First, I want to thank everyone for their helpful advice. I intend to stay put and negotiate with the bank then take the deadbeat landlord to small claims court after I move out. If I win, I will look into recording the judgement in both Riverside and Orange Counties. The house I’m in is in Riverside County but I’m pretty sure he owns at least two houses in Orange County as well and one is his primary residence.
Second, the lady that came was NOT a scammer but a realtor that recently moved to a different real estate office/broker and appears to be dyslexic. I got a hold of her via the C21 office and she explained that her office has the listing for this house but she needs me to move out before she can put it on the market. She called the bank to find out what they want to do about the tenants (me) but they are so bogged down with foreclosures that no one has called her back yet. She said I may get something in the mail from the bank. So, I’m in a holding pattern right now.
I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have given her my name. Will this make it easier for the bank to evict me or does that really even matter?