Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
If i purchase a home that is tenant (month to month) occupied (non-foreclosure) in California, can I collect my actual expenses (principal, interest, taxes, Insurance) for the period they are being evicted.
3 Answers from Attorneys
The question does not make sense to me. From the date you become the actual owner you are entitled to collect rent from the tenant; the tenant only pays rent, property damage,late fees. If you mean can you collect the items you list from the prior owner that depends upon what the purchase agreement says and what his and your knowledge as to the tenant was when the sale occurred. If the prior owner told you that the tenant was paying the rent timely and knew that was not the case, but you could not know that and obviously was relying upon rent being paid, then the prior owner mislead you and you would be entitled to damages. What the amount of damages would be is unclear. Obviously you would have paid a lower purchase price based upon how much rent would be lost and the cost of evicting the tenant. If you would have insisted that change in ownership not occur until a rent paying tenant was in the house, and the former owner would have agreed to that, then what you list in your question would be a measure of your damages [plus the lost rent and eviction costs]. But would the former owner have been willing to sell to you at the same purchase price but those added conditions?
You need to go over the terms of the purchase, all the communications, what was said orally, etc and give that to a neutral third party for them to give an opinion if you have a case. If you give the information to an attorney, you will get a much more reliable answer and they can write a demand letter to the former owner and their realtor. A lay person would give poorer advice. You seem to be discussing something that is worth having an attorney look at and that you are not able to handle yourself. I am in Union City so may be close to you; call me if you wish further legal help. 510-441-2684.
not proof read
When someone buys real estate with tenants, all that happens is that the tenants get a new landlord. Sure, the new landlord can, sooner or later, get rid of the tenants, either by letting their leases expire and not renewing them, or by giving any month-to-month renters the statutorily-prescribed 30 or 60-day notices. Then, if they don't leave, the new owner can initiate the unlawful detainer process (if necessary). The tenants may also have rights against the new landlord under local rent-control ordinances.
You can ask for the reasonable daily rental value for each day that it takes to evict them in an unlawful detainer lawsuit. You take monthly rent and divide by thirty. It is calculated from the conclusion of the three day pay or quit period, up to the date the sheriff kicks them out.