Foreclosures, Unpaid Taxes Add Risk For South Florida Tenants

In South Florida, The Miami Herald reports:

• While South Florida's falling housing prices may favor renting rather than buying right now, the recent real estate bubble is also creating new risks for tenants. Plenty of homes and condos are available for lease because their owners can't sell them, giving renters a variety of options. The problem is that many of the owners may not be on steady financial footing. If they end up in foreclosure, tenants can be kicked out -- despite having a lease. ''That's happening. A lot of people are losing their homes,'' said Samira Ghazal, a Miami consumer lawyer. "They don't know if the landlord is paying the mortgage or not. Then they end up getting evicted.'' Even if they are not formally evicted, many tenants are forced to move prematurely, resulting in unplanned moving expenses and family disruptions.

***

• It's hard to say how many tenants are in this situation. But what is clear is that tens of thousands of South Florida properties are in serious financial trouble. In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, more than 70,000 residential property owners failed to pay their 2006 property-tax bills, according to a Miami Herald analysis in November.

For more, see Tenants: Be aware of landlords facing foreclosure (Landlords have always asked potential tenants about their financial situation. But in today's housing market, renters may need to ask if potential landlords are facing foreclosure).

To find out if a South Florida landlord is facing foreclosure, see The Miami Herald: What to do before you rent (if link expires, try here) which, among other things, suggests:

• To determine whether a person has a foreclosure action filed against him: In Miami-Dade County, go to www.miami-dadeclerk.com/public-records/pubsearch1.asp. In Broward County, go to 205.166.161.12/oncoreV2/Search.aspx. Type in the person's name, select ''Lis Pendens'' (in Dade) or ''Foreclosures'' (in Broward) and click search to see if any documents come up.

This method isn't foolproof, especially if you're dealing with a sleaze bag who may be running a professional rent skimming / equity skimming operation but may be pretty helpful if you're dealing with an average homeowner or novice real estate investor caught in the real estate bubble and stuck holding a property that he/she can't unload.

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here.

Go here for other posts related to the Miami condo market problem. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon delinquent tax problem

Prospective Tenants Beware: "It's More Important Than Ever To Do Your Homework" When Renting From A Landlord

In Lee County, Florida, WBBH-TV Channel 2 reports:

• If you're renting instead of buying and think you can't be foreclosed on, think again. Realtors say they're seeing an increase in renters being evicted as a direct result of the foreclosure crisis in Southwest Florida.

***

• Realtors say there are literally thousands of rental properties available in Southwest Florida, but finding out which ones are going into foreclosure requires a lot more homework than just calling the number on the sign.

• Real estate attorney Kevin Jursinski recommends asking your potential landlord some tough questions. "I'd ask the owner, are you current on your mortgage?" said Jursinski.
  Have the owner show you the paperwork to prove it. You should also go to the property appraiser’s website to find out if the landlord actually owns the home you’re renting.
  Then go to the county clerk’s website to find out if there are any lawsuits against the owner. You should also call the condo association or homeowners association to find out if they are up to date on their dues. Jursinski has one final tip. "You can go to sunbiz.org. It will tell you if there's any judgment on them throughout the State of Florida," he said.
  With today's real estate slow down, it's more important than ever to do your homework. "If you don't do that, you could have a problem," said Jursinski.

For more, see NBC2 investigates: Renters and foreclosures.

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, see Tenants Unwittingly Renting Homes In Foreclosure I , II , III , IV , and V. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Rights Of California Tenants Facing Foreclosure Evictions Depend On What City They Live In

A recent column in the Los Angeles Times on tenants being forced from their rented homes as a result of their landlords being foreclosed on contained this excerpt:

• State officials said that under California law, existing rental agreements are essentially wiped out when a property is foreclosed upon. All that's required is that a tenant be given at least 30 days' notice that he or she is being evicted.

