on your offer.  The 'Lagniappe' to this strategy, if you can sell it, is you don't have to pursue the landlord for your past rent payments -- the bank is on the hook for them.  In addition, if they obtained 'lease assignments' when the loan was made, they have the right to collect rents in the event of a default.  If so, it will be a short call and you can stop packing.

Good luck!  Email me if you have additional questions.