What About The Tenants Living In Your Foreclosure Property?

By Author: Matthew Merenoff
Total Articles: 4
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If the house you stay in has undergone Foreclosure, and you are a Tenant, then there is a possibility that you will end up in one of the following situations:

The New Owner might want You to Continue living there as a tenant
No one wants to look for a new customer if the previous one is well, in an ease of availability. If the new owner does not want to sell out the house or look for another tenant, Phew! Not to worry. The foreclosure’s after-effects are not going to affect you. You just have to replace your rent deposit destination from the old landlord to the new owner.

Just make sure to ask about some documentation proof when you are introduced to your new landlord.

The new owner might want you to vacate the property
Yes…this is one of those possibilities that you might not like (but that really doesn’t matter). It’s totally the new owner’s call. No need to panic here. You have the right to stay in there for at least 60 days so that you manage to find a new place to shift in (hopefully a better one).

There is, although, an exceptional situation where the owner can barge you ...
... out before ending the 60 days notice period. “Waste or nuisance” is an offence that, if committed, you could get evicted from the property. It involves any criminal offense or major destruction.

Barter you Out
When the new owner wants you to vacate the property immediately, you can be offered a reasonable cash or compensation to make a deal. It’s like the barter system. Now here is the situation where it’s totally your call! You can either, accept the deal and vacate the property at the time of sale, or, very obvious, the option you can choose is to stay right there for the 60days notice period and look for a new and better home.

Note that if you decide to take the cash and move out, have the documented proof of this deal with the signatures of both the owners.

The latent owner
There might be such situation where the new land owner stays anonymous to you. Although there is minimal possibility that such kind of situation will occur because of RCW 59.18.060 that states the compulsion of informing the tenants about any kind of change in the property’s ownership. Still, if this situation occurs, it’s better to find out the hidden information. Nevertheless, keep an account of your rents because you new landlord can appear anytime and has the right to ask for the rents at that instance.

Being the tenant of a house that is undergoing Foreclosure, be wise enough to take prompt action and understand your rights as an important resident of that property and contact an attorney without delaying it further.