Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Iowa

It sounds nice but I see some problems ahead. Assuming that you can prove that you were buying the house under contract you can argue that you are the equitable owner of the place. The problem you have is that you do not have title to the place so the landlord is still the owner of record unless and until he or she decides otherwise. You'll have to find out what the terms and conditions of the bankruptcy was, whether the house is being foreclosed on, if there are other liens, and get a title search done. The best way to proceed would be if the landlord will quitclaim their interest.

I suggest you contact an attorney to see if you can get this sorted out. Of course, you also may have a cause of action against the landlord for fraud if they didn't make the payments like they were supposed to.