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I started a one year lease on Janurary 1, 2011.
Janurary 15th get a notice on the door the condo is up for sheriff's sale.
I signed the lease on December 4th, Landlord got a notice December 18, and 29th from the BANK they are selling the property and the bank is starting foreclosure i found this out later of course. So she new full well of the pending foreclosure, didn't disclose it, the house was "on the market" but not as a short sale and the real estate agent didnt know, and worked the lease agreement. The landlord is a lawyer.
She the landlord owned 38,000 in order be caught up on her mortagage as I understand it hasn't paid the mortagage in aleast a year.
I finally get some bank statements of the escrow account where my security deposit is suppose to as required by PA State law and it never was deposited.
She has filled for bankrupty to hold off the shierff's sale until June.
I paid, march and februrary rent and now its April.
So what do I do I feel this was from the begining it is FRAUD on her part for knowing full well of the situtation and FRAUD for having a defaulted mortagage and even FRAUD to the rental estate agency having it on the market and not listed in a short sale.
My security deposit is gone, and would I have a case to stop paying rent and deal with the local court when the evications case is presented.
How can a landlord do their duties if they are bankrupt, not follow the law and with deceit get a tenant into a place like this.
I think this person should be thrown in jail and or have their lawyer licence revoked.
Anyone have any ideas I don't expect to live anywhere free but I need my day in court and I need a secure place to live and knowing my security desposit is SECURE and my pet deposit and if she will actually pay for any issues that come up in repairs.
Her solution to all repairs is his husband "who is not qualified" to fix certain things and this is her way of not spending any money.
Personally I would talk with a lawyer. But i will say that a foreclosure doesn't negate your lease.
Renters in Foreclosure: What Are Their Rights? - Free Legal Information - Nolo (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/renters-foreclosure-what-are-their-30064.html;jsessionid=06617CA5272C8FA3F04C23403411 ADE8 - broken link)
Personally I would talk with a lawyer. But i will say that a foreclosure doesn't negate your lease.
Renters in Foreclosure: What Are Their Rights? - Free Legal Information - Nolo (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/renters-foreclosure-what-are-their-30064.html;jsessionid=06617CA5272C8FA3F04C23403411 ADE8 - broken link)
I know foreclousre does not negate the lease. If you enter the lease in bad faith then what?
Shouldnt that be disclosed to the renter so they know the property likely will be sold and or could be sold to somone else. Though I don't even think that is the issue WHERE IS MY SECURITY DEPOSIT!!
This just adds to the situtation if I wanted to break the lease and have no fault what are the actual responsiblities of a landlord. She didnt do the first thing she was suppose to do, secure my deposit. Appears the only course of action other then getting a lawyer with fees is to go to evications court and explain the situtation. Why even have landlord duties if they don't plan on paying mortages, securing your deposits and realistically taking care of your repair needs without finding creative ways not to spending money on property and not paying mortgage.
I'm assuming you could take your LL to court for the deposit. The obvious problem is that they may not have any money.
Now in NJ I believe the rule is if they don't put the security deposit where they are supposed to you can actually use it for rent. Not sure what the rules are in your state.
I know foreclousre does not negate the lease. If you enter the lease in bad faith then what?
Shouldnt that be disclosed to the renter so they know the property likely will be sold and or could be sold to somone else. Though I don't even think that is the issue WHERE IS MY SECURITY DEPOSIT!!
This just adds to the situtation if I wanted to break the lease and have no fault what are the actual responsiblities of a landlord. She didnt do the first thing she was suppose to do, secure my deposit. Appears the only course of action other then getting a lawyer with fees is to go to evications court and explain the situtation. Why even have landlord duties if they don't plan on paying mortages, securing your deposits and realistically taking care of your repair needs without finding creative ways not to spending money on property and not paying mortgage.
Greed shadows common sense. She (the deadbeat attorney) has to be a very very bad lawyer to be jobless! Then screws people given the chance...you happened to cross path. I feel bad for you!
