Our Landlord Is in foreclosure..need Advice!

Contact the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service at ###-###-#### or toll-free in Oregon at 800-452-7636. You may also qualify for the "Modest Means Program", please mention this when you call asking for someone to specialize in Landlord/Tenant law. Good luck!

Hi T J,

I suggest seeking out legal aid through family services (aka welfare office), for advice on who to contact....because every state has different rules.

ALSO, I would take extensive photos that are timed and dated, to prove the condition of the home when you moved out. Landlords have been known to stage damage to homes to their advantage. (i.e. broken windows, clog plumbing, damage appliances, holes in drywall... etc)

good luck,
C. M Hamlin

I would not pay any more rent he will have to pay to evict you. So you are likely in the clear for the time you have left. This is just my take on theings no a lawyer. Good luck!!

Hi TJ,

I saw your post last night. My husband worked for a law firm that handles landlord/tenant law (on the landlord side of things) for 3+ years and now works for another firm that handles foreclosures (on the lienholder side) I thought that he might be able to shed some light on your situation from an attorney's point of view. I forwarded your post to him and here is his response, hope this helps:

'She can’t get her deposit or rent back right now since the landlord is not in breach of the landlord/tenant agreement. He is breaching his loan obligation, but that’s between him and his bank. There is no landlord/tenant law right that the property won’t go into foreclosure, just that the landlord can give her possession during the lease term, which he is. Even if it sells at the sale (19 days before lease end date) that’s ok in this situation, because the person in possession has 20 days to vacate after a sale. Given the 9/11 sale date, the bank probably timed the sale for that reason. If the occupant does not vacate within 20 days following the sale, then they are subject to eviction. She needs to pay her rent because the landlord can evict her if she doesn’t. If she moves out early the landlord can likely apply her deposit to the lease break damages (I’d need to review the lease to say for sure), so she should stay for the full term.

The bottom line is that all she has bargained for is the right to possess the property for a term in exchange for timely payment of rent. Regardless of what happens regarding foreclosure, or what the landlord does with her money, none of her rights as tenant are affected by this process. She isn’t entitled to an early refund of the deposit. She couldn’t ask for that early anyway and foreclosure has no effect on that. However, if the landlord doesn’t return her security deposit balance with an accounting within 14 days of moving out, then she can sue and get her deposit plus attorneys fees, and plus possibility double the deposit as damages.

She should ask the landlord for a signed release allowing her to talk to his bank.

She can attend the sale and bid for the property, but she’d need to payoff the foreclosing lien holder’s and any superior lien holder(s) interest(s) in the property, and at that point the property may not be worth enough for that to make sense. And she’d need cashier’s checks to cover 100% of the foreclosure sale purchase.'

Finally, I would encourage her to call the WA attorney general’s office to see if they have other resources for the tenant. I’m looking at this as a landlord’s attorney, and since foreclosures are a growing problem now maybe the attorney general has something in place to deal with this that I’m not aware of.

Do not pay him any more rent. If he chooses to evict you, it has to be seen before a judge before the eviction will be finalized. You will be able to tell the judge why you are withholding rent, and the judge will not finalize the eviction due to the foreclosure and non-refund of deposits. The judge will give you an adequate amount of time to leave the property if you request it. It takes about three months for the whole eviction process to get to the court phase anyways, so I doubt your landlord is going to have any leeway to do so since he will not be the property owner in two months.

Make all future contact with him in writing. Request what his plans are concerning your deposit. State in your letters to him what he said about not giving you your deposit back, and your concern for that. Ask for his response in writing. Make copies of what you send him, and send it by certified mail(keep the receipt), and also by email if possible. Do not speak to him about the subject in person any longer. I cannot stress enough how much it matters to have your communication with him be in writing from now on.

Here is how the eviction process works:

1.Landlord must in writing, give you either a 30 days notice, or a 72 hour quit notice for non-payment of rent.

2. You ignore the written notice and stay there.

3. Landlord must file with the court a legal eviction proceeding, and have the county sheriff hand-deliver it to you. What the sheriff will give you is a paper that states when your court date is. The court date can be anywhere from two weeks to two months later, depending on how busy the court is. You still get to remain at the residence.

