Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Indiana
We signed into a lease agreement for a place to move our business and we no more than opened and on the day of our grand opening there was an article in the newspaper saying that the building was foreclosed on and was going to be auctioned that month. Seems to me they already new that the building either was already or was going to be foreclosed on before we signed the lease. We put about $10-15,000. in the building remodeling it for our business and we might be getting into the same situation we had when we moved (a middleman to maintain/expensive lease & maintenance. I guess my question is: do we have any recourse? Should have we been informed of the foreclosure before we signed the lease? I feel like they (both the owner & Realtor) knew the situation and was hiding it from us. Thanks, Marilou
1 Answer from Attorneys
Cutting through to the chaser, what good does it do you to pursue a legal course against someone who does not have money to pay a mortgage? If the real estate professional was a buyers broker, a duty may have been owed to you and you may be able to pursue something against the broker. If not a buyers broker, very difficult because there is not much of a duty owed. However, under a conspiracy theory, you might be able to collect from the broker for the wrongdoing of the landlord. That being said, an argument can be made that a foreclosure is a public record.Additionally, you are presumed to know the law and what is public knowledge. That being said, talk with the company that is foreclosing on the property. So arguments can bemade for both sides. You are there, the mortgage company or new buyer can use your rent. Additionally, perhaps you can work out something that will allow you to purchase the property at a steep discount. Contact a local lawyer who handles foreclosures to try and negotiate something!
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