Landlord Claimed His House Was Getting Foreclosed

First off, a house is not foreclosed on because of one late payment. Second, I don't think you have any grounds to sue. He didn't evict you; he merely suggested you look for another place. A landlord can evict a tenant for any reason or no reason at all. It is his property and he has the right to take it back any time he wants, as long as he gives whatever notice is provided for in the rental agreement.

Sorry no lottery winning for you.

I figure I will expand on that. He said it may be foreclosed on and you may want to look for another home. You moved out on your own, you have no damages and no recourse.

It could still be in the process of foreclosure or a quick sale, just because it isn't immediately online doesn't mean it isn't happening. It took my mom's house almost 4 months to 'finally' foreclose, and the bank dd the whole "we'll work with you" promise too... and even when it did foreclose, it was difficult to know what was going on and it never appeared online either. The people painting the house could be a foreclosure company, or him trying to sell it fast.

In the meantime, I would be thankful to have gotten out of there. Sounds like a mess even if it was a hassle to find somewhere else.

Also have you read over the contract recently? Buyers have legal 'outs' as well as sellers, so if he is having issues upkeeping the house, then likely he has a legal right to terminate the contract. Also, he didn't actually evict you.

Really, if he is going into foreclosure and has little funds, if you do sue him and win... what is he going to pay you with? I would just walk away and focus your energy on your new home.

Sorry, he didn't even evict you, he just mentioned something would happened and you moved out so your sort of screwed yourself. He could have sold the house to someone else (you never know) but you should probably just forget about it because you voluntarily moved out if you wanted to sue him then you should have spoken with a lawyer before you moved out.

Why is everyone so sue happy? It is not like you are homeless, you found a place and moved, end of story. Why is everyone always looking for a fast dollar that they do not deserve just because they were a little inconvenienced? Also, if someone was there painting my guess would be that maybe he is preparing to sell (regular or quick sell) to avoid foreclosure. It is his house, he has that right.

R.:

I don't know the laws in Texas nor do I know what contract you signed with him. Read the lease - did he in anyway break the lease? Yes. He had to you move out early - but did you have a deposit that was returned to you?

There are soooo many factors that I don't know so it is hard for me to give you answers.

If you can afford an attorney to look over your lease and see if you have a case - it might be worth it.

Good luck!

I was buying a house on a land contract - I paid her $5 towards the down payment, and paid rent for almost 3 years (which a portion of went to my down payment). Then one day I come home from work with a forclosure sign in my front yard, and papers all over my door saying I had 7 days to more out - at the time, I was a single mom with 2 girls - not fun. I lost the downpayment, including the higher rent I was paying since due to it going toward my down payment. I couldn't even get ahold of her - changed all her numbers!! I researched it and she had 3 rental properties and all of them foreclosed. I didn't sue - guess you I thought you can't get blood from a turnip - plus we didn't even know where she was - it was like she dropped off the face of the earth - it was weird!!

I then rented a townhome, I lived there for 6 months when I was kicked out by the association due to a no renters rule. The landlord tried to sue me for breaking the contract - weird, huh?

Renters never understand how it is to try and come up with thousands of dollars for plumbing and other needed repairs. It's always tough to think and wonder if it's tree roots and old plumbing or if it's someone putting tampons and toys down the drains. I'm sorry he laid this at your feet and like Nicole said, you don't know the story. It's over. I think you need to move on. There are worse things in life than having to move.

It may take a while for the foreclosure process to begin and he was just giving you a heads up. The painting may be because he's trying to short sell it quickly before the foreclosure moves forward. He would have a much better chance at selling it without you in it. If you had stayed, more than likely he wouldn't have a chance at shortselling and avoiding the foreclosure, the end result being you would be out of a place to stay and he would have lost everything. So in the end, he may have really just been trying to do you both a favor by giving you an early heads up so you don't end up without a roof or sue him if he was forced to break the lease and left you homeless.

The foreclosure process can take over a year, or it can happen in weeks.

From what you've written... it doesn't sound like the house is being forclosed. If the bank is willing to work with him, then that means no foreclosure (at least for the time being).

