Can I sue my landlord for breaking our lease since the house is in foreclosure?


Question:
We live in California and just moved into this house in February. We signed a lease for a year through a Property Managing Company. Our lease states the landlord is suppose to make all mortgage payments. After we moved in the landlord stop making his loan payments and now the house is being foreclosed. What rights do we have? How long do we have until a sherriff locks us out? Can we sue our landlord or the Property Managing Company for breaking our lease? Please help!!!

Answer:
You will want to research this further, but in terms of somewhere for you to start; the contract you signed "lease" is actually considered "Real Property" and goes with the Real Estate and whomever has possession of that piece of Real Property (it gets sold with the home, if it's not terminated by another document). I don't know for sure, but I would guess that you would stay tenants to the new owner (wich will be the bank if the property gets foreclosed). I'm sure there are several loopholes (that are not in your favor) to evade something like that, but I'm not experienced enough with that issue to be able to advise you further.

Good Luck!
Yes you could sue them. As for the sherriff's sale, it generally takes 6 months. What will happen is a clerk from the court will either serve you a notice or post it on the front door. It will tell you when you have to be out. At that time you really don't have any other choice. I would continue to make your rent payments to the management company. No sense in having trouble there too.
You could but there would be no point. He probably owes many people who have already garnished his wages and income tax returns. You might win, but you would never see any money. A waste of time. Start looking for new place soon. Typically the sheriff or court officer or whoever it is in your jurisdiction will post on your door or talk with you to say, "This is it, I will be back on _____ , and if you are here we will put your stuff at the curb."

That could take months. The bank could screw up. My neighbor was foreclosed on and evicted but the bank didn't get the final writ of restitution (in MI), and they put the utilities in their name. Then, the mortgage officer quits (in CA) and my neighbor is forgotten about. The writ period expires and he lives free (with utilities courtesy of the inept bank) for another 9 months! Incredible.

Also you could try to convince the bank to let you stay on as caretakers for a pittance of rent each months. If a lot of houses are vacant, they might take you up on it, just to keep their building safe. Of course, you would have to be willing to show it to prospective buyers and agree, in writing, to get out quick if the bank does sell it. Good luck.
He is being foreclosed, so he has no money... so you cant get any money, because he has no money.. know what I mean?

You could sue him... or the bank could allow you to stay and pay the rent to them... but you need to try to make those arrangements now.

Otherwise, start looking for a place and get out before your stuff is at the curb.

Like I said, you can sue him for breach of contract... but it will end up costing you more then its worth.
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