What are renters rights during foreclosure?
Submitted by martidarnall
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- 07/21/2008 - 9:26am
My husband & I are renting a property in pre-foreclosure. The trustee auction date has been set for 8/8/08. How much time do we have as renters to vacate the property after the auction date?
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If you are in CA you now have to be given 60 days notice thanks to the recently passed SB1137. Otherwise it will depend on the state, but typically you will get notice, and the bank will offer you some cash to move and leave the house clean.
The following is probably not good legal advice, but if I had a deposit, I would stop paying rent for at least long enough to recover my deposit. If the home is lost in foreclosure, the new owner will likely have no obligation to repay your deposit. The one exception would be if you had a lease that was recorded against the property prior to the loan.
Aong this same line and topic...My daughter and I live with my father. His home has been foreclosed on according to his agents that had been trying to short sale. Do I count as a tenant? It has been a while but no one has contacted him/us. We are in CA and confused how long we have to find new residence. Times have become very hard for us. Any help is greatly appreciated.
You can certainly claim you are a tenant, which thanks to a new law in CA will require they give you 60 days notice on an eviction. Though they are unlikely to challenge your claim it would help if you had a rental agreement (search online for a form) and had actually paid some rent to your father.
That said, the bank will likely offer you some money to move quickly, allowing them to avoid the time and expense of an eviction. You can expect an offer of $1000 to $2500, and you can negotiate this (you'll likely get more for moving sooner). I'd strongly recommend preparing yourself to be ready to move quickly so you can accept this offer. You will have to rent soon, and the last thing potential landlords will want to see is an eviction on your record.
Our home was forclosed on May 29th and were notified by the bank ownered realitor that we needed to move out, this was on June 9th so we went out and found a new home. On June 18th there was a three day notice to quit the letter was dated 6/17/08 but not posted until 6/18/08, we moved out of the house on June 24th. During that time I spoke with the bank owned lender and told her that we where looking for a place to live but we were having trouble finding something in the school district and she stated no problem they will give you cash for keys. we cleaned the house and left it in move in condition On July 1,2008 I meet with the realator and gave her my keys, I asked her about the check and she stated that we should have been out of the house earlier so there is no money. How much sooner did they want us to move?
If those facts are correct and you communicated as you claimed then they simply took advantage of you. You should have kept the keys and told her to proceed with the eviction or get you a check. Keep in mind that doing cash-4-keys is extra work for the Realtor, and if you are standing there ready to hand them the keys anyway, why bother.
Given the verbal assurances and your reliance on those assurance you probably have a decent small court claim. Most small claims courts offer free legal assistance with filing the claim. Ask for the amount they promised, plus additional for the trouble.
my situation is a little different. My landlord stated in the beginning of the month the property was going into short sale. She offered the property to us but of course we dont have the funds for the down payment. So our plan is to move with my husbands parents for a while to pay off our bills, etc. and of course to save money. We want to move out as soon as we can. Considering the property is in short sale, does the 30 day notice still apply?? I feel like the landlord is just pocketing our rent anyway but she still wants the 30 days. Help :)
Any rental agreement you have still applies unless it explicity makes an exception for this situation, or there is an overriding state or federal law (I'm not aware of any). 30 days will go by quick, just give notice - and perhaps withhold the last payment temporarily to make sure they have the funds to return your deposit. If they do you may have to pay a late fee, and they may give you a negative rating to a future landlord, but that may be a worthwhile trade.
We are currently in a rent to own home. We were served and and unknown occupant for possesion due to non payment of assosiation dues now today I Just received a letter that our landlord has not been paying the rent and the mortgage company is starty foclosure process as well. What do I do? We are just about ready to purchase the home but we can not get a hold of the landlord to start the process they will not return our calls or letters, but you'ld bet they run strait to the bank with the checks I send!
Are my rights different with a rent to own lease? Can I contact the bank directly and ask to purchase the home for what is owed?
You may have some rights under your lease option agreement, but its not an area I have much experience in. I would contact an attorney. Especially if you've paid a premium for the purchase option.
We have been renting from "friends" with only a verbal agreement. We are in CA. They are now informing us that they are talking to a realtor about doing a short sale to see if it can be sold or it may go into foreclosure if not. Do we have any rights? Verbal agreement, no time limit on renting the home, no deposit was required, etc...