3. Court. You go before a judge with the landlord and present your case. You explain why you are withholding rent and when you think you will moved from the premises. Usually, you will be granted the time to leave, with the stipulation that if you are still there by your move out date, the landlord can then have the eviction finalized. If you are out by the agreed upon date that you gave the judge in court, there will be no eviction on your record because it was not finalized. Finalizing the eviction requires refiling with the court, and upon refiling the sheriff will come to the property in 30 days to physically remove you. If the sheriff comes out and you are not there to physically remove, the eviction will not hold on your record.

Your landlord sounds awful. I am battling my landlord too, that is why I am so savvy to the rental laws right now. I don't think your landlord would make a good rental reference, hearing his practices on your deposit. You would be better off using me for a rental reference:)

http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/WA/index.cfm
(Washington Law Help-Helping Low-income People Find Solutions to Civil Legal Problems)

http://www.lawhelp.org/documents/4306116122EN.pdf?stateab...
(link to the following pdf)
New Protections for Tenants Whose Landlords Go Through Foreclosure
On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed a new law providing additional protections for tenants living in properties that have been foreclosed. This law is effective now.
If you’re a tenant and your landlord went through foreclosure, be aware: Under the new law, anyone who purchases the property after foreclosure must provide you with the following:
• 90 days notice prior to eviction; or,
• if you have a lease, the right to stay until the end of your lease term, unless the purchaser sells the property to someone else who will use the property as their residence.
This law does NOT apply to you if you’re the mortgagor or a member of the mortgagor’s family, or if your tenancy is subsidized.
If you have a Section 8 voucher and your rental was foreclosed, anyone who purchases the property can’t evict you unless the purchaser plans to use the rental for their residence and has given you 90 days’ notice. Otherwise, the purchaser becomes your new landlord fur the duration of your lease term.
This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice. This information is current as of the date of its printing, June 2009.
(Permission for copying and distribution granted to the Alliance for Equal Justice and to
individuals for non-commercial purposes only)

Hope this helps:) Good luck!

TJ

If you are in the state of WA, we have a new law in place protecting people in your situation. You don't need a lawyer first. There is a state sponsored non-profit helping people like you and I believe it's through Department of Finance. If not, they can direct you. Don't pay anyone for anything - there are TONS of scammers out there. You need to be very careful to protect yourself and only those qualified to give advise should. Remember, don't pay for advise unless you are directed to an attorney from the Department of Financial Institutions.

Good Luck.

If you are interested in buying the home from the bank - I would get a hold of a lender/mortgage banker or even the bank that is holding the deed of the property and find out what you would "qualify" for in a loan. Get that process started so you know what you can afford and all that good stuff. Get a hold of either the realtor that was originally listed through or another realtor and tell them what is going on. I don't know what the rates are in WA, but here in OR basically when I was a realtor (in-active now) I would list a property for for 5% or 6%....hence I would be splitting it with the selling agent who would bring in the buyer. But what you need is someone who can handle all of the legal documents and escrow and appointments for inspections, repairs, appraisals and such. You could handle it all alone - but it's nice to have the emotional roller-coaster left on the realtor's shoulders. But in this instance you already have the property you would like to buy give the agent a cut rate (I know that I might make some other agents mad, but you have to do what is right for your client at the time). I had an estate deal that was with an attorney - I was just representing the buyers end - I did it for like $1500 or $2000 - I don't remember the exact amount. Half of the footwork was already done. Anyway - I'm rambling....if you are serious about buying this particular property - first things first you need to find out if you qualify for purchasing the property. Just be careful - a lot of times people don't realize that sometimes there are back taxes owed, other lein-holders or a 2nd mortgage on the property.

As for legal advice - I would make sure that the attorney has experience in real estate law. That is very important - real estate law can be tricky. And if I remember correctly - there is some scuttle-butt about landlords forclosing on properties and leaving the tenants high and dry - so, I think you have some kind of protection. That isn't right - you are a good tenant and the landlord is just taking the money and not paying for his investment. I'm sorry - it's not a great time in the economic world. I have faith that it will get better sooner than later. Good luck. I hope that I helped.

I used to manage apartments before I had my daughter, so I can tell you from the landlord side of the fence.

He is being dishonest & unreasonable & you have to watch out for yourself & your family. If he decides to take you to court you have reason on your side. Keep all documentation & write all requests & keep copies. Do not pay him the rent or he will keep your deposit & the rent & you will be homeless. Open a new checking account & put the rent in it, nothing else, use this as your escrow account. Keep all the statements, if your go to court this will show the judge that you had the money & put it aside to pay the landlord. Put the second months rent in it show you would have paid it if he would have given you back your deposit. It's called being reasonable. If he is not being reasonable the judge will be on your side as long as you have kept documentation & been reasonable yourself. Keep a journel of conversations, what you said, what he said & time & dates when it was said. All futher comunication must be in writing & certified mail.

