Foreclosured apartment lease ?

Hi there,

I have a lease that has expired for a condo, and the agreement extends the lease by a month-to-month payment. The other day a lady knocked on the door and tried to deliver ("serve") a foreclosure notice, I told her I am not the owenr and she went to get him at his other address (which she already had). I asked her what was going on and she said the place is going into foreclosure, and when I asked her if I'm affected she said you should not be and I will let the new owners know about that (you are renting), and that usually the bank and landlord usually agree on something up so it might not be foreclosured or taken over.

Now the new months rent is due. I do not know whether I should be contacting my current (old) landlord and talking to him about it, whether he still requires me to pay rent due (since I received no 'formal notification' of any foreclosure or anything), contact the condo management office or do what exactly.

I am afraid if I pay my old landlord the new months' rent, he might take it and run away (I still have deposit with him), or that the new owner (if foreclosured) will kick me out or take over my own stuff.

Do I need to have a 'transfer'clause in my lease ?ANything that says what is inside is all my own stuff and not part of the landlords' ? Should I consult an extra attorney or try to know who is handling the case, I am just lost on whom to contact and if it is OK to go around asking about foreclosure or if it landlord's own personal matters and I will be sued for slander !!

Please help me with your advice guys and gals.

I would go ahead and pay your rent. Watch the paper for a "notice of Trustees Sale" on your property. That will keep you updated on the process. The landlord may settle with the bank, but may not. You can also check with the county to find out who the owner is. The trustees sale aka sherriff's sale is the date of foreclosure. I would just keep checking with the county as to when that will take place- also check your local newspapers.

You still have rights. The person who was serving is incorrect though. A foreclosure will affect you. However I believe that you will have to be evicted. Most likely when the home is foreclosed, then the bank will evict you. There is a proccess they have to go through to do that. I would contact a real estate attorney in your area and find out what your rights are in this situation.

You are on a month to month lease- which means that you can leave at any time by giving 30 days notice or that they can ask you to leave by giving you a 30 day notice. So if you find that it really is going into foreclosure, I would plan to leave about the time of the Trustees sale.

The property owner could also sell the property- if that is the case, then your lease goes with the property- again since you are on a month to month, the new owner could ask you to move or raise your rent.