I'm not sure what you would get out of it, but you can probably sue him for breach of contract. I assume you had a lease with him - it normally spells out how much time each party has to give the other before ending the contract.

Of course, if he didn't FORCE you out, but lied to get you to move out willingly, then that might be a different issue.

Sorry, guess I wasn't much help here...

I dont think you have any type of case really. He asked you to move and you did. If you were going to fight the move you should have done it while still in the house. Your lease is a done deal now that you are out, you cant backtrack.
How do you know he isn't just fixing it up and trying to get it sold as a short sale? I'm sure his thoughts were that he could sell it easier if no tenants were in it. You really don't know what is REALLY going on, but if it was your house and you wanted someone to move out, wouldnt you want them to move out easily and swiftly like you just did? It's nice that you guys did that for him for whatever his reasoning behind it was. What you ought to do now is ask him to write you out a good reference letter so you can use it for future rentals. I'm sure he will since you obliged him without trouble when asked to vacate.

If you had a lease and he asked you to move early then I'd look into whether or not the house was really in foreclosure. Check your state's landlord tenant act to see if he asked you to movein the proper legal fashion, etc...

Be glad you moved out -
He could have raised your rent to cover his mortgage deficit.
You have absolutely no grounds to sue - Really? Why would that even be an option?
No matter whether he lied to you or nor, you voluntarily moved.
Sounds like you are better off anyway.

That might be something to ask your tenant's rights association. Maybe it hasn't been foreclosed yet and he's trying to do a short sale or something.

Foreclosure is a long process, R.. Just because you saw someone painting doesn't mean that he isn't correct in what he is saying. Lots of landlords are having to let their properties go into foreclosure. Either he is trying to put it on the market to try to sell it before the bank actually takes the property, or the bank is fixing it up. Neither can do this while you are in the apartment.

Some landlords never even tell their renters that it will happen. They keep taking the rent, and one day the sheriff shows up with a letter telling the tenant that they have days to get out. Your landlord was nice enough to not do that to you.

I'm glad you found a place - that's wonderful.

Dawn

Ummm well, banks do NOT foreclose on one late payment. Usually the process takes a while. I worked in the banking industry for 10 years, and usually we don't even start threatening foreclosure until we have received no payment, no contact, no word from the customer until they are at least three payments in the hole. Especially if that customer has a good payment history. It takes even longer for the bank to come onto the listing for sale.

That being said, if you didn't get an evict notice, and nothing else in writing then you really are going to have a time for suing for anything. In fact he can try to make it look like YOU were the one who bailed early and he can counter sue for breaking lease. If I were you I would let this go.

Is any of it in writing, no writing, and it is all he said she said.

I would bet he's short-selling the place.

i thought it was illegal for a landlord to collect rent yet have the property forclosed on...

Don't waste your time and money. You have already been inconveienced, do you really want to give this guy anymore of your effort? Be thankful that you are out from underneath such a jerk.

Nope. No case, sorry. (I'm married to an attorney, so this isn't legal advice... but I do know what I'm talking about). You can't sue someone for inconvenience. You can only sue them for actual damages.

It sounds like you believed your lying landlord and moved out voluntarily. If that's the case, then no court will award you damages because it just becomes a case of he said-she said. Chalk this up as a life lesson and try to move on.

You don't have a case. It would be a frivolous lawsuit and he would win, and would probably be able to sue you for breaking the lease early and get compensation for it. The fact is that you have no idea what's going on over there, and why you would make the leap to thinking you were tricked into moving because someone is painting the house makes no sense.

Enjoy your new place and keep your money in your pocket rather than having to pay lawyer and court fees. This ex-landlord doesn't even have money to pay damages with so what exactly would you be suing FOR? You'd get nothing out of it except sticking it to him and wasting both of your money.

i haven't read all of your responses but, for the most part you are probably better off not having to deal with the landlord anymore, wether he was telling the truth or not, you are lucky to not have to be dealing with a snake, that could have gotten a lot worse, I say good riddance. as far as suing him, I think it would be more of the same, just more trouble and stress than you would actually get out of him, he obviously isn't paying his bills properly and you wouldn't get anything out of him even if the courts were on your side, just not worth it.