Forclosures

Hey Elwood · 04-29-2009, 09:47 AM

Hi everyone,

I have a wee bit of a rant that I would like to send out there. Most of you know that my wife and I recently found out that we are going to have our first child. Well, not too long after we got the life-changing news that we came home to find out our house we had been renting has gone into forclosure.

Now my wife and I had been killing ourselves to make sure we were paying all of our rent payments on time so this really upset us to find out our house was going into foreclosure. Well, when we contacted a lawyer to see what legal recourse we might have we found out there was nothing we could do (don't know if that was because we were on a month-to-month contact or not) but it was still upsetting that there was nothing we could do.

My wife and I had to spend this last month finding a place to move to, getting enough funds together, packing and moving out of our current place. Thank God we were able to find a decent place in a nice city but we are afraid that we won't be able to afford this place either but we had to take what we could get in a such a short time. The lawyer also told us we needed to pay the landlord for the month were were there or he could evict us in 7 days and we don't even know if we will get our security deposit back.

I've heard this is happening more and more every day so I'm wondering why are there no laws on the books that protect renters (weither they are month-to-month or not). If we are responsible enough to get the rent out on time we should be protected or have the abililty to sue. I know there were some things going around if the home was owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac but if the house isn't owned by either of these companies we are pretty much screwed.

Wheatfield · 04-29-2009, 12:03 PM

The joys of unfettered American style capitalism.
You have my sympathy.

MrApollinax · 04-29-2009, 12:30 PM

You can have something put into place by using a lease contract. Did you have a lease agreement for the property that you were renting? What wording did it have in the case of owner foreclosure?

Wheatfield · 04-29-2009, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by MrApollinax

You can have something put into place by using a lease contract. Did you have a lease agreement for the property that you were renting? What wording did it have in the case of owner foreclosure?

That's probably just replacing one form of hell for another. If the landlord lets the property go into forclosure, the bank isn't going to honour the agreement, so you get to sue a landlord who is probably broke too, with all the financial obligations and personal stress that goes along with it.
It's just a really crappy situation, and honestly, I think your governments should be bailing out people in the OP's situation before they bail out Wall Street.
At least this would be helping the victims rather than rewarding the predators.

Rustyoldbug · 04-29-2009, 01:44 PM

A lot of laws are starting to pop up just because of stuff like this. I don't know anything about where you are though. It happened to my ex-sister in law in San Francisco not too long ago and she got shafted. Lost all her deposits and the guy is off living in Europe somewhere now.

Also happened to my 20 something niece up in Seattle - In her case I called the bank about the house and with a little help, a lot of sweet talking, and me to co-sign she is buying the place now for a fraction of what it is worth - plus the payments ended up being cheaper than her rent. The banks will deal on these properties - they don't want to get stuck with a bunch of empty houses either, so trying to take over the note was a possible option.

You might see if there is any free legal aid in your area that you can talk to about deposits and such. Also call the local news - they have those "People Helper" segments and love this stuff - couple barely getting by, baby, evil landlord creating hardship for them, it makes for great news ratings.

slomojoe · 04-29-2009, 04:58 PM

I think you are right to be suspicious if you'll ever see your deposit back, given the situation. If you are confident you are leaving the apartment with no damage, just don't pay your last month rent, but send a letter to the landlord telling him/her to keep the deposit instead. If they are in the middle of a foreclosure, it's very unlikely they'll bother evicting you for a month rent for which they have a deposit, at the most they'll just bug you about it, and by the time they move on to do something about it, you'll be out of there.

Of course, if you suspect they'll have some reason to keep your deposit, then you should just pay.

**monochrome** · 04-29-2009, 08:21 PM

Originally posted by Wheatfield

That's probably just replacing one form of hell for another. If the landlord lets the property go into forclosure, the bank isn't going to honour the agreement, so you get to sue a landlord who is probably broke too, with all the financial obligations and personal stress that goes along with it.
It's just a really crappy situation, and honestly, I think your governments should be bailing out people in the OP's situation before they bail out Wall Street.
At least this would be helping the victims rather than rewarding the predators.

On the contrary, if you have a lease with a foreclosure clause you have a valid, enforceable contract.

Neither the buyer of the foreclosed property (nor the bank) can evict you before performance of the lease is completed.

If you are moth-to-month, your lease is performed at the end of each month, That is the risk you take when you cannot commit to a term lease - the benefit is you can move with 30 days' notice.

And believe me, if you own stick in Citigroup or stock options you haven't been bailed out at all $57 to $0.97 in 17 months ain't a bailout..

reeftool · 05-01-2009, 10:16 AM

Getting an apartment or house with a lease is the best bet as it gives you some protection. The laws are different from state to state but in my experience the renter is the one who gets screwed. We had similar problems many years ago. We never really unpacked. We finally bought a trailer, not the perfect home but it was ours. We had our oldest daughter and her family living with us on 2 occasions in the past 3 years because the places they were renting were sold. They are finally in the process of buying their own home.
I saw a clip on our local news recently of a family in a similar situation as yours who were able to make a deal with the bank who foreclosed to stay there and pay rent to the bank for the short term until they found another place but an agreement like that would depend on the bank.