If the property is foreclosed upon the new owner will still be required to give you 60 days notices despite the lack of verbal agreement. Having done a lot of these evictions as an investor, I always found that the burden of proof was on me, and I have had judges make me give the longer notice even for adult kids who claimed to be renting from their parents. With no deposit you are in better shape then most. Given that your friends have stopped making the payment, and the house would now be very difficult for to rent anyway you might ask them to cut your rent given the hassle the foreclosure is going to put you through.
My situation is different. We are purchasing a home from an owner. It's not a short sale or foreclosure. Is the owner still required to give the tenant 60 days? I've been researching it and what I found is yes, Unless it's being sold to another person. Which this is. Thanks ;)
In California the standard notice for tenants is 30 days.
This information is not correct. In California tenants who have resided at a property for more than one year get a 60-days notice terminating their tenancy. A 30-days' notice may only be given if the tenant has lived at the property for less than a year. And tenants who are evicted as a result of foreclosure receive 60-days notice, no matter how long they've lived at the property.
Didn't know that over 1 year was also 60 days - thanks.
We just found out that the home we have been renting for almost two years is going into foreclosure. A flyer came to our address from HUD saying that foreclosure proceedings have begun on this home. So I went to our city's Recorder Office online and sure enough there it was, default filed Oct, 7th 2008. Our landlord has not even had the decency to call us and let us know. Also our lease ended months ago. She lives out of town and every month has promised to get down here to sign a new lease but she never shows up. What are our rights and do we still continue to pay rent being the house has gone into foreclosure and we have no valid lease at this time? I am curious why she has not informed us of the foreclosure. What's going to happen to our 1,600 dollar deposit? Thanks for any answers.
A lease is generally wiped out by the foreclosure so that makes little difference. I'd start by contacting the landlord. Let them know you are concered about your deposit and ask if they would be willing to place it with a 3rd party, like a property management company or an attorney so that you can be assured it will be returned IF you leave the home in good repair. If they aren't willing to do that, or otherwise gain comfort that your deposit will be returned you may want to consider withholding your last months rent after you've given notice - note that this probably bad legal advice as you have no right to withhold rent in anticipation of a problem but in practice it seems to be an effective way of insuring your aren't stuck without a deposit for your next rental.
Finally note that if you choose to stay through the foreclosure, the new buyer has to give you 60 days notice and may be willing to pay your around $2000 to move and leave the property clean.
A few days ago we discovered a notice on our garage that said
"Notice of Trustee's Sale" and the house was going to auction as of
12/18/08. I contacted our property manager and let her know. She
assured me that my deposit was safe, but I would need to move out by
the auction date.
We thought it would be in our best interest to move out at the end
of the month, so we can be resettled in time for the holiday's and not
have to deal with moving right before the auction.
My question is; are we entitled to our entire deposit regardless of
the state of house. Both my family and friends have said I shouldn't
bother trying to do a move out clean, since it will not be rerented and
a house sold at auction is sold "As-is"? I just don't want to risk our
deposit if they don't think the house is clean enough.
No, you are absolutely not entitled to your deposit regardless of the state of the house. As far as your deal with your landlord nothing has changed. Unfortunately most rental agreements and leases fail to specify what happens in the event of foreclosure.
Three options in my opinion: 1) move, leave the house clean, get your deposit, 2) ask the landlord to return your deposit regardless of condition given the inconvenience they've put you through - if they agree get it in writing, 3) just wait it out, stop paying your landlord after the house is sold, and wait for the bank to approach you... they are usually willing to pay roughly $2k if you are willing to leave the house clean (not required though), and you might get some free rent in between.
My family and I are tenants, in San Diego Ca. The house we live in went through the foreclosure process. I received a Notice of Sale document, (civil code: 2924.8) stating we had 60 days, once we received notice from the new owner, after the date of sale to relocate. The house was scheduled to be sold October 1st, 2008, according to the Notice of Trustee's Sale document I received. Either the house wasn't sold or the sale didn't take place. The former owners moved back into the house, and are now asking to be payed rent. The former owners are anticipating to qualify for a program that would allow them to "retain" ownership of the property. This hasn't happened yet and the The property is currently listed as being Bank Owned. This all has to do with the Countrywide Mortgage fiasco and the subsequent take over by Bank of America.
