Foreclosures in Florida

[dnickels]

The quick background: I rent and the woman who owns the house neglected to tell me that she hasn't paid the mortgage since July. About a week ago I got a knock at the door, it was a process server giving me a copy of the complaint the mortgage company has filed against her (and by extension myself as tenant in possession of the property).

Does anyone know how where the process will go from here? I'm already looking for a different place in the area, but I'm worried I could go away for a weekend and come back to find the locks on the house changed. Could that happen or will they serve some sort of 7 day eviction notice? I'm pretty mobile in the single guy with no obligations and limited material possessions sense, but my legs are also paralyzed, so I need to give my friends some heads up to help me move things and I'd rather not have to do it mid-day with the sheriff waiting for me to leave.

The woman who owns the house is of no help, she won't even answer my calls to tell me what's going on. She's pretty much the buyer side epitome of why we're in this housing collapse to begin with.

Thanks in advance!

[AHOTE]

Hate to say it but I've been there before. In Florida, Only a judge can order you evicted, and only the Sheriff can put you out of your home! Circumstances and time lines will vary as to the particulars of each situation.
You need to contact the Sheriff's Office pursuant to your specific circumstance to see just where you stand in the process regarding your landlord. More than likely your landlord has already gotten or ignored multiple notices. Tenants are generally not involved until the legal processes against a landlord are well underway. You should also contact the county Comsumer Affairs Division and the Code Enforcement Branch of the county government. You might even want to contact the Legal Aid Society and/or a local Law School as both outlets may provide free legal advice or lower cost assistance.

Do a web search for "Florida Law, Tenant Rights" you'll find a wealth of information.
Hope this helps.

[NotaGeek]

I was in the same situation 15 years ago in Phoenix. I contacted the Arizona renter's rights department, which is a state run organization. They advised me to stop paying rent and find a new place to live. If the place has been taken over by the bank, you can't be evicted by the owner and odds are the bank won't sell it anytime soon.

By the time I stopped paying rent it was 3 months before the bank finally sent me a 30 day notice to vacate and it was pretty easy to find a new place to live and i had managed to take a vacation on some of the rent money as well! :)

[RenDuran]

dnickels, just wanted to say good luck!

[kakn7294]

I don't have any advice either but I wanted to throw in my good luck wishes as well!

[Ian]

I was in the same situation 15 years ago in Phoenix. I contacted the Arizona renter's rights department, which is a state run organization. They advised me to stop paying rent and find a new place to live. If the place has been taken over by the bank, you can't be evicted by the owner and odds are the bank won't sell it anytime soon.


Hate to say it but I've been there before. In Florida, Only a judge can order you evicted, and only the Sheriff can put you out of your home! Circumstances and time lines will vary as to the particulars of each situation.
You need to contact the Sheriff's Office pursuant to your specific circumstance to see just where you stand in the process regarding your landlord. More than likely your landlord has already gotten or ignored multiple notices. Tenants are generally not involved until the legal processes against a landlord are well underway. You should also contact the county Comsumer Affairs Division and the Code Enforcement Branch of the county government. You might even want to contact the Legal Aid Society and/or a local Law School as both outlets may provide free legal advice or lower cost assistance.

Do a web search for "Florida Law, Tenant Rights" you'll find a wealth of information.
Hope this helps.I'm not familiar with renting really because I've never done it, but both these posts sound like they offer sound advice to me.

[MidnTPK]

Look at the documents to see who is the mortgage company....and call them. Tell them you live there and have been paying rent to the owner. Tell them you can continue paying rent.

If you Google 'Fannie Mae', you'll see that just yesterday a policy was announced to help people like you. But that only applies to mortgages owned by Fannie. Other banks are doing similar things, so you have some hope, but there's no way for the lender to know that they could rent the place to a reliable tenant until you contact them and let them know.

But this all might be a big hassle, so finding a new place might be the easiest in the long run.

[crazypoohbear]

I personally would stop paying the rent immediately and start putting the money aside for 1st, last and security in a new place. Also, if you paid 1st, last and security, then you have at least 2 months that are owed to you anyway.
Start looking now, especially where you would need a handicap accessible place it may take longer.
Do not give the land lord any more money, she no longer the home, and obviously isn't in a talking mood.
Best of luck to you

[dnickels]

Thanks guys! :thumbsup: After what I've read here and what I've dug up I'm not worried about getting kicked out immediately or anything. She's only got half a month's rent for security deposit so even if I don't get that back I'm barely out anything.

Now to find somewhere that I can still see the MK fireworks from at night. :mickey:

[MidnTPK]

I personally would stop paying the rent immediately and start putting the money aside for 1st, last and security in a new place. Also, if you paid 1st, last and security, then you have at least 2 months that are owed to you anyway.
Start looking now, especially where you would need a handicap accessible place it may take longer.
Do not give the land lord any more money, she no longer the home, and obviously isn't in a talking mood.
Best of luck to you
BAD ADVICE!!!

From the Ohio Attorney General:

Do I need to keep paying my rent once the foreclosure is filed?
YES. Your landlord still owns the property until there is a judgment and sale. If you stop paying your rent, your landlord could file an eviction action in court for nonpayment of rent.
You really need to talk to someone with knowledge of how the process works in Florida. What if she quickly rectifies the situation, and you haven't been paying rent? Or the bank takes over the lease and expects you to pay for all the time you've been living there?

Even though your landlord hasn't paid the bills, doesn't mean she doesn't still own the property. That's her business not yours. Only if you were to get evicted would you have reason a legal reason to stop paying her rent and recoup expenses for her breaking the terms of your contract.

And if you don't pay, the bank might be able to come after you to get the rent you are legally obligated to be paying while you're living there.

In some states there's a mechanism for putting your rent in an escrow account when you have a dispute with a landlord.....but I'm not familiar with Florida.