It can be extremely unnerving when you’re renting a house that ends up in foreclosure. When that happens, you can be sure that the owner isn’t paying the mortgage. In many cases, it’s easy to assume that the homeowner isn’t paying any of the taxes, insurance or homeowners association fees either. You don’t have to worry about being thrown out onto the streets as soon as the foreclosure is completed. As long as you can prove you are a tenant, the bank or other institution taking over the property will need to ensure you are protected, at least for a limited time.
When you have a lease in place, you are entitled to finish out that lease term, even when the house is foreclosed upon. You’ll start paying rent to the bank or the lender that foreclosed instead of the homeowner. Make sure you continue with your rental payments, otherwise you will be in violation of your lease and you’ll be evicted.
When you do not have a lease in place, and you are simply renting month by month, you still have 90 days before the successor to the property can evict you. Continue to pay your rent and start looking for a new place to live, which you should have no problem finding within 90 days.
Something to keep in mind is that the foreclosure process can drag on for months and even years. If you have just heard that the house you are renting is in foreclosure, you probably have plenty of time to find another place to live. Continue abiding by your lease and make sure your own bills are paid for so you have an easy time renting again.
The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
