Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I rent a room in Oxnard, Ca. the owner lost his home in forclosure, I pay $600 a month along with two other renters who pay $600. each he expects us to continue paying him although he no longer pays mortgage . leaving us renters in a bind. He is collecting income to move and we cant save to move. He say' we have a few months, but we dont know how much time we have. Do we continue to pay him rent, or what can we do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You need to find out if the foreclosure has actually been completed, through what is known as a trustee's sale. I recommend going to the recorder's office and finding out the status of the trustee's sale. A trustee's sale in California begins with a recorded notice of default, a recorded notice of sale three months later, and a trustee's deed upon sale once the trustee's sale is complete. If a trustee's sale has been completed, the owner no longer has any rights in the property, and is not entitled to rent.
Mr. Roach is correct. Once the foreclosure sale is complete and the trustee's deed recorded to the new owner, the former owner has no rights of any kind in the property. The new owner is your landlord. The old owner is entitled to nothing. Until the trustee's sale, however, it is between the owner and the bank whether he pays his mortgage; you owe rent either way.