Most tenants in foreclosure situations are worried about getting evicted; we are in the opposite situation!
My husband and I signed a one-year lease, paid a security deposit, and moved into our rental in Boise, Idaho on April 7. On April 27, a Notice of Trustee's Sale was delivered to us. The foreclosure auction date was set for August 18. We confronted our landlord (who allegedly owns 30 properties), who said not to worry, that he was trying to modify his loan. I said I wanted some sort of documentation that this is happening, but have never received any.
In July, we gave written, 1-month's notice that we'd be leaving in August, and our landlord flipped out. He got his title company on the phone, who said there was a modification request in processing, and the trustee's auction was delayed until September 18, provided he made his payments in full. So, we said we'd remain there, but wanted his word we could use our security deposit as last month's rent (because we don't believe he'd ever give it back to us!), and that the lease was "null and void." He said that was fine, he could "give a rip" about the lease and just wanted to keep people in his homes.
We've decided it's too precarious to stay in this situation and want to leave. Again, I put it in writing, and since he'd verbally agreed there was no longer a lease, we thought it'd be no problem. Wrong. He used his Pre-Paid Legal Service to get a letter drafted, telling us we're violating the lease agreement and will be responsible for the remainder of the term (until April 2011); he's also claiming we have to find tenants to replace us.
At this point, I don't believe his lease would hold up in court, but just want some advice on that. If we leave now, will we be on the hook for the rest of the lease?? He keeps saying the loan's being modified, the home's not in foreclosure (although no one can provide this assurance in writing), so the lease is in-tact. In my view, he never should have rented the house, let alone made us sign a lease in the first place, considering he hadn't made payments in the house since November 2009 (and never mentioned a thing about it).
We'd like to just leave, but if he forces this legally, we're planning to get our own attorney and demand that moving expenses and legal fees be covered as well. But I'd rather not have to take this to court -- I just want to get away from him!
My other thought is to negotiate with him, say we'll stay another month or two (as long as there's no auction) help him post classifieds to find other tenants, and get him to SIGN a lease revision (created by me) that basically re-writes our move-out date, lets us use our deposit as last month's rent, and outlines that we are not liable for any other payments, whether he finds new tenants or not.
What do you think? I need help. Thanks so much!
My husband and I signed a one-year lease, paid a security deposit, and moved into our rental in Boise, Idaho on April 7. On April 27, a Notice of Trustee's Sale was delivered to us. The foreclosure auction date was set for August 18. We confronted our landlord (who allegedly owns 30 properties), who said not to worry, that he was trying to modify his loan. I said I wanted some sort of documentation that this is happening, but have never received any.
In July, we gave written, 1-month's notice that we'd be leaving in August, and our landlord flipped out. He got his title company on the phone, who said there was a modification request in processing, and the trustee's auction was delayed until September 18, provided he made his payments in full. So, we said we'd remain there, but wanted his word we could use our security deposit as last month's rent (because we don't believe he'd ever give it back to us!), and that the lease was "null and void." He said that was fine, he could "give a rip" about the lease and just wanted to keep people in his homes.
We've decided it's too precarious to stay in this situation and want to leave. Again, I put it in writing, and since he'd verbally agreed there was no longer a lease, we thought it'd be no problem. Wrong. He used his Pre-Paid Legal Service to get a letter drafted, telling us we're violating the lease agreement and will be responsible for the remainder of the term (until April 2011); he's also claiming we have to find tenants to replace us.
At this point, I don't believe his lease would hold up in court, but just want some advice on that. If we leave now, will we be on the hook for the rest of the lease?? He keeps saying the loan's being modified, the home's not in foreclosure (although no one can provide this assurance in writing), so the lease is in-tact. In my view, he never should have rented the house, let alone made us sign a lease in the first place, considering he hadn't made payments in the house since November 2009 (and never mentioned a thing about it).
We'd like to just leave, but if he forces this legally, we're planning to get our own attorney and demand that moving expenses and legal fees be covered as well. But I'd rather not have to take this to court -- I just want to get away from him!
My other thought is to negotiate with him, say we'll stay another month or two (as long as there's no auction) help him post classifieds to find other tenants, and get him to SIGN a lease revision (created by me) that basically re-writes our move-out date, lets us use our deposit as last month's rent, and outlines that we are not liable for any other payments, whether he finds new tenants or not.
What do you think? I need help. Thanks so much!
