Legal Question in Real Estate Law in United States Minor Outlying Islands
Renter Agreement.
My property is in Palmdale, California. I only bought the house because a friend of my family did not have sufficient credit to purchase the house on her own. We had a verbal agreement that as long as she was going to be living in my house she was going to pay the mortage so it would not ruin my credit. Unfortunately she did not keep her end of the bargain and left many payments either deliquent or late. This has made the bank put a foreclosure on my house. I've tried to contact her several ways to tell her that she will be evicted in 60 days when I first gave her notice but she refuse to acknoledge the written letters and voice messages I've left her. Now she only has 30 days to vacate the home but is unwilling to. If the bank is foreclosing the house and I have to evict them because of it. Do they have the right to sue me for unlawful eviction if there was no lease signed?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Renter Agreement.
The usual course of events is for the buyer at the foreclosure sale to handle the eviction of an owner or tenant remaining in possession. You may have other worries in being the target of a foreclosure, but the eviction isn't your problem. In fact, sometimes buyers at foreclosure want the tenant to stay and become their tenant. (In this case, however, it's not likely due to her bad record of making timely payments).
Re: Renter Agreement.
You don't have to evict the tenant if the property is being foreclosed. Perhaps you can get the bank to wait a while, evict the tenant yourself (with the help of an attorney), and get a new tenant who will pay the appropriate rent to help you catch up on the mortgage. Then you can sell the house on your own terms (and the market's).