Are they violating my rights by asking to be payed rent? If so, are they violating any laws? Bottom line: Should I pay them rent before they finalize the process with the bank to regain their property? They won't even receive the documents from the bank notifying them of eligibility of this program (if ever) until December 3rd.
If they still own the house then they are certainly entitled to rent, and if you do not pay they can evict you. What you need to do is verify whether or not the house was actually sold at trustee sale or not. You can do this on ForeclosureRadar.com, though if they still dispute it you will need to check and see if the trustees deed transferring ownership to the property was actually filed. Occaisionally a bank will overturn a sale after it happens - we do not track that.
The house was not sold at trustee sale. A search on the property using realtytrac.com shows the property as being "bank owned". It lists the buyrs name as: Pldc Inc.Pension Plan and the sellers name as: Forclosure Specialists. The "previous owner" of the house is neither of these.
If the site you mentioned show it as bank owned it is likely because a trustees deed was recorded. This would mean that it did sell at trustee sale... to the bank. If that is correct then the prior owner would have not have the right to collect rent after the date of the trustee sale unless the bank appointed them as their agent which is very unlikely.
We were just notified in late October that the oweners of the house want to short sell the property. We just got done signing a new 1 year lease in June. The owners have been treating us horriably since the call that they will be short selling. My BF and the owners got into it today and they said they were going to start the eviction process. Can they do this? We have complied to everyone of there demands and wishes and not we have had it because they keep breaking what was perviously talked about. I am 6 months preggo and this is really stressing me out. What are our rights as tenants?
Don't stress, if you have a lease they likely can't evict you unless you've otherwise violated the terms of the lease. I have two thoughts for you:
1. Keep in mind the owners are likely in financial trouble, by not agreeing to help you are likely forcing them into foreclosure and perhaps bankruptcy. Now this is certainly their own fault, not yours, but having some empathy for their situation can't hurt. If you weren't 6 months "preggo" I'd probably urge you to just suck it up and move (though perhaps forcing them to cover any difference between your current rent and market rents).
2. You have a right of "quiet enjoyment", which means they can't force you to show the property (unless written into the lease) or unreasonably accomodate their sale. I'd recommend visiting a local real estate attorney and having him draft a letter on your behalf to remind them of this fact. This should cost less than $200.
I think you'll find the eviction to be an ideal threat. Once they speak with an eviction service they will likely find they are stuck in the lease. If they do file for eviction do not forget to answer the complaint with a copy of the lease (again a real estate attorney is the way to go).
Thanks for getting back to me Sean. We have been super accomendating to there problems right now. In fact, I have been playing listing agent for them. They listed my phone number and all the agents call me and I have been setting up the appointments for people to come by and I have been showing the place. They held one open house and were suppose to hold another one the next day but canceled and never contacted us that they were canceling and so we were out of our house all day, and not needing to be. I found out from an agent who called the next day saying the open house was canceled and she still wanted to show the house to the client. Anyways... I was just getting scared that they were saying they were going to evict us. I wanted to know what my rights were. We just submitted our Intent to Vacate letter and I hope things will be over from that point forward.
PS... two small windows were broken, one by a kid in the area and one by us. Should I have to fix this or should I just let them take this out of our Deposit in which they said we will not be getting back because they are allowing us to live there rent free? I called to see how much it would cost and it would be about $40 to fix both windows.
Thanks again for your help!!
What law states a foreclosure is removed from a credit report after seven years?
Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
I am looking to move into a condo pretty soon but I am not sure whether that condo is currently being foreclosed, or if it is safe to move into. How do I find out if it is currently being forclosed?
You can use a service like ours. We even offer a free trial so you can actually sign up, check the property and cancel.
i just talked to my landlord who knew the house was in forclosure mode. she said she didn't want me tolive into the property rent free because she was out 6000.00. we have a month to month lease. What can be done about this because i think she is going to give me 30 day notice to get out. Please help
Sorry, you don't get to stay free just because the landlord isn't paying. Your deal is between you and the landlord, what they do or don't do with their lender doesn't really change anything for you UNTIL the house is sold at the foreclosure auction.