• But those officials also said that state law can be trumped by local rent-control statutes, which often provide tenants with more far-reaching protections. These "just cause" provisions of many municipal rent-control laws limit the ability of landlords to evict tenants, even those on month-to-month leases. They also include cases in which ownership of a property changes hands, such as a foreclosure.

• "Tenants cannot simply be evicted," insisted Adam Radinsky, who heads Santa Monica's consumer protection unit. "There's no question about that."

• Actually, it depends on where you live. Cities with "just cause" provisions include Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, West Hollywood and Glendale. However, not all "just cause" provisions are created equal. San Diego's requires that a tenant occupy a property for at least two years before the provision takes effect. Glendale's allows an eviction to proceed if the landlord plans to remove the property from the rental market or have a relative move in. Moreover, not all rental properties may fall under a city's rent-control protections. In such cases, state law would probably apply, which would allow a foreclosure-related eviction to go ahead. "In that case, the tenant may be in a really lousy position," said Al Shelden, chief of consumer law in California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's office. "There may not be many rights to begin with."

For more, see Shadow victims of the mortgage crisis: renters (if link expires, try here).

See also, KCBS Channel 2, Los Angeles: Money 101: Tenants Caught In Foreclosure.

Go here for other posts referencing California municipal "just cause" eviction laws.

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, see Tenants Unwittingly Renting Homes In Foreclosure I , II , III , IV , and V. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Problem Of Unwitting Tenants Victimized By Rent-Skimming Landlords Hits The Quad Cities

In East Moline, Illinois, WQAD-TV Channel 8 reports:

• An East Moline family of nine will soon be homeless. That's because their landlord is losing the home. It's a growing trend in the foreclosure crisis. Renters left out in the cold because their landlords can't pay the bills. As Darla Ballard begins to pack, she knows it won't be long before she's out on the street. After spending $1500 on rent, the unemployed single mom is being evicted.

***

• [R]ealtor Diane Godwin says it happens more and more around the Quad Cities. She handled 60 foreclosures in 2007. Nearly a third of them involve unsuspecting renters. "If the owners knew that the house was going into foreclosure, then they were pocketing the money they were getting for the rent instead of paying the mortgage," Godwin said. [...] Ballard doesn't know where she'll move her six kids and two grandchildren at the end of March. This is a new kind of foreclosure for renters with nowhere to turn.

For more, see Rental foreclosures hit home around the Q.C.

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Water Shut-Offs Hurting Oakland-Area Tenants In Foreclosed Homes; Rent-Skimming Landlords Stiffing Local Utility District

In Oakland, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:

• With five kids at home, including an infant, Kimberly Isaac-Ray knows her family cannot go without water. But when her landlord went into foreclosure, and a bank took over the duplex where she lives, Isaac-Ray found herself without utilities. She was able to convince the East Bay Municipal Utility District to restore her water service after one day.

• Ida Hancox and her family weren't as lucky. They went three days without water in their foreclosed-upon apartment. Their foreclosed landlord had disappeared, and the bank stopped paying the utilities. "Tenants should not suffer because of someone else's mistake," Hancox told the board of directors this week.

• Directors agreed and set a moratorium on water utility shutoffs in any situation where a tenant is left in a foreclosed building. The moratorium will continue through March 11, when the directors plan to consider policy changes to deal with foreclosures and utility shutoffs, including changes suggested by Just Cause Oakland, a tenant group.

For more, see Group argues for tenant rights in case of landlord foreclosure (East Bay residents say their utilities were turned off because their landlords missed mortgage payments).

For story update, see Panel considers ban on water shut-off to tenants in foreclosed buildings. (3-7-2008)

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

More On Minnesota Builder Subject Of Grand Jury Investigation; Straw Buyer Scam, Equity Skimming Suspected

Another story on Eagan homebuilder Parish Marketing and Development is reported in the Pioneer Press. Among other things, the article reports:

• Two hundred homes Parish constructed in the south metro are entering foreclosure, drawing the attention of local and federal authorities. The U.S. attorney's office has convened a grand jury to investigate the real estate deals and Parish's role in them. An Apple Valley bank officer and a real estate closer from Elko New Market recently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to mail fraud in connection with millions of dollars in mortgage deals under investigation. Their attorneys allege Parish is at the center of the elaborate mortgage scheme now under federal investigation. They link the developer to their clients, who admit bilking lenders and borrowers in that scheme.