04-29-2009, 09:47 AM	#1
Hey Elwood Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Highland, MI Posts: 336	Forclosures Hi everyone, I have a wee bit of a rant that I would like to send out there. Most of you know that my wife and I recently found out that we are going to have our first child. Well, not too long after we got the life-changing news that we came home to find out our house we had been renting has gone into forclosure. Now my wife and I had been killing ourselves to make sure we were paying all of our rent payments on time so this really upset us to find out our house was going into foreclosure. Well, when we contacted a lawyer to see what legal recourse we might have we found out there was nothing we could do (don't know if that was because we were on a month-to-month contact or not) but it was still upsetting that there was nothing we could do. My wife and I had to spend this last month finding a place to move to, getting enough funds together, packing and moving out of our current place. Thank God we were able to find a decent place in a nice city but we are afraid that we won't be able to afford this place either but we had to take what we could get in a such a short time. The lawyer also told us we needed to pay the landlord for the month were were there or he could evict us in 7 days and we don't even know if we will get our security deposit back. I've heard this is happening more and more every day so I'm wondering why are there no laws on the books that protect renters (weither they are month-to-month or not). If we are responsible enough to get the rent out on time we should be protected or have the abililty to sue. I know there were some things going around if the home was owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac but if the house isn't owned by either of these companies we are pretty much screwed.

04-29-2009, 12:03 PM	#2
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,986	The joys of unfettered American style capitalism. You have my sympathy.

04-29-2009, 12:30 PM	#3
MrApollinax Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,529	You can have something put into place by using a lease contract. Did you have a lease agreement for the property that you were renting? What wording did it have in the case of owner foreclosure?

04-29-2009, 01:15 PM	#4
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,986	Originally posted by MrApollinax You can have something put into place by using a lease contract. Did you have a lease agreement for the property that you were renting? What wording did it have in the case of owner foreclosure? That's probably just replacing one form of hell for another. If the landlord lets the property go into forclosure, the bank isn't going to honour the agreement, so you get to sue a landlord who is probably broke too, with all the financial obligations and personal stress that goes along with it. It's just a really crappy situation, and honestly, I think your governments should be bailing out people in the OP's situation before they bail out Wall Street. At least this would be helping the victims rather than rewarding the predators.

04-29-2009, 01:44 PM	#5
Rustyoldbug Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North San Diego, California Photos: Gallery Posts: 137	A lot of laws are starting to pop up just because of stuff like this. I don't know anything about where you are though. It happened to my ex-sister in law in San Francisco not too long ago and she got shafted. Lost all her deposits and the guy is off living in Europe somewhere now. Also happened to my 20 something niece up in Seattle - In her case I called the bank about the house and with a little help, a lot of sweet talking, and me to co-sign she is buying the place now for a fraction of what it is worth - plus the payments ended up being cheaper than her rent. The banks will deal on these properties - they don't want to get stuck with a bunch of empty houses either, so trying to take over the note was a possible option. You might see if there is any free legal aid in your area that you can talk to about deposits and such. Also call the local news - they have those "People Helper" segments and love this stuff - couple barely getting by, baby, evil landlord creating hardship for them, it makes for great news ratings.

04-29-2009, 04:58 PM	#6
slomojoe Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 788	I think you are right to be suspicious if you'll ever see your deposit back, given the situation. If you are confident you are leaving the apartment with no damage, just don't pay your last month rent, but send a letter to the landlord telling him/her to keep the deposit instead. If they are in the middle of a foreclosure, it's very unlikely they'll bother evicting you for a month rent for which they have a deposit, at the most they'll just bug you about it, and by the time they move on to do something about it, you'll be out of there. Of course, if you suspect they'll have some reason to keep your deposit, then you should just pay.

04-29-2009, 08:21 PM	#7
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by Wheatfield That's probably just replacing one form of hell for another. If the landlord lets the property go into forclosure, the bank isn't going to honour the agreement, so you get to sue a landlord who is probably broke too, with all the financial obligations and personal stress that goes along with it. It's just a really crappy situation, and honestly, I think your governments should be bailing out people in the OP's situation before they bail out Wall Street. At least this would be helping the victims rather than rewarding the predators. On the contrary, if you have a lease with a foreclosure clause you have a valid, enforceable contract. Neither the buyer of the foreclosed property (nor the bank) can evict you before performance of the lease is completed. If you are moth-to-month, your lease is performed at the end of each month, That is the risk you take when you cannot commit to a term lease - the benefit is you can move with 30 days' notice. And believe me, if you own stick in Citigroup or stock options you haven't been bailed out at all $57 to $0.97 in 17 months ain't a bailout..

05-01-2009, 10:16 AM	#8
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	Getting an apartment or house with a lease is the best bet as it gives you some protection. The laws are different from state to state but in my experience the renter is the one who gets screwed. We had similar problems many years ago. We never really unpacked. We finally bought a trailer, not the perfect home but it was ours. We had our oldest daughter and her family living with us on 2 occasions in the past 3 years because the places they were renting were sold. They are finally in the process of buying their own home. I saw a clip on our local news recently of a family in a similar situation as yours who were able to make a deal with the bank who foreclosed to stay there and pay rent to the bank for the short term until they found another place but an agreement like that would depend on the bank.