No, he won't take the time to evict you, it takes longer than two months. It will be O.K if you don't have him as a rental reference as long as you show the new landlord the forclosure notice & explain the problem with the old landlord & give your pervious land lords as references.

Follow Betty O's advise, stay until you are almost physically evited & save up all your money. Have a place ready to go to & have your stuff ready to go when it's time.

Don't bother trying to sue him, even if you win, the court will not enforce making him pay. You will have to do that yourself. Waste of court fees & your time & effort. No, the bank is not entitled to your deposit. Just know that this dishonest landlord will not be giving it back to you. If he does offer to give you back your deposit ask for it in cash. Since he has been dishonest so far, if he refuses & says it must be check, take the check & deposit it as soon as possible in the "escrow account". Banks have 30 days not 10 like everyone thinks to have final say on a check. They may clear it after 10 days & say it's good at first but on day 30 they can say it was bad & take the money from you out of your checking for this bad check. My parents work at banks, this is how I know.

If your landlord demands your rent when he gives you your deposit (if it's in check form) tell him that in 31 days after the check has cleared he will get it, tell him this after he has given you the check.

Look in the white pages of the telephoe book for your local Renters' Rights Hotline, call & leave a message, & keep calling. In Oregon the number is ###-###-####. If you can't find that call you local Police non emergency number & ask them for guidence on who to call. If they say they can't help call the Attorney Generals' office, they should be able to guide you on who to call. Make sure to keep a note book & pen by the phone & write down all the people you called & the numbers. Do not pay anyone a cent. you should be able to get all you need free.

He sounds very devious, I would go to home Depot/Lowes/ Ace Hardware & get all new deadbolts, they are relativly cheap & easy to install.

Call me if you want futher help.
###-###-####
H.

The bank won't talk to you but if it is in foreclosure then a real estate agent should be able to talk to the bank in lieu of you or wait until it goes on the market and put a bid in then. You might consider making a deal with the real estate agent also because they are hurting so you might be able to get their fee down.

N.
SAH Wife, Mom, Grandma

Depending on where you live, there may be great resources for free in your community. For example, in Bellingham there is an organization called The Opportunity Council, and they have employees who can talk you through the Landlord Tenant Act and help you to understand what your rights are. You may also be able to obtain a copy of the Landlord Tenant Act online or from the Library so you know what your rights are. Also in Bellingham, there is an organization called Law on the Streets, which offers free legal advice to people every Saturday during the summertime and twice a month in the winter time. They are coordinated through the library, so you can call them for more information. If you don't live in Bellingham, you could talk to the courthouse clerk where you live and find out if there is any free or low cost legal organization in your town. Definitely getting, reading, and highlighting a copy of the Landlord Tenant Act is a good place to start. If you let your landlord know that you have read and understand your rights, he may be more willing to cooperate with you.

Good luck!

L.

Well, that sounds like a sticky situation and you have my sympathies. We rent our home and tend to be in similar situations when we move, in that we can't afford the deposit until we get our previous deposit. So, we talk to our new landlord about that and have been able to arrange, in the past, paying higher rent for the first 3-4 months to make up our deposit. We put that in the contract and then once we do get our deposit back we put it towards the new deposit.

This is just an idea, but good luck, it does sound like you need a lawyer or some type of intervention because it doesn't make any sense that the landlord would take your rent but not pay his mortgage and then not give his consent for the bank to talk to you about buying the home, you'd think he'd rather do that than foreclose.

Good Luck!

I've heard from friends with renters that renters actaully have quite a bit legal rights, I would check online for your states's legislation on renter rights. As far as the deposit, I can't imagine the owner would be required to give the deposit back before you moved out. When we rented about 10 years ago we never received a penny of the security deposit back until we were out and the place was clean. The "one month's rent" we paid up front paid for the first month and the last was the last month in the house. Good luck as this would be nerve racking with a young family

Hey TJ - I second the document, document, document and letter writing. Tanja & Betty have given you some spot on advice. One of the things you can use for rental reference is your copies of payment received and a letter of background on why you are looking for a new place. Most new landlords should be understanding when given all of the details. One thing to do is check your credit report (they are free through annualcreditreport website). You want to make sure it is correct before you start any loan process or a new rental. If you find a problem you can start to fix it and let any potential landlord or bank know that you have found errors and are fixing them. Hope this helps

You need to call any land /rental lawyer and ask them,, you can have one free question,, go google a lawyer on the net for free advice,, it work's,, good luck,,I will say some prayers for you,, D.,,

There are rental laws. Get in touch with a Renter's Adocate Group. They will be able to advise you for free. Seems to me what he's doing is illegal. Sounds funny that the bank won't talk to you without his authorization. I'd check on the legality of that too.

