Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

I am renting a house from a private owner and have been since Feb 2011. Our monthly rent is $800 and is based on an oral lease. I paid rent until Feb. 2012, never more than a week late. In late February 2012 we were served papers from the courts stating that BOA was starting foreclosure proceeding because our landlord hasn�t paid her mortgage since June 2011. I called the landlord and asked her what is going on and she proclaimed that it was a mistake, she was paid up but they were trying to foreclose on her because she hadn�t paid late fees. Of course, I knew this was a lie and finally convinced her to allow us to buy the house in a short sale. So, I proceeded to say �what about the rent, you can�t expect us to pay full rent while the short sale is being approved� and she said �I don�t care about the rent, I just want to be done with it, I am tired of dealing with the bank�. We signed a contract with a realtor to buy the house in a short sale situation in April. So, of course we didn�t pay rent in March, April, May or June. She never tried to contact us, phone or mail, to ask about the rent. Then, all of a sudden, her father calls me in late June and says I have to pay rent for those months even though the landlord told me she didn�t care about the rent, she just wanted to be done with it. Then, 2 weeks later, she puts a 3 day notice on my door with the rent due for those months. I called her and confronted her about it and she said she decided not to sell the house and she wants the rent for those months. She also told me that she caught the mortgage up, which we found out later was another lie. She then filed for an eviction and we have until Thursday to schedule a hearing about the eviction, but the problem , from what I understand, the court wants us to pay past due rent to the court, but we don�t owe that rent because she said that she didn�t care about it. Again, we don�t have a written lease, all of this is orally and (he said she said). Also, we still have a contract to buy the house; we are not letting her cancel it. How can I present to the courts that there isn�t any rent due, so I don�t have to pay it to the courts and risk losing the money?


Asked on 7/09/12, 11:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

First, to get your day in Court and expain what you believe happened, you have to pay the allegedly due rent. You can get it back if the Court rules in your favor. That said, I have to tell you that the failure of the contract to purchase to state the terms of your possessory rights was a huge mistake. You should have had legal help at that point in time. Trying to remedy the errors made is going to be a costly venture. Lastly, short sales are typically approved by the lender. Unless you have lender approval your contract to purchase for less than the value of the mortgage may be of no value. Seek legal help now with all your paperwork.

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Answered on 7/10/12, 5:36 am


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