• [Bank officer Ramiz] Saadeh, 30, of Apple Valley, and Kristopher Robbins, 27, of Elko New Market, each pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud this month. Robbins, a self-employed notary and real estate closer, and Saadeh waived their rights to an indictment and are cooperating "in the investigation and prosecution of other suspects," according to their plea agreements. Saadeh's and Robbins' plea bargain stated that the scam involved 200 homes.

Reportedly, the scam involved, among other things, straw buyers buying multiple homes from homebuilder Parish with fraudulently obtained mortgage loans. Many of the homes reportedly ended up being rented to tenants with options to buy, or sold to buyers under contracts for deed. Payments made by the tenants or contract buyers that were to be applied to the existing mortgages weren't and now the homes have either been foreclosed or currently face foreclosure.

For more, see Mortgage scam threatens 200 homes with foreclosure.

Go here for other posts on Minnesota homebuilder Parish Marketing and Development.

Go here for other posts on "rent to own" scams.

For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. rent to own lease purchase option scams zebra equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

CBS Evening News On Tenants Losing Their Homes In "No-Fault Foreclosure Evictions"

The CBS Evening News recently ran a story on tenants facing evictions due to rent skimming landlords who are facing foreclosure of their investment properties. Featured in the story is an Oakland, California area woman who is shortly expecting to give birth and has been given 30 days to vacate the premises. According to the story, thirty-eight percent of foreclosures now involve rental properties, estimated to be at least 168,000 households nationwide. In states as Nevada, Illinois and New York, the numbers are closer to 50%.

For the story, see Renters Caught Up In Foreclosure Crisis (38 Percent Of Foreclosed Properties Are Rentals, And Most Banks Won't Allow Tenants To Stay) (read story) (watch video).

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Rent Skimming Landlord Pockets $2K Security Deposit, Leaves Tenants High & Dry

In Gaithersburg, Maryland, WJLA-TV Channel 7 reports:

• Renters are getting evicted because their landlords are not paying their mortgages. A few weeks ago, Tameka Edwards and her roommates got the shock of their lives. Their townhouse had been foreclosed without their knowledge, while their landlord continued to take their rent money. [... Julio] Rodriguez, a broker with Showcase Home Reality, informed the tenants a bank, not their landlord, now owns the townhouse because the property had been foreclosed. "That is so unprofessional for someone to actually demand something for nothing when knowing he doesn't have rights to the property," he said. Rodriguez suspects this landlord inappropriately collected three to four months of rent from his tenants during the foreclosure process, misleading them to cash in on their trust, instead of informing them they would soon be homeless.

For more, see Renters Get Evicted As Landlords Don't Pay Up.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Vegas-Area Tenant Left Screwed Over By Alleged Rent Skimming Real Estate Agent

In Las Vegas Nevada, KVBC-TV Channel 3 reports:

• When the Hays found their rental home last June they were pleased. Not only could they move in right away, the landlord asked them what they could afford for a deposit. There was even the chance to buy the home at some point in the future. But that would all change in less than seven months. There's no forgetting the day Jennifer and Travis learned something wasn't right with their rental home. Their landlord called January 15, a memorable day. It was the same day Jennifer was headed into surgery. "She called to tell me I should start looking for another place, that she could sell me a house," Jennifer explains. "And that's when I figured out that not only am I going through a miscarriage, but I was also going to lose my house."

For the rest of the story, see House foreclosed, renters given little notice.

Residents in Clark County, Nevada who want instructions on how to find out if a home may be facing foreclosure, see Is My Rental Home in Foreclosure?

