I Rented a Foreclosed property! FLA

[DonVagabond]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I was rented a house that was already in foreclosure.
The person who rented this property to me Has since passed away...The property was sold in an online auction.
The company who owns it now has refused to lease it to me..they have delivered a 24 hour notice, and told me the sheriff will be back on friday.

I have a wife and four children, we cannot afford to leave so abruptly. Please help.

 

[justalayman]

Do you have any proof of a rental agreement with the lawful owner of the home? Were you aware of the foreclosure proceedings when you rented the home? How long after you moved in was the house sold?

 

[DonVagabond]

I do have a lease from the original owner but the foreclosure was already happening when we rented, I did not know, the house was bought by new owner in october of this year

 

[nextwife]

When did you rent this and when was it sold at sheriff's sale? When did you last pay rent? Is the 24 hour notice you recieved the very first notice of any kind you recieved advising that you'd need to vacate? Or were there previous notices advising you to contact the foreclosure attorney/buyer to establish any rights you may have under the Tenant protection act?

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I was rented a house that was already in foreclosure.
The person who rented this property to me Has since passed away...The property was sold in an online auction.
The company who owns it now has refused to lease it to me..they have delivered a 24 hour notice, and told me the sheriff will be back on friday.

I have a wife and four children, we cannot afford to leave so abruptly. Please help.

Do you have a lease from the former owner?

They cannot force you to leave with 24 hours' notice. I'm sure they THINK that the sheriff will come, but it's a civil matter that the sheriff has no interest or part in unless and until they get a formal eviction order from the court.

The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act requires new owners after a foreclosure to honor existing leases until the expiration of that lease. If there is no fixed term lease, and there is a tenancy at will, the new owner STILL must give no less than a 90-day notice to the tenant before they can start an eviction proceeding.

Read up on this and utilize the sample letter to notify the LL about your rights. http://nlihc.org/issues/foreclosure/ptfa

Note that if the new pushes and tries to get you out on such short notice, you may need to engage an attorney to fight them on it.

 

[DonVagabond]

The 24 hour notice was delivered by the sheriff, I have never received anything about tenant protection, I received a 10 day notice which is why i contacted them in the first place.
I have not payed rent in months because of the death of the person i was paying. I had no idea what to do. I was told by the sheriffs office to go to the courthouse in the morning. with the 24 hour notice that was posted, and im bringing the lease I had. If that doesnt help me I dont know what else to do.

 

[nextwife]

Do you have a lease from the former owner?

They cannot force you to leave with 24 hours' notice. I'm sure they THINK that the sheriff will come, but it's a civil matter that the sheriff has no interest or part in unless and until they get a formal eviction order from the court.

The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act requires new owners after a foreclosure to honor existing leases until the expiration of that lease. If there is no fixed term lease, and there is a tenancy at will, the new owner STILL must give no less than a 90-day notice to the tenant before they can start an eviction proceeding.

Read up on this and utilize the sample letter to notify the LL about your rights. http://nlihc.org/issues/foreclosure/ptfa

Note that if the new pushes and tries to get you out on such short notice, you may need to engage an attorney to fight them on it.

They have owned it since October? End of this month/early next is perhaps 90 days? Were there PRIOR notices about vacating by the end of 90 days or paying rent to the buyer in accordance with your existing rental agreement??
Are you paying Market rent or below market rent? Is the buyer intending to owner occupy? Have you been paying the rent to the buyer?

 

[DonVagabond]

the prior notices were lots of papers stapled together which seemed to be about the auction dates and info about the house being sold. I never saw anything that said 90 days to vacate.
I payed rent to the lady until she passed, then a few times to her husband but he left the state and discontinued contact.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

You have been told what to do by the sheriff; go to the courthouse with the 24 hour notice and a copy of your lease.

On the other hand, you indicate you have not paid "rent in months" because of the death of the person you were paying. Did you consider that eventually this issue would come to a head and you would be evicted and that plans for moving should be made?

Gail

 

[nextwife]

the prior notices were lots of papers stapled together which seemed to be about the auction dates and info about the house being sold. I never saw anything that said 90 days to vacate.

Review your copy of those notices and see if anything was previously sent which you failed to read. Especially look for a notice that stated you needed to advise who you were and provide proof that you were a bona fide tenant, and a copy of whatever rental agreement you are operating under. This long after the property transfer, I suspect other types of notifications may have been sent. They would not have STARTED the notice and eviction process at about 90 days with just a 24 hour notice.

And if you have been rent free all those months, you should have plenty of rent savings to use for a move.