My landlord disappeared...what do I do? (rent, tenants)

[Craig Harmann]

I finally heard back from the listing agent! Of course, he can't give me my landlord's information without his permission, but he forwarded my e-mail that we are looking for him to him! That way we can get to the bottom of this and tell him we're moving out!! Hopefully, we hear back from him, because I feel really weird about just up and moving out of the house!

[TexasRedneck]

At least you'll know he's been contacted! Keep us posted - this is just too weird!

[Craig Harmann]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

At least you'll know he's been contacted! Keep us posted - this is just too weird!

Tell me about it! If he doesn't get back to me by Friday, I'll be e-mailing the agent again to tell him we'll be out by January 31st. I'll also give him our contact info if he wants keys or his money.

[Lee W.]

Oh, yeah! I can just imagine this guy...saying to his wife (if he has one)..."Honey, I've got this nagging feeling that there was something we forgot to take care of before we moved! If I could only remember what it WAS!" Funny!
Just be sure you can prove you did everything you could do to notify him.

[Craig Harmann]

Originally Posted by Lee W.

Oh, yeah! I can just imagine this guy...saying to his wife (if he has one)..."Honey, I've got this nagging feeling that there was something we forgot to take care of before we moved! If I could only remember what it WAS!" Funny!
Just be sure you can prove you did everything you could do to notify him.

Problem is that along with our property, he owns 2 other rental properties.

[TexasRedneck]

Have you checked w/his other tenants to see if they've heard from him?

[wCat]

Here's a little more insight into what might be going on with your landlord. From the discussion I discerned his name. Initials JM? right? His wife's name starts with a P and they have one sone JM Jr. They were from California and moved to San Antonio about 2004 apparently hoping to make a killing on investment properties. They purchased their home in 04 but did not claim homestead exemptions until 07. ??? Clue #1 that he was not too savvy on how to invest and save money on property.

He subsequently purchased three more properties confirmed by you as rentals.
In the last five years he has started three businesses and may have ended two.
Nothing abandoned on his foundation business.

His house was definitely sold, not a foreclosure. They closed on their house about 10 days ago on Nov 29th. Their portion of the document was signed over to the new owners from Riverside CA (meaning your landlord is now in Riverside). So.....their plans didn't unfold as they wished, and they are back in California. They most likely had financial problems and had to unload some property. They chose their house which was the most valuable of the four.

They are perfectly within their rights to continue owning your home along with the others and collect rent long distance. Mr. M is apparently not the brightest bulb, and will realize he has mortgage payments to make, and will need to inform his tenants that he is in California. My guess is that he is trying to arrange for a property manager to handle local issues with his investment properties.

The buyer of his house was a trust.....possibly indicating they purchased his house as an investment property. I doubt the new owners will be of any help.

You will most likely hear from him in the near future, or the mortgage company holding the note on your house. As many here advised, keep attempting to contact him by certified, registered mail for your records, and keep your rent money in escrow or savings to hold up your part of your legal contract to lease your home. He will have to come up for air when he gets settled back home.

Just FYI....he also started an Auto Sales company with a partner in 07, and did not abandon that business. If you cannot resolve this in the next month or so, you might be able to get in touch with his partner in that business. As of today, it appears that he still has a foundation business, although chances are it has also disappeared. There is no legal requirement to abandon a business name if the business closes their doors.

I'm sorry this has happened to you, but so far it doesn't appear that you have any legal problems. The worst that could happen may be that your house could be sold, but leased property usually allows the tenant to stay through their lease. You may not have the option to renew your lease.

A lot of this is speculation...but it's based on facts found in public records. Hope that gives you a better picture of what's going on. He apparently over extended his financial expectations here in Texas.

[stoneoak]

daaaaaang cat, or should I say something along the lines of "Dr. Watson, I presume?"

quick -- who else ya got dirt on? Come on, spill the beans. The cable's out.

[Craig Harmann]

Originally Posted by wCat

Here's a little more insight into what might be going on with your landlord. From the discussion I discerned his name. Initials JM? right? His wife's name starts with a P and they have one sone JM Jr. They were from California and moved to San Antonio about 2004 apparently hoping to make a killing on investment properties. They purchased their home in 04 but did not claim homestead exemptions until 07. ??? Clue #1 that he was not too savvy on how to invest and save money on property.

He subsequently purchased three more properties confirmed by you as rentals.
In the last five years he has started three businesses and may have ended two.
Nothing abandoned on his foundation business.

His house was definitely sold, not a foreclosure. They closed on their house about 10 days ago on Nov 29th. Their portion of the document was signed over to the new owners from Riverside CA (meaning your landlord is now in Riverside). So.....their plans didn't unfold as they wished, and they are back in California. They most likely had financial problems and had to unload some property. They chose their house which was the most valuable of the four.

They are perfectly within their rights to continue owning your home along with the others and collect rent long distance. Mr. M is apparently not the brightest bulb, and will realize he has mortgage payments to make, and will need to inform his tenants that he is in California. My guess is that he is trying to arrange for a property manager to handle local issues with his investment properties.

The buyer of his house was a trust.....possibly indicating they purchased his house as an investment property. I doubt the new owners will be of any help.

You will most likely hear from him in the near future, or the mortgage company holding the note on your house. As many here advised, keep attempting to contact him by certified, registered mail for your records, and keep your rent money in escrow or savings to hold up your part of your legal contract to lease your home. He will have to come up for air when he gets settled back home.

Just FYI....he also started an Auto Sales company with a partner in 07, and did not abandon that business. If you cannot resolve this in the next month or so, you might be able to get in touch with his partner in that business. As of today, it appears that he still has a foundation business, although chances are it has also disappeared. There is no legal requirement to abandon a business name if the business closes their doors.

I'm sorry this has happened to you, but so far it doesn't appear that you have any legal problems. The worst that could happen may be that your house could be sold, but leased property usually allows the tenant to stay through their lease. You may not have the option to renew your lease.

A lot of this is speculation...but it's based on facts found in public records. Hope that gives you a better picture of what's going on. He apparently over extended his financial expectations here in Texas.

Wow! You're much better at PI work than I! Yes, that all sounds like the case. And it's pretty much what I expected, based on my interactions with the guy. Every time I would call him with something with the house, I would identify myself by name and he'd say who? Then I would have to tell him that I was his tenant! Yeah, that says a lot, doesn't it? The good news is that our lease is month to month, and the legal advice I got was to put our rent in savings and move. So that's what we're going to do. Hopefully, we'll be able to get a loan to buy a house, because I am absolutely done with landlords.

[HillCountryHotRodMan]

So all you need is a number to contact him? Have you asked anyone to skip trace (or has anyone offered)?