Landlord in foreclosure...or close to it. Little help please.

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Submitted by Rockemsock on April 13, 2009 - 12:33pm

In Jan. of this year I informed my landlord that we were moving out at the end of April because we wanted to lower our rent significantly while we saved for our eventual house purchase. He replied back that he thought about lowering the rent, because he liked having such good renters, but ultimately, he thought he could get more, so he was going to raise the rent when we moved out.

Fair enough.

March hits and we start looking seriously for a new rental. Bank representative shows up at our door and asks for landlord. Rep. says, upon our inquiry, "I come out when an owner is refinancing or delinquent". We assume the worst, and contact the landlord. He states he's playing "hardball" with the bank and trying to get a loan mod. He didn't know the bank would come out to the house.

We keep looking, but we start to pay attention to foreclosure listings on our street (RealtyTrac).

April 1st hits and I email the landlord asking when he'll be showing the house to potential renters, and ask the new rental price. No response.

We keep looking online to see our property, but it's not being marketed at all.

April 10th, bank rep. comes to house and leaves a note on door asking for landlord to contact them. Leaves two numbers, one is the WAMU bank hotline, the other is a foreclosure hotline. I call both, but don't get anywhere because i'm not the owner.

I email the landlord again, offering to pay 50% of our current rent, month to month until he finds renters. We do not have a lease, it was all agreed upon over the phone...and our agreed upon date ends at the end of the month.

No response yet.

So I plan on continuing to try contacting our landlord, and I'm planning on sending a check for the 50% amount on the 1st. But I really don't want to leave if this house is going through the foreclosure process...because it would be nice to actually benefit from the bailout i'm paying for via my taxes.

I'm checking Realtytrac daily, but so far our address is not coming up. A friend searched on a county tax site, and found that the current owner is late on his current taxes.

What do you all think of my plans? Is there more I could do?

‹ People starting to get really pissed off What happens when junior lien foreclose on the house? ›
If I were you I would simply
Submitted by FormerSanDiegan on April 13, 2009 - 1:24pm.

If I were you I would simply continue with your plan A, and move out at the end of April. Particularly since the landlord is not responding.
Of course, I prefer to avoid situations that might turn ugly in general and limiting any potential liabilities, but that's just me.

Is it true that you have no signed lease agreement at all, only verbal ?
It also appears that the owner is rent-skimming (charging rent and not paying the mortgage). Did they also finance as owner-occupied ?

I would not be comfortable without a written rental agreement (ever, actually), but especially in this case. Do you have any other relationship (friend, relative co-worker, colleague) with the landlord that makes you trust their word ?

Also, if the rental agreement is verbal ...
What about security deposits ? What about check-out lists when you move out (in case the place is ransacked after you leave) ?

Are you interested in
Submitted by jpinpb on April 13, 2009 - 1:40pm.

Are you interested in purchasing the place you're renting?

Originally we had a lease
Submitted by Rockemsock on April 13, 2009 - 1:41pm.

Originally we had a lease with a management company, but he dropped the management company after the first year of the lease...and we never signed a new lease. I did contact the management company to confirm that he had dropped their services.

I don't know him at all aside from a couple meetings. He and his wife have a couple daughters around the age of my daughter, so we know some people mutually, but nothing more than that. Our house was his primary residence until his wife took a job in another city and the two moved away.

Security deposit was used as the last month of rent...which surprised me, but there ya' have it.

jp,

not interested in purchasing it...Mella Roos and HOA would kill us!

I just paid my last month's
Submitted by Navydoc on April 13, 2009 - 2:07pm.

I just paid my last month's rent as well. Called the landlord at the end of March, set up the pickup for the rent check and described how I wanted to use the security deposit as my last month as well, since I had "serious doubts" that they had the money to repay me when I moved out and the house was undamaged.

When she picked up the rent I asked her how the modifications were coming, and she said "we don't qualify for anything". Which is what you get for fraudulently claiming owner occupation on your mortgage ap.

So there you have it, I'm living here until the end of June, at which time I'm off to Maryland.
Going househunting next week, will probably post when I buy, but I suppose the Piggs may not care so much, as it's not San Diego.

I think your plan is about the best that could be expected. It seems in these situations that very little is out there to protect the renters.

On the bright side, rents
Submitted by jpinpb on April 13, 2009 - 2:08pm.

On the bright side, rents seem to be going down. Though it is a hassle to move, you may find a nicer place for less. I did.

Navydoc, Please do post what
Submitted by DWCAP on April 13, 2009 - 2:15pm.

Navydoc,

Please do post what you get in Maryland. It is a nice state, and it would be good to see a comparison to how the other 49 states live.

Rockem if you want I can look
Submitted by SD Realtor on April 13, 2009 - 4:27pm.

Rockem if you want I can look at the tax roll to see if there is anything going on.

Also I have seen cases where there was a previous NOD and then during the loan modification the NOD is removed but then when the loan mod fails the home continues to go through the foreclosure process. When a notice of trustee sale is recorded then you will see the NOT at least.

Anyways I would agree with everyone else and continue to look for a different rental.