Your landlord is not to be trusted when it comes to contracts and money owed others. If you continue to pay rent, I doubt you will see your deposit back, and will have to line up behind others he owes if you file a claim. I would plan to move out before Sept. 11. I would recommend that you stop paying rent, with a written, mailed explanation, as of July 1. Once you recoup your deposit, you should move out. I'm not sure if this is what a lawyer would recommend, but as you said, I doubt your landlord will try or be able to fight it, considering his situation. Here are a few resources I found that might be able to give you more prudent advice. Good luck!
http://www.tenantsunion.org/
http://www.hud.gov/local/wa/renting/tenantrights.cfm

You can get one free consultation with lawyers. but make sure you have ALL the questions you need asks at hand and no chit chatting. As far are your track record has been although not your fault. I would stop renting homes for a while and rent more reliable apartments. Yes a home may be bigger but you are getting in trouble when the landlords do and that will be a common thing until this money crises is over. Better in a reliable home then homeless! And don't go buying a house unless you can easily pay in off in 30 years with no second mortgage or you will be even worse off then you are now.

The RHA, rental housing association has a web site that may help you. It's rha-ps.com . Did your deposit include the damage deposit and the last month's rent? You get the damage deposit after you move out and you have to give notice before you plan to move so that the landlord can apply the last month's deposit to the last month that you are there. This should be in the contract that you signed when you rented the place. Hope that helps. You don't want an eviction or a bad reference.

Try the local Self Help Center at the Courthouse in your area. If your Courthouse has one, they can be VERY helpful.

Hey there,

I suggest you Google: "Landlord Tenant Services, your state"

This will bring up something called the Landlord Tenant act in a lot of cases. You do have rights. There are organizations that can help you and Landlord Tenant services is one of them. They are very good about returning phone calls...leave a detailed message, with a summary of what's going on and they will get back to you with solutions. Good Luck!

A good source of information and help if you are in Oregon is the Community Alliance of Tenants. They have a hot line at ###-###-#### and a website at oregoncat.org.

This is a tenants rights non-profit that does great work.

Good luck going forward.

You can get free 1/2 hour legal advice from Washington lawyers. Contact the Wa State Bar to find one close to you. They will tell you your options. You can also go to Small Claims Court.

Good luck and find out as much as you can.

I am somewhat new to this state, but my advice it to check the renter's hotline to see legally what can be done. You have rights too. My guess it is an office in Seattle, but you should be able to call. Google it and see what you can find.

Hi TJ

This is A. and we've talked before about my rental home. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that it is ILLEGAL for him to continue collecting rent from you if he is NOT paying his mortgage!!!! Absolutely against the law! Try contacting the Snohomish county courthouse and see who they can refer you to, and report him. Hi IS screwing you over!!!! The Sherriff's dept is also in charge of evictions, so they may be of help in directing you to the agency you need to talk to in order to report him. Good luck, hon, and email me if you want to talk more. ~A.

Ugg. This happened to us also. Luckily once our landlord knew for certain she was going to be foreclosed on, she told us we didn't have to pay rent, so we used the money from the deposit towards that final month of rent. When we moved out, she still owed us a few hundred dollars, so we bought her fridge with it, since our new rental didn't have one. But, of course, we were also stressed about the money and whether or not she would pay us back. We just got lucky that we ended up not being out extra money, although we did have to pay for movers again and deal with all of the inconvenience of moving again. All's well that ends well, though, since we like the new place much, much better. It was a horrible, stressful time and I really wish you well.

Hello TJ,
stay calm, contact your state office, ask for then research the landlord tenant act in your state. there should be laws on the books that protect landlords and tenants from illegal behavior. Withholding rent payments may be an option..contact state Legal services office for pro bono lawyers and seek advice asap. good luck to you, pray for your landlord, prayers help both the one who prays and the one prayed for. sounds like he needs it.
take care.
TB