joannqn Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 My husband got a voice mail earlier this week from a realtor saying she needs to see the house because the home owners are considering a short sale. We have no desire to move, and we still have more than a year left on our lease. Our plan was to be here at least through the end of our 2-year lease, if not longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 that stinks:grouphug: if they're doing a short sale though, they must not be able to afford it and are trying to avoid foreclosure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I'm sure it varies by state. That's pretty crappy that the owners didn't give you a heads up first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) JoAnn, check this out; (see section 3-D). In Washington, just because an owner sells a property it doesn't automatically end your lease and whenever we've looked at properties that were for sale (but that had renters in them), our realtor has always said the lease has to be honored. We're in Washington, too. Edited September 3, 2011 by milovaný Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBearMO Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Read your lease, there should be a section about the sale of the property while you're renting. It should define the expectations/responsibilities you have/need to meet to show the property, what happens during the sale process and how the lease will be handled after the sale. Usually a lease has clear terms about what will happen if the landlord wants to sell while being contractually bound by your lease with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 This happened to me at my last townhouse. The owners had to do a short sale to prevent foreclosure. I had to move out and had 30 days notice. It was hell. I hope that you can work something out. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 JoAnn, check this out; (see section 3-D). In Washington, just because an owner sells a property it doesn't automatically end your lease and whenever we've looked at properties that were for sale (but that had renters in them), our realtor has always said the lease has to be honored. We're in Washington, too. That wasn't the case for me and I'm in Washington state. Mine sold it because they were going to go into foreclosure. Even if they honor that lease and it goes into foreclosure, the tenants may have to move. I had an attorney, that I worked with, and wasn't able to make it work. That was JME though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Can you purchase it from the homeowner? Take over the PITI? I can't imagine they'd be renting it to you for less than that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 My husband got a voice mail earlier this week from a realtor saying she needs to see the house because the home owners are considering a short sale. We have no desire to move, and we still have more than a year left on our lease. Our plan was to be here at least through the end of our 2-year lease, if not longer. I just heard on the radio that there is a "Tenant Protection during Foreclosure Law" that was passed in 2009. Check out http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/homes-real-estate/tenants-can-stay-and-pay-in-foreclosures-until-lea/nDTP/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I did property management in MO and own a rental there, we live in OK and the law is the same - a lease must be honored in the sale of a home. Some leases have a 30 day out for new owners. The contract would have a clause that stated something about "in the event of a sale...new owner can give tenant 30 days notice..." Read your lease, check the tenant law in your area, and be prepared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 The lease doesn't say anything about what will happen if the owner sells the property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 The lease we use with our tenants doesn't either. I can only repeat what our realtor has said more than once; the lease has to be honored by the buyer. As mentioned above, though, maybe a short sale/foreclosure is different. I liked Patty Joanna's post -- an investor will see your lease as an asset (if it's an investor that purchases). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 My husband said a lease only protects your rent amount; that rent can't be increased during the lease. He said it also protects the tenant from eviction without just cause. But the lease is between the owner and tenant and is void if the ownership changes. Then you can be given 30 days to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 dh and a lawyer were co trustees for my parent's estate. We had a hard time selling both their properties and finally rented one out to help pay for itself. We knew the renter would be moving out at the end of her lease in March. In February we got a call that there was someone interested in the place, and if they could move in right away (2 weeks) they would buy it. The lawyer told us we couldn't do that, we had to honor the lease. We lost over 20k because of that one month, having to pay for the mortgage and taxes.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5KidzRUs Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 My husband said a lease only protects your rent amount; that rent can't be increased during the lease. He said it also protects the tenant from eviction without just cause. But the lease is between the owner and tenant and is void if the ownership changes. Then you can be given 30 days to move. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 In some places the state has very particular rules as to when someone can come into the house. I don't think you have to stop everything at their whim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 My husband got a voice mail earlier this week from a realtor saying she needs to see the house because the home owners are considering a short sale. We have no desire to move, and we still have more than a year left on our lease. Our plan was to be here at least through the end of our 2-year lease, if not longer. We are going through something similar...this is what I know: A federal law was passed in 2009 giving renters some rights in these cases. Basically, if a bank or investor buys the house, they must honor your lease. If the person who buys the house wants to actually live in the house...you will have 90 days to move. At some point you *may be offered cash to leave sooner. That will be up to you. Our problem right now, is that the bank does not feel we have any rights, because our lease was signed after a notice of default was sent. We are nit sure if this is true yet...So, you may want to make sure you know where exactly in the default procces you signed your lease, just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeneralMom Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 When we bought our home in 2006, the owner had just (two weeks before) rented the place out - we were in negotiations but he still had the right to rent it. We had to allow the renters to stay through the end of their lease (which was luckily only 6 mos) but I was furious because conditions for the sale were new carpet, repairs, etc. and we ended up having burn holes in the new carpet, and had to do new repairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Read your lease, there should be a section about the sale of the property while you're renting. It should define the expectations/responsibilities you have/need to meet to show the property, what happens during the sale process and how the lease will be handled after the sale. Usually a lease has clear terms about what will happen if the landlord wants to sell while being contractually bound by your lease with you. :iagree: A lease is a contract. The homeowners can't just break a contract -- unless you look into the above. We once signed a 2 year lease and the ding dongs decided within the month that they wanted to sell the house. Sorry. It's a 2 year lease, ladies. And it held. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 :D dh and a lawyer were co trustees for my parent's estate. We had a hard time selling both their properties and finally rented one out to help pay for itself. We knew the renter would be moving out at the end of her lease in March. In February we got a call that there was someone interested in the place, and if they could move in right away (2 weeks) they would buy it. The lawyer told us we couldn't do that, we had to honor the lease. We lost over 20k because of that one month, having to pay for the mortgage and taxes.:glare: dude, I would have offered them a bribe to move!! back in my renting days, if someone had offered me $5,000 to move a month early, I would have been all over that! OP: I'm sure the rental laws vary by state, and possibly even by county. I'd start googling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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