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Harvard Law Students Working To Make It More Expensive For Mortgage Lenders To Evict Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

(original post - 3-22-08)
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Record at Harvard Law School reports on the activities of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau in representing renters in residential property that are facing eviction actions brought by foreclosing lenders as a result of rent-skimming landlords pocketing tenant rent and stiffing the mortgage lender, thereby allowing the homes to go into foreclosure.

• Foreclosing lenders, through local real estate brokers, use a program dubbed "cash-for-keys," through which they offer a one-time payment of around $500.00 to tenants in exchange for their voluntary abandonment of the property. Many tenants, unaware that possession is worth significantly more money, and facing intimidation from banks and constables, leave their homes with almost nothing.

• Additionally, banks serve deficient 5- and 15-day Notices to Quit, pressuring tenants to quickly leave apartments before filing actual eviction notices with the Court. Tenants lack the knowledge to fight these tactics, the money to pay for representation, and the resources to avoid homelessness.

Reportedly, in representing low income tenants in these foreclosure eviction actions brought by foreclosing mortgage lenders, the Bureau has assisted tenants obtain financial settlements from the foreclosing lenders:

• The median settlement in these cases is $18,000, a life-changing sum for many tenants. "Part of this process is about making it more expensive for banks to litigate these cases. We're trying to change the cost/benefit analysis of no-fault evictions," says Dave Haller, [a] second year [law] student.

For more, see Legal Aid Bureau Addresses Foreclosure Crisis.

Go here for more on the law students at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau urging tenants in foreclosed homes to fight back against careless/reckless mortgage companies seeking illegal evictions.

According to their website, the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is a student-run organization at Harvard Law School composed of approximately 40 second and third-year student-attorneys, and 7 staff attorneys that provides free legal services in civil (non-criminal) matters to low-income people. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon alpha beta delta gamma

Arrest Warrant Issued, Lawsuit Filed Against Operator Of South Carolina "Rent To Own" Real Estate Program

In Simpsonville, South Caroloina, WSPA News Channel 7 reports:

• A warrant has been issued and a lawsuit has been filed against a man running a rent-to-own home company called Buy Now Properties in Simpsonville. [...] The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has issued a warrant for the arrest of Douglas E. Johnson, who ran Buy Now Properties. [One couple] says they paid $12,000 to Buy Now Properties for what they believed was a deposit on a home they thought they were purchasing. They say two months later they were being evicted and they fear the money is gone. [...] That same couple has also filed a lawsuit against Johnson and Buy Now Properties.

For more, see Consumer Investigation: Warrant issued in Buy Now Properties case.

For an earlier report on Buy Now Properties, see Buy Now Properties: From Lease to Loss.

For an earlier post on this story, see South Carolina Real Estate Deals Leaves "Rent To Own" Tenants & Straw Buyers Holding The Bag.

Go here for other posts on "rent to own" scams.

For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. rent to own lease purchase option scams zebra equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Unwitting Family Renting Foreclosed House Finds Themselves Locked Out After Returning Home From Dinner

In Stockton, California, ABC's Good Morning America reports:

• The housing crisis gripping the nation now has hit the renter's market. Some residents, like Beth Stoneback, are finding that their homes are being foreclosed. But Stoneback didn't own her Stockton, Calif., home. She rented the house and was shocked to find a foreclosure notice tagged to her door one day late last year. "We went out to dinner and we came home. And we couldn't get in the house. They changed the locks," said Stoneback. "We don't own a house. We don't have to worry about anything. You know, we don't own the house. I'd heard it was happening out there, but I never expected it to affect us." "Because we hadn't gotten any other notices, I assumed it was a mistake," said Stoneback's daughter Kathryn Bueche.

For more, see Housing Crisis Hits Renters Hard.

In a related story from ABC News, see Renters can't escape housing foreclosure crisis (stress of having to move on short notice may have caused tenant's miscarriage).

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here.

