Posted on 06/18/2012 6:34:09 PM PDT by ducttape45
I need to get some advice on a housing issue and I hope there is a legal expect in FreeperLand that can help me.
I, and my neighbor (the house is a duplex) were told we need to vacate the premises and that we would soon be getting eviction notices from the perspective banks that own the property. My place is owned by one party, my neighbor's part is owned by a different party. The properties will eventually go up for sheriff's sale.
I have tried contacting the mortgage company that holds the loan on my half of the duplex but they won't talk with me. I have also contacted the Indiana State Homeowner's Protection Unit and though they are investigating this, they also can't/won't tell me anything or give me advice.
I need some legal advice. I want to find out how far the foreclosure process has progressed. I also want to know if I can stay here and do I have any rights as the current occupant? Do I have to move out if/when the notice from the mortgage company arrives?
I'm not getting any answers and I need to know what to do. I am very frustrated.
Thank you.
I need to get some advice on a housing issue and I hope there is a legal expert (not expect) in FreeperLand that can help me.
You want some legal advice? Don’t solicit legal advice on the internet.
Indiana laws regarding rental property were written for an age when you had tenant farmers with 40 acres and a cow on the premises.
That doesn't mean they haven't improved ~ regulation of mechanics leins some 50 years go helped keep subcontractors from stealing homes.
Given the current state of Indiana law owners should be prohibited from renting out any property.
It sounds as though it is time to look for another place. The owner is unable or unwilling to keep the property and you, as a renter, under anything but a very unusual rental contract, have no choice but to vacate as the owner dictates. I would guess that even leases have small print that provide for this situation and you, as a renter, will have few, if any rights to affect the apparent upcoming transaction.
But that depends entirely on your state's law.
I would consult an attorney. Get a recommendation from your church or someone you know who owns a business. Do NOT pick a lawyer out of the yellow pages. Some state and local bar associations have a tenant rights section.
But do consult an attorney.
Like any other tenant you can stay until the sheriff shows up at the door to boot you out there are usually several required notices before that. That being said the laws are state specific. There is a law here in Florida that states that a tenant with a written lease may stay til the end of the lease in other words the foreclosing bank must honor the lease just like an open market purchaser. Contact a local lawyer if you really want to stretch it out but maybe you are being sent a message that it is time to buy.
You do not own the property. You have no right to anything. As unfair as it is, the owner does not even need a reason to evict you except that he/they want you off their property.
If you had a lease, it was with the old landlord. A new landlord is not legally bound by that lease.
I think you may have a misunderstanding of the current law. The Protecting Tenants of Foreclosure Act of 2009 basically says the following three things:
1) If you are on a month-to-month lease, you must be provided with a minimum of 90 days notice prior to eviction.
2) If you have a longer lease, you must be allowed to stay until the end of your lease term.
3) If the current buyer intends to occupy the property, you can be provided with a 90 day notice even if you have a longer lease term.
Check your state laws as well, but this federal law certainly applies.
Bottom line - see a lawyer
Here’s a recent story from Maine. Not sure how close this is to your situation. It may be of interest to you and other FReepers reading the thread.
Turner, Maine tenants sue landlord, claim he rented them house he didn’t own
Are you in a lease?
I'm hesitant about consulting lawyers from this area because they are in cohoots with the local realty association. I really want to find someone from a major city like Indianapolis or Evansville, any place but Miami County, Indiana. I will look up the "The Protecting Tenants of Foreclosure Act of 2009" and see what it says, but I will still need a good lawyer to help me with this.
I really don't want to move until absolutely necessary, and since I am on a month-to-month lease (I've been here three years) it's advantageous to me because if I can find a good job elsewhere in the states I can up and leave any time I want.
Thanks for your help.
The original lease was for one year, and I’m now “month to month” but yes I am in a lease.
“You do not own the property. You have no right to anything. As unfair as it is, the owner does not even need a reason to evict you except that he/they want you off their property.
If you had a lease, it was with the old landlord. A new landlord is not legally bound by that lease.”
This ill informed bs is why you shouldn’t seek legal advice over the internet.
I’m a real estate broker, which requires several classes in re law, over 20 years esxperience including rental properties, and the cited poster doesn’t know what he is talking about.
It’s actually “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure” (not of), so keep that in mind if you search it.
If you are on a month-to-month lease, unless the state laws of Indiana specifically say you can stay longer, you must be provided with 90 days notice prior to eviction. If you get an eviction notice that says 30 days, they are in violation of federal law. In your situation, the federal minimum is 90 days. After that, your case looks pretty clear.
In theory, you could sue the previous owner for the costs of looking for a new place to live, but it probably is way more trouble than it’s worth.
Start looking for a new place, get ready to move and wait for the notice to vacate, then vacate.
There’s a federal law regarding vacate notices?
In California unless you have a lease with different requirements, no lease so it is automatically month to month IE the owner can ask you to leave in 30 days for any reason.
Ah.... With a monthly lease, you probably don’t have any ground to stand on there. If you had a longer term lease, you’d probably have some ‘rights’. Of course, this can vary widely, depending on state laws.
One things for sure, I wouldn’t write them another check. Stay there for free, pocketing the rent money until the day before the bank literally throws you out. If you’re lucky, you might get 2 or 3 months(or more) of free rent out of the deal. Just save that money for your next place, a nice vacation, or whatever you wish. If the bank tries to collect any rent from you, advise them to piss up a rope(in the nicest way possible, of course - depending on their attitude).
My mother in law was in a similar situation(but without the complexities of multiple banks owning the different units). As soon as the place went into foreclosure, my wife stopped making the rent payments(my wife manages her finances). The bank talked up a big game, implying that she could be thrown out literally any day, but my wife saw through that BS. The bank never even asked for the first rent payment. It was 6 months before the place sold at auction. She then simply started making payments again, to the new landlord. In your case, with multiple banks involved, it could be a year before that place eventually sells. It could take those banks months to negotiate amongst themselves before it even really gets started.
My son’s friend who lives in VA just moved from a house he’d been renting when the landlord lost the house in foreclosure. Than bank let him live there for 6 months rent free just so it wouldn’t go vacant.
Don’t know how he wrangled that one but it might be worth checking into seeing if you can do the same.
+1
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