Is Your Landlord In Foreclosure?

September 11, 2009 · Posted in News For Homebuyers

It is not just people who own a home that are becoming victims to the foreclosure problem, people who are currently renting a property are beginning to see foreclosure impact their lives as well.

Is your landlord in foreclosure?

Are you sure?

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, one in five homes in foreclosure nationwide is occupied by a tenant.

One of the common stories about landlords in foreclosure that is happening all across the US is where the landlord allows a property to go into foreclosure and then the tenants are “surprised” when they find out they have to move.

Thanks for a federal law that was passed on May 20th, in some states, the lender will be forced to honor a lease agreement of a tenant, but not in all cases. For example, if a lender forecloses on a property and then sells the home to someone who will occupy the property as their primary residence, the tenant in place then has 90 days to vacate the property.

But no matter what, if your landlord goes into foreclosure, you will incur extra moving expenses that you are not likely to get back from your landlord.

Foreclosures can create expenses for tenants, such as moving costs. If the foreclosure forces you to move before your lease expires, you can demand that the landlord pay your moving expenses. If the landlord refuses, you can sue in small-claims court, said Janet Portman, managing editor of legal self-help publisher Nolo Press and author of several books on landlord-tenant law.

Finding out if your landlord is in foreclosure is easy to do – once. But going back and keeping an eye on your landlord by seeing if a foreclosure notice has been filed can be time consuming. At least one new startup has a solution to this problem – LemonLandlord.com — where you can monitor whether or not your landlord has had foreclosure proceedings start.

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