How selfish of her! Personally I would stick it out. If she allready knows she can't save the house, why sould she care if you stay. I would let her give you notice and just keep silent. At the end of your thirty days, she's not going to go through the trouble and expense to begin eviction proceedings, plus she wouldn't have time to follow it through. She'l be gone by then. Once she looses the house, which would be in a couple of months, she will have no further say in the matter. At this point you are then protected by a law which gives you 60 days to relocate. that 60 days doesn't begin until you receive notice from the new owner. You could be looking at 3 to 4 months or more before you have to move. This will not put a black mark on your record either.
Stick it out. Doen't let her bluff you. I'm sure you and your family could use somme financial relief in this terrible economy. Take advantage of it.
You are likely right that the landlord won't file an eviction, but if they did such an action is public record, and would effect her credit. And the landlord would certainly have the right to.
I am trying to respond to unlawful detainer complaint from my "landlord" who turns out has been subleasing to me and is not even the owner and now the house is owned by the bank ( i have the title paperwork showing so) Where can I find the law stating all leases are broken at trustee sale? I cannot find it in writing anywhere.
Hi...we are in a bit of a situation. My husband and I along with out 18 month old son live in my mother in laws house in Florida. she moved outta state & stopped paying the mortgage in April. we dont have a lease with her just a verbal agreement to keep the house up since its in a gated community & they give fines for the property not being kept up as well as being responsible for the electric & water bill. we have been keeping the property up as well as paying the utilites. weve gotten a notice for a court date in january looks like the accelerated clause agreement to pay the full amount of the mortgage. Im not sure what that means and how long we have to move out. do we have any rights to a specified time for us to move out? im not even sure if we need to show up to this court date. she lives out of state and im sure she isnt going to show up to the court date either. we dont have any means to an attorney since my husband is the only one working at this time and getting paid basically minimum wage in this economy & I havent been able to get a job either. any help would be appreciated!
We are in a terrible situation also. We have moved to Virginia from NC last year and rented a nice home. We have NEVER missed a rent payment. Last month we started getting cards about foreclosure and then they came more frequently. Ou landlord NEVER told us anything and when we did call her, she threatened to evict us. The last one said that our house was going to be auctioned off by 12/10/08. It has happened and no one bought the property, it went back to the bank. My question is... How can we go about owning the house? Do we need an attorney? Can we contact the bank ourselves? We were already trying to start the process to rent to own but now we know why our landlord was dragging her feet. Luckily, we didn't pay the December's rent, once we found out. The bank sent out a Real Estate agent and told us they would pay us $X amount to get out. But It's CHRISTMAS and I have 2 young boys. I can't uproot them right now. HOw long do we legally have? Is it 60 days from the date of the auction? I don't want to get evicted but really want to stay until we can find a new place in the same school district! I am also afraid of this happening again if we try to rent. How can we prevent that?? Thanks for your help!
Frustrated in VA
I am renting a home that is being foreclosed in Ohio and we have only been renting it for a month. I need to know what my rights our. I would like my security deposit back. And I am worried about if I pay her rent her not. She also hasnt been paying rent since June 2008. What do I do? Please help....
***I am not an attorney and this isn't legal advice*** First off, the The foreclosure sale kills your lease, by the way. There was a bill law signed by the Governor in the summer that states that the new owner or the bank MUST give (RENTERS ONLY) 60 days WRITTEN notice to quit to move out. And that isn't from the sate of sale, that is from the first notice posted on your door, which wouldnt' come quickly. THEN if you do not tmove, they have to evict you which in Califronia could take up to 6 months total. In Los Angeles, anyone in this situation is entitled BY LAW to a minimum of $7000 in moving costs, depending on how long they have lived in the rental. Google Los Angeles County Rent Stabilization Ordinance for more information. HTH!
Hi,
We are renter's who just signed our lease in October 2008. This morning, 1/16/09 we had a notice of default posted on our door. The home has a 2/6 sale date.
What can we do to protect ourselves as renters.
Thank you.