Greed shadows common sense. She (the deadbeat attorney) has to be a very very bad lawyer to be jobless! Then screws people given the chance...you happened to cross path. I feel bad for you!
Well I think it comes from a few things she hasn't paid her mortage and looked for a sucker she would do this to right before the pending sheirff's sale. She should be disbarred and or lose her licence since she so interested in practicing law I suggest she look into what fraud is.
Last edited by LibertyandJusticeforAll; 04-08-2011 at 02:54 PM..
Not all states require a security deposit to be placed into a separate account, but it sounds like you are sure that yours does. Did she tell you it was going in a specific account? That is what it sounds like. How in the world did you get hold of her account statement. That sounds illegal to me, but maybe not if it is supposed to be JUST your money in that account. If it is a general security deposit account, and OTHER people's deposits are in there too, I can't imagine you have ANY right to have a copy of the bank statement. Maybe I'm wrong on that though, my state doesn't have the same rules.
Now, if you signed the lease prior to the Notice of Default (or whatever the foreclosure notice is called in your area) being filed, you are protected under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, which is a good thing for you. It says that as long as you remain in good standing on your lease, you can't be kicked out with less than 90 days notice on the lease. If the bank takes it back, or if an investor buys it at auction, they have to honor the lease, or buy you out. If a person buys it who wants to move in, they can give you 90 days notice to vacate.
However, it sounds like the timing is very iffy on that, and you signed the lease at about the same time things were being served, so you may or may not be covered.
Having been through the same exact scenerio myself as the property manager who didn't know the owner had stopped making a payment (because the owner was lying to us), it sounds like what the owner did was unethical, but likely not illegal, since they did still own the house. Who is to say that they didn't intend to catch up the loan before foreclosure? (Sure it doesn't happen often, but it is possible). What the realtor/landlord did was likely neither unethical nor illegal, just uninformed or misinformed.
Be aware that if you stop paying rent, you lose all your rights. However, from my experience, if the owner can't afford their mortgage, they also can't afford an eviction. And the banks aren't asking if the tenant paid rent to the prior owner before posting a buyout on the door. I have seen everything from $4000 if you can be out in 2 weeks, to as little as $1000 to be out in 30 days, but pretty much every tenant in my area who gets foreclosed on is getting a buyout offer. You typically will NOT receive a deposit back if the property forecloses, but in addition to the buyout, you also do not typically have to pay rent for that time. HOWEVER, we did have one tenant (the one I mentioned above) who, had she entered into the lease 2 weeks later than she did, would NOT have been covered under the PTAFAct I mentioned above, and would NOT have gotten any buyout money.
So...bottom line. Would I ever advise anyone to stop paying their rent? NO. But do I think you could get away with it in your circumstance? Possibly. Maybe a compromise. Contact the landlord or owner and tell them since you are aware the property is now in foreclosure and you are very unlikely to get your deposit back since it appears to have been mishandled already, and you may have to move an additional time unexpectedly, you are unwilling to pay the full amount agreed upon when you assumed they were acting in good faith. You are, however, willing to pay $xx per month instead of the agreed upon amount OR pay for May and then stay for free after that until the foreclosure happens, or whatever else you can get them to agree to.
I finally get some bank statements of the escrow account where my security deposit is suppose to as required by PA State law and it never was deposited.
Where does it say they can and must only deposit money into a escrow account?
Your security deposit will be transfered to the new owner of the property. It is safe and sound. Check your counties landlord/tenant laws regarding this, but you are probably safe through the end of your lease. At that time you may be offered a new lease or other options by the new owner of the property. Be sure you find out who your new LL is and continue paying rent. Depending on what they plan to do w/the property you may be able to compromise with a 'Cash for Keys' program.
Koale
Where does it say they can and must only deposit money into a escrow account?
Security desposits must be put into a escrow account and the landlord mst tell you where the money is.
I had asked the landlord to show the condo fees and rent deposits were being deposited of which she gave me a bank statement and this is a interest barring account. The scurity deposit was not there. My money should not be co mingling with her money for rent since i am responsible for any interest according to the IRS.
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Relax my friend...
