Served Foreclosure papers and I am the renter.

[Bigtodd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I have been renting a condo for 2 years now, about 8 months ago I court server came to my door asking for the owner. Told him he no longer lives here and the man left. Yesterday I came home and the man was here again, this time asking what my name was and if I was renting the condo, I said "yes" and I would not give him my name. He proceeded to give me a book of court papers. The booklet was a lis pendens and I complaint for foreclosure brought on by the condo association. It states that there is back fees that have not been paid. I am unaware and no longer can get in touch with the landlord.
My problem with this is, I dont know what is really going on. I figured he gave his condo up when he stopped taking my calls to fix my dryer. Now I know that the house is going to be foreclosed on. I dont know when the court date is or how long I have to live here still. I would move ASAP, but with this bad economy right now I do not have the savings to get up and move in the next month or so.
Is there any way I can find out what is going on and how long this is going to take?

Thank you
Will

 

[justalayman]

How do you pay your landlord if you cannot get in touch with them?


and I won't swear to it but I think a tenant can be held liable for condo fees in Florida.

 

[FarmerJ]

isnt there this deal where condo renters can be directed to pay rents directly to the board / hoa to help reduce whats owed ? or something like that BigTodd seriously try your states atty general consumer pages to see if they offer info there as far as when a landlord is behind on dues to a association and if tenant can be directed to pay rent to the association ? ( I do remember seeing something about it in news but that was a while ago and since i do not live in FL , reading it its like , `oh ok ` and dont think much more of it so maybe your states atty gen page has info on the subject?

 

[BigMouthWino]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I have been renting a condo for 2 years now, about 8 months ago I court server came to my door asking for the owner. Told him he no longer lives here and the man left. Yesterday I came home and the man was here again, this time asking what my name was and if I was renting the condo, I said "yes" and I would not give him my name. He proceeded to give me a book of court papers. The booklet was a lis pendens and I complaint for foreclosure brought on by the condo association. It states that there is back fees that have not been paid. I am unaware and no longer can get in touch with the landlord.
My problem with this is, I dont know what is really going on. I figured he gave his condo up when he stopped taking my calls to fix my dryer. Now I know that the house is going to be foreclosed on. I dont know when the court date is or how long I have to live here still. I would move ASAP, but with this bad economy right now I do not have the savings to get up and move in the next month or so.
Is there any way I can find out what is going on and how long this is going to take?

Thank you
Will

One way you can save up some money for a new place is to stop paying rent. See who can evict you first: the condo association or the landlord.

 

[nextwife]

If the owner has walked away from the property, do realize that there will likely be nobody you can contact for repairs, if anything breaks down. You need to put a move away plan in place.

 

[DeenaCA]

There's a federal law protecting tenants in this situation (the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act). Check out the Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit at http://nlihc.org/library/other/foreclosure. You are most likely entitled to a minimum of 90 days advance notice to move out. It would be a good idea to contact your local legal aid agency for help with this.

 

[You Are Guilty]

There's a federal law protecting tenants in this situation (the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act). Check out the Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit at http://nlihc.org/library/other/foreclosure. You are most likely entitled to a minimum of 90 days advance notice to move out. It would be a good idea to contact your local legal aid agency for help with this.

Is it still "arms length" when the tenant is not paying rent? (I honestly don't know, but seems like this would be a pretty big hurdle).

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I have been renting a condo for 2 years now, about 8 months ago I court server came to my door asking for the owner. Told him he no longer lives here and the man left. Yesterday I came home and the man was here again, this time asking what my name was and if I was renting the condo, I said "yes" and I would not give him my name. He proceeded to give me a book of court papers. The booklet was a lis pendens and I complaint for foreclosure brought on by the condo association. It states that there is back fees that have not been paid. I am unaware and no longer can get in touch with the landlord.
My problem with this is, I dont know what is really going on. I figured he gave his condo up when he stopped taking my calls to fix my dryer. Now I know that the house is going to be foreclosed on. I dont know when the court date is or how long I have to live here still. I would move ASAP, but with this bad economy right now I do not have the savings to get up and move in the next month or so.
Is there any way I can find out what is going on and how long this is going to take?

Thank you
Will

Florida happens to be one of the states that allows eviction of tenants due to the homeowner NOT paying their HOA fees.

The only way to avoid being foreclosed upon is to pay those fees yourself, and then deduct that amount from the rent you are paying the LL. You can totally justify doing this, due to the fact that nonpayment of those HOA fees is grounds for the HOA to foreclosure against the property. On the other hand, the LL CANNOT justify evicting you for nonpayment of the rent if that money is being used to pay for those same HOA fees.

I guess the big question is whether or not you are actually still paying rent to the LL (since you mentioned you have been unable to reach them)? I suppose diverting your rent to cover your arse and protect your status as a renter would be enough to get their attention. Even if it's not, if you want to remain in the rental unit, you're going to have to give up a little something you'd otherwise be paying for the rent.

 

[DeenaCA]

Is it still "arms length" when the tenant is not paying rent? (I honestly don't know, but seems like this would be a pretty big hurdle).

Nothing in the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act requires a tenant to be current on rent payments in order to benefit from the Act's protections. However, the old/losing landlord can evict for nonpayment as long as they still own the property. The new owner/foreclosing party can evict if the tenant does not pay rent after the title changes hands. While the Act generally provides for a minimum 90-day notice to move, the OP could be evicted in a shorter time for nonpayment to the new owner. The issue was discussed in this thread and a couple of cases were cited: https://forum.freeadvice.com/landlord-tenant-issues-42/evidence-needed-establish-existence-bona-fide-tenancy-under-ptfa-581663.html.

Florida happens to be one of the states that allows eviction of tenants due to the homeowner NOT paying their HOA fees.

FL law allows the HOA to require the tenant to pay rent to the HOA rather than the landlord to offset delinquesnt fees. The HOA can evict for nonpayment to the HOA in this situation, just as the landlord can evict if the statute is not invoked. The tenant does not have to pay both the landlord and the HOA. This is in the FL Statutes at 720.3085(8): http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.3085.html.

In the OP's case, it doesn't sound like the HOA is requesting the rent payments (there are notification requirements and other limitations). It sounds like the HOA is just foreclosing, in which case the federal law applies. Here's an informative article on HOA foreclosures in Florida: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-05-11/business/pb-hoa-foreclosures-rising-20110511_1_delinquent-owners-bank-forecloses-association-forecloses.

 

[nextwife]

Understand that if the current owner negotiates a settlement with the association by granting them a Deed in Lieu of foreclosure, the Tenant Protection act will not apply and the new owner can give standard notice.