Consumer Blog
What if my landlord is going through foreclosure?
With foreclosures up around the country, this is bound to happen: as a tenant, you are renting property, and your landlord starts having trouble making the mortgage payment. If he or she is facing foreclosure, the lender may take over the property. If that happens, the lender will most likely want you out.
Can they do that? Probably. If the new owner is not required to honor the lease, that means you have no lease. And under Missouri law when you have no written lease, a month-to-month lease is assumed. And either party can cancel that lease with 30 days written notice.
So the best advice is: if you find out your landlord has sold or been foreclosed upon, talk to the new owner ASAP and find out if they intend to stay in the rental business or get out. If they say they want out, start looking for a new place to live - don't wait for the 30 days termination notice.
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Posted by on April 8, 2008 12:00 am :: Comments (3) :: Permalink
3 Responses to "What if my landlord is going through foreclosure?"
says:
February 15, 2008 6:34 pm
I knew someone that rented; the owner lost the property to foreclosure; the bank approached the renter to purchase the property; done deal.
Can't hurt to contact the lender to find out whether that would be an option.
Bottom line -- resulted in a $50K capital gain when the property was sold 5 years later to upgrade to a larger home!
says:
July 7, 2008 4:10 pm
Just started renting property, signed an 18 month lease. Now I am being told is being purchased by another investor/owner. Is the lease still valid? Can the new investor/owner evict me?
says:
July 18, 2008 11:29 am
To Kathy:
Check your written lease. It probably says any new landlord who buys the property must honor the lease. Otherwise, that lease says your old landlord is still on the hook to provide you that apartment - which would be awfully tough to do if he doesn't own it anymore!
The point is, most landlords don't want to be in that impossible situation, so they put a transferable upon sale clause in their leases.