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I live in a rental property with a 3 yr. lease agreement. We recently found on that there was a Notice of Default filed by the bank. Can you tell us how long do we have before the bank seizes the property? We also notified the owners that we are aware of the NOD, Of course they first denied it and finally came around to say they are trying to refinance or to do a short sale. I want to hold any future rent payments in an escrow type of account until all this sorts out? Would that be legal? What are the possible legal problem that can occur?
you legally have to pay rent as long as they own the property. if it does go to trustee sale, then you will have a minimum of 60 days from the date of the sale to actually move out of the home. in reality, probably longer than that, or the bank or purchaser of the property will offer you cash for you to move sooner.
HTH
Hello Sean,
I am to be out of my apartment soon. I recently found a beautiful duplex that was for rent. The owner lets me know up front that the property is going into foreclosure and there is already an auction date set up for the property. She said that there is a possible that she can keep the duplex if she shows proof of income to the bank. Basically if there are renters in the property. (She lives on the other side of the duplex.) Otherwise the property will go threw an auction. What I want to know if i move in there is there a high possiblility that she will get to keep the property? I will be signing a lease. Also, if the property goes to auction and I sign a year lease will the new owner still have to give me a 60 day notice? The auction date is like in 2 weeks. I would move in the next couple of days. Is this a good idea to move in or not??? What will my rights be???
There is a reasonable probability it will still foreclose, but yes, if you are in CA, the bank will still have to give you 60 days notice. And more than likely the bank will offer you some cash to move sooner.
If the auction wasn't so soon I'd be less hesitant. If you travel light and can keep moving related expenses to almost nothing it might be worth a try. Otherwise I'd keep looking.
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What is the law in Texas? I live in San Antonio and was told yesterday by the property manager that the house I am renting is in foreclosure. How long does a tenant in Texas have to move out? Thanks!
I am renting and just found out that the home is in forclosure. The owner still has not notified me and I found out that he is behind from the title company. what is my next step? Do I give him rent or not pay so I can save money to move out? Im nolt sure whta the right move is here
we just recieved a notice of foreclosure on the apt we are renting we live in schenectady ny how long do we have before we must move we have a month to month lease . can we stick it out longer than 30 days . i ask because i am worried about the so called police evictions i have two children an infant and disabled. or do we contact the bank doing the foreclosure to get answers.
we are currently renting and 0n 12/13/08 we were served with a Lis Pendens that the owner had not been paying his mortgage since 09/01/08 our landlord advised us to hold our rent until the owner demanded it. The landlord then notified us that a foreclosure release program was going to take over property and allow us 1st option to buy it and it also involved some hedgefund people,we don't want to buy this property and have been seeking other options for new residency now that they know this they served us with a 3-day notice. if we pay all rent to date are we still entilted to the rest of our lease or can the new owner evict us if we do not want to buy this house. BTW, we live in florida if that helps with determining our rights
Very interesting. Hedgefunds are running around buying up mortgages for pennies on the dollar, then trying to restructure the loan or flip the property for a profit. If that's the case and you have a lease they can likely not evict you unless a)you are not making your payments or otherwise not holding up your end of the lease, or 2) the property has already been foreclosed on (foreclosure typically wipes out lease agreement - to be sure you'd need to check with an attorney).
I'd get an eviction attorney, and if your lease is still valid, tell the hedgefund you'll move early for $10k, otherwise you are staying put.
parents rented a condo for one year. (between owning a home and going into assisted living) Paid a $2500 deposit. Every months rent paid in advance of due date. Gave 30 day notice of moving. Condo inspected (by new management co. hired by bank ) and told they would get full refund. Now new management company (hired by bank) says they will not refund and that they need to go to orginal owner for money. What can they do? They are 84 years old.
Hi Maglib,
This is a very unfortunate situation. The laws vary from state to state but in most cases the deposit is held by the prior owner and the bank does not have a legal obligation to return it. That said, I would certainly put pressure on this bank/management company given the situation. You can reach out to a a housing counselor at makinghomeaffordable.gov and never underestimate the power of your elected officials. It sounds like this management company was misleading and took advantage of your elderly parents. There is also an elder abuse division at the District Attorneys office in your county. They have been very helpful to me in the past and have a division dedicated to elder abuse. Keep us posted how this works out.
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