Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota
rental property question
I have a rental house that I am debating stopping mortgage payments on. The renters are current with the rental payments, but are destroying the house inside and out.
I need to know if there are any legal percussion's of stopping the mortgage payments and continuing to collect the rent. This is based on abuse and neglect of the house, which would cost me tens of thousands to repair when they vacate.
The property is currently appraised at $75,000 and the mortgage I took out 3 years ago was for $158,000 (The house is in an area of high foreclosures which drove the value down to half of what I still owe on the mortgage).
Thank you for any advice that you can offer on this matter.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: rental property question
I would first want to know whether there is a written lease and what is the term of the lease (month-to-month, 1 year, etc.). I also need to know whether the tenants are members of any protected class (minority, rental assistance, etc.) such that they could claim wrongful discrimination when you terminate the lease.
Generally, significantly damaging the property breaches a lease (written or verbal); so I would typically advise to terminate the lease rather than just stop paying mortgage and let the property go into foreclosure. Even if you plan to let the property be foreclosed, it is better to properly terminate the lease, because otherwise you will also be in breach of the lease and (depending on the terms of the lease) the tenants may also have a claim against you.
Also, if the house is in a city with a rental ordinance, this may be another reason to properly terminate the lease because otherwise you may violate the ordinance.
If you have further questions, please e-mail me directly at
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