Real Estate Experts? Rental auction advice needed

[Lizzy]

I rent my home. I have a lease that doesn't expire until February/March.

Bank of America has been coming and taking pictures of my house for months to make sure someone is living there. I found this strange.

It has now come to my attention that my house is going into auction on August 8. I have rec'd no official notice, but it is listed on the county clerk website as being on auction August 8.

How do auctions work? When my house foreclosed, the bank bought the house for $100 and left me with the balance of the loan. Is there a possibility that I could pick up the house I rent for a few thousand dollars and own is outright? Am I too late to put in a bid? Has anyone done this to give advice?

I dont' want to move, especially not in 30 days! I love this house. It is perfect size, and in the perfect location.

I am currently freaking out and need any help I can get.

[SBETigg]

I've heard of auctions that make exceptions for tenant occupancy. It could be that this is your case, or it could be that your landlord has been lax on sharing details and you're in trouble. Or is this the house you once owned? I'm confused. As for buying the house on the cheap, not all that likely. Statistically, most houses auctioned do actually end up selling for close to appraised value.

It wouldn't hurt to ask what it would take for you to get in on the auction, but they usually require advance screening to be sure you have the means and financing in place. It's not uncommon to require bidders to have a certified check for a certain amount in hand to be allowed to even participate in the bidding process. It sounds like the bank actually owns your house now, so I would be wary, contact the bank, and find out exactly what is going on with your tenancy. I'm not a real estate expert, but I think you have a case of justified nervousness.

[dnickels]

Like Sherri said, I'd contact your landlord, contact the bank, contact the entity doing the auction (sheriff? clerk of the court? private auction?) and try to find out what the details are. If there are any tenant exceptions or rules requiring advance notice to you, you've gotta make sure they know about it so you don't get a knock on the door one day with someone saying they own the place and you need to get out.

The stories about picking up a typical 100k house free and clear at auction for just a few thousand bucks are just that, stories. Not gonna happen. In your case, your bank didn't buy the house for $100, they bought it for $100 plus the amount they originally lent to you (minus whatever equity you had built up to that point).

[Lizzy]

No this is not the house I used to own. This is a house I rent now. I was just trying to remember what happened when my old house went into foreclosure.

It is going on auction in the county courthouse. Do you think I should call the courthouse?

[SBETigg]

No this is not the house I used to own. This is a house I rent now. I was just trying to remember what happened when my old house went into foreclosure.

It is going on auction in the county courthouse. Do you think I should call the courthouse?

Who has been cashing your rent checks? I would probably start there and demand some answers. The courthouse is only the auction venue, but they might have some more information for you to go on. I would be calling anyone I could think of for more information, but I hope you have nothing to really worry about. It might be that your lease holds up and you don't have to worry until it's up.

[Lizzy]

The rent is paid online to the property manager. The property manager sends the rent to the homeowner.

I called the courthouse, and my aunt who works in real estate law (and I didn't even know it!)

What I found out was this.

The bank will open the auction at $100. if no one bids then the bank then takes full possession of the home, and in most cases will go the residence that day and change the locks! If someone makes a bid, the bank will not let it go for less than what is owed on the house- or to a pre approved amount for a short sale.

In my case, the case number is 2010. The homeowner knew in 2010 that this house was going into foreclosure and fraudulently signed the lease with me. The only thing I can do at this point is contact the police and the homeowner's attorney about the fraud to get the sale post-poned to buy me more time.

The property manager has another house for sale. I had a similar situation last year, when the homeowner of the house I was renting was filing bankruptcy. It was not an urgent issue like this one, but the property manager transferred my deposit to this house and we moved. I am hoping they will do this again. I searched their site and they do have a similar house in the area I want to be in. I had a backround check done on the property and the homeowner and everything is clear with this one.

It totally stinks. I will be moving next month and I am totally unprepared.

[DVC2004]

Wow I'm sorry! I have nothing to offer in terms of advice, but that was really lousy of the owners to not at least make you aware at some point. Sounds illegal! I hope everything works out for you. What a pain to have to move unexpectedly like that. I hope you are able to have some recourse. So this guy was collecting rent but not pay the mortgage it sounds like. Wow.

Best of luck- I hope everything works out very smoothly for you and I am sorry you are going through this.:(

[SBETigg]

Lizzy, I am so sorry, too. Nightmare situation! I hope you can put it off and find something and everything goes smoothly. I think every renter has this in the back of their minds as a potential scary situation, but to have it actually happen? Oh no! I will be thinking of you with best wishes, prayers, and pixie dust.

[BrerGnat]

Sounds to me like someone did something illegal here.

There are laws protecting renters in every state. Look into yours. At the very least, you should be able to sue the owner for something here (did you leave a "security" deposit or "last month's rent"). At the very least, that should be paid back to you.

What a terrible situation. Personally, I'd be contacting a real estate lawyer. How are you supposed to find alternate housing and arrange a move so quickly??? That's ridiculous.

Hope you are able to straighten this out. What a nightmare. :(

[Lizzy]

We rent through a property manager and they send the rent to the homeowner. The property manager is out of town until monday.

But believe it or not this is not the first time something like this has happened to us. Last year, we were renting through the same property manager. And the homeowner was filing bankruptcy. I recieved plenty of notice and there was no issue with moving with plenty of time. But the property manager moved our security deposit over to another house right away and we were able to move over without losing any money except the truck we rented.

I am hoping that they will do that for us again.

[AgentC]

No advice, but I am so sorry.

Unfortunately I know this is happening a lot in FL right now because there are so many properties waiting to to be for foreclosed on. My friend had a situation where she thought the house next door to her had squatters in it because she knew it was in foreclosure. Turns out the owner is renting it out until the foreclosure goes through, but at least those renters knew about it.

I hope your property manager takes care of you.