Go here for other posts on foreclosure services companies who have improperly change locks, remove belongings, etc. ForeclosureLockOuts equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Tenant Family Of Eight Gets Boot As Landlord Loses Home To Foreclosure

In North Port, Florida, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports:

• When Alice and Marco Ramirez moved from Fort Myers to North Port last summer, they did it for their six boys, ages 3 to 17, who the couple feared could end up in a gang if they stayed. [...] But the family worked into the night Thursday, packing their belongings and scrambling to find a place to stay after getting kicked out of that home through no fault of their own. The house had been foreclosed on and sheriff's deputies notified the family they had until midnight Thursday to move.

For more, see Foreclosure's grim surprise (When landlord loses his house, a family of renters has one day to pack up and go).

For story update, see

• Hastily Evicted North Port Family Finds A Home.
• Evicted family looks for new home (Victims of foreclosure may first turn to hotel for shelter).

See also, Fox 13 News: Sudden eviction blindsides family of seven.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here.

Go here for other posts on Police stories involving foreclosures. SheriffDeputiesForeclosureAlpha equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

More On Use Of Water Service "Shut-Offs" To Illegally Evict Tenants From Foreclosed Homes

In the California Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

• Faced with reports of landlords and banks in foreclosure cases who stop paying water bills as a way to illegally evict tenants, the East Bay Municipal Utility District is considering a proposal to place liens on landlords' property to collect the unpaid charges.

***

• "It's really kind of an epidemic in Oakland and Berkeley," said Anne Omura, executive director of Oakland's Eviction Defense Center, a nonprofit legal-aid group helping poor renters. "I've never seen a time like this in terms of these foreclosure evictions. The cases are heartbreaking. We have a lot of elderly and disabled clients whose landlords have been foreclosed on."

• Several cities - including Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco - have "just cause" eviction laws that allow tenants to remain in rental properties that are sold unless the new owner intends to move in or convert its use.

• Omura said it's difficult to determine whether landlords and banks stop paying utility bills as a deliberate strategy to evict tenants, but her agency is seeing attempted eviction cases where the taps have run dry. A property owner is legally required to keep rental units habitable. [...] "Based on the evidence we are seeing in the city attorney's office, a large number of evictions resulting from bank foreclosure are deceitful, unjust and flagrantly illegal under local and state law," [Oakland City Attorney John Russo] said.

For more, see EBMUD considers helping renters in foreclosure.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Foreclosing Lenders Using "Water Shut-Offs" To Harass Renters To Move, Claim Bay-Area Tenant Advocates

In Oakland, California, the Los Angeles Times reports on allegations that foreclosing mortgage lenders are intentionally not paying water bills on foreclosed homes, resulting in water shut offs, as well as using other tactics as a way to illegally force tenants out of homes without formal eviction proceedings:

• [A]rea activists [...] say low-income renters who have the right to remain in their homes are increasingly being harassed in foreclosure proceedings by lenders eager to be rid of them. Oakland is one of a number of California cities that offer tenants stringent protections against eviction, even in the case of foreclosure. But advocates tracking the mortgage crisis say such illegal attempts at eviction have been on the rise statewide.

***

• Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Assn., attributed such eviction tactics as nonpayment of water bills to "some bad apples." "The strict laws in places like Oakland and the fact that this could expose companies to costly litigation are two big reasons why more legitimate lenders wouldn't use tactics like this," he said.

• Throughout the state, those who are watching the effect of foreclosures on tenants believe unscrupulous tactics are common. At the very least, lenders eager to push out tenants are offering "cash for keys" without informing tenants of their legal right to stay, particularly in cities with tough tenant protections, they say.

Housing advocates with Just Cause Oakland and Oakland non-profit law firm, Eviction Defense Center are among those defending tenant rights in these cases.

For more, see Renters tell of harassment in foreclosure proceedings (The lender stopped paying the water bill in a bid to evict them, Oakland duplex residents say. Activists say such tactics are on the increase).

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Moratorium On Water Shut-Offs For Tenants In Foreclosed Homes To Continue In East Bay

From the East Bay area of Northern California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

• The East Bay's largest water agency agreed Tuesday not to shut