Oct
24
Renters Rights Concerning Foreclosure?
ByI just found out today my landlord has not paid his mortgage for over 5 months, and owes over 89K on it. A notice of trustee’s sale paper was taped on our door this afternoon, saying the home will be auctioned off Feb. 2…. So I was wondering what rights do I have as a renting occupant? What should we do?
we live in San diego, California.
Obviously don’t pay your rent. I would take him to court because he broke your lease contract. I think he owes you for the rent he took from you when he was not paying mortgage and for your moving costs. Maybe the person who buys the house is looking for renters? Its worth asking them. I would call the court and inquire if you have to be out by the the 2nd and to find out if this is for real. Its possible someone is playing a joke or just wants you to move. 5 months sounds pretty quick to foreclose-I always thought it was longer than that.
Do you like the house? Maybe you could bid on it. When we bought our house we didn’t have good credit. But we bought it at a high interest rate, (which through refinancing we have been able to substantially lower as our credit improved) and with no money down. We actually got money back at closing because the previous owners agreed to pay the closing costs.
I am assuming that this is a house and not an apartment building.
At any rate I feel very bad for your circumstances. I never even thought of that happening in the years I rented. Good Luck and best wishes.
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Just because you have been paying your rent doesn’t mean that your landlord has been paying his mortgage. Many people trying to get rich quick in real estate over the past decade have found themselves scrambling to cover the mortgages, often “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. As a result you may find yourself being evicted by the bank after the foreclosure sale having done no wrong. After the “Trustee’s Sale” which concludes the foreclosure, the new owner [which is sometimes the foreclosing bank] cannot legally take possession without then going through the eviction process. As with the other kinds of evictions the process does take time, during which you can sort out your options. The former owner is entitled to a 3-day notice and any tenant of the former owner is entitled to 30 days’ notice before the eviction lawsuit can be filed. If you are such a tenant but get only a 3-day notice you have a tactical advantage when you start fighting the eviction. Also there are remedies for any improprieties in real estate swindles such as reversing the title in “equity purchases” and raising the fraud as an eviction defense. Your lawyer can explain the details of these approaches and help you decide how best to handle the problem. Seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law.