I HAVE A FORECLOSURE QUESTION

Question

TODAY I RECEIVED A TENANT AT SUFFERANCE LETTER FROM AN ATTORNEY ASKING ME TO EVACUATE MY HOUSE BECAUSE MY HOUSE IS UNDE FORECLOSURE AND THEREFORE I NEED TO LEAVE BY SEPTEMBER. AFTER YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO STILL KEEP THE PROPERTY?

Answer 1

If a house changes owners the new owners have to abide by all terms of your lease, except in the event of foreclosure.  For a foreclosure the new owner (bank in this case) can just evict you.  So, if the bank has foreclosed on the former owner they can just evict you.  

In this letter they are saying they have (or soon will) foreclosed on the owner and thus if you are not out by September they will proceed with an eviction.  You could simply wait for the eviction since that will give you a little more time in the place but in this case there is pretty much nothing (really short of buying the house yourself) that you can do to keep the place.  

You could also ask them to pay you a bit to leave (called "cash for keys").  If it would take them 45 days to evict you they'd probably be willing to pay you 25 days worth of rent just to get rid of you.

Answer 2

I agree with ace. But if you signed a valid lease with the owner this gives you rights to occupy the property that you can exercise by usually paying the rent to the landlord. WHOEVER, it may be. If you do not want to move before the end of the term of the lease, write back to the attorney saying you would be happy to pay the rent to him if he can prove to your satisfaction that he is indeed the new owner and deserves the rent. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Since laws vary from State to State you would be wise to consult the attorney who sent you the notice or your own attorney. With such a notice in hand it is only a matter of time until the Sheriff knocks on your door and physically evicts you and all your belongings -- not a happy experience.

In the meantime as long as you stay you are legally bound by the lease that you signed. I suggest you cut your losses, write off your security deposit and look for another place to live. If the attorney tells you that the owner may be able to reinstate his loan then you may be able to stay but usually this stage in the process means you will have to leave.

Answer 4

Yes, you can still do much to save the house. If you are in the redemption period (meaning your home has already been sold at sheriff sale), then your options are more limited. If you are simply staying in the house with no redemption period and the eviction is scheduled for September, then you have even fewer options.

But all hope is not lost yet. You probably have at least half a dozen methods that would still work in your situation. Since I don't have all the details of your conditions, you should research the following solutions and see if any are appropriate to your situation.

- Save up money and pay back the amounts you were behind.

- Ask the lender for a forbearance or other loan workout plan.

- Ask the lender for a mortgage modification.

- Refinance with a hard money or foreclosure lender.

- If you have an FHA loan, take advantage of the partial claim.

- Sell to a private investor and lease the property back.

- File bankruptcy to stop collection/eviction efforts for now.

- Sell for less than what you owe at a short sale.

- List the house on the market and sell for as much as you can get.

- Offer the bank a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

- Just give up and walk away from the house before eviction.

- Contest the foreclosure lawsuit on every grounds possible.

Hope that helps -- again, some might not apply in your situation at this time, but it's in your best interests to use as many options as possible to keep the house. If nothing else, holding onto the property for a few extra months will give you time to save up money or pay down other debt.

Good luck.

ForeclosureFish

Answer 5

This letter you received is:

tenancy at sufferance

Definition

Occurs when a tenant (called tenant at sufferance) continues to retain the occupation or possession of the land without the landlord's consent after the expiration of lease. It ends when the tenant is either evicted or is allowed to stay by the landlord.

If you are the tenant, the only thing you can do is to either work out something with the mortgage holder (the bank) through their attorney or find another place to live.

Before the property can be sold, the tenant needs to be removed.

In certain states this process can take up to six months to happen.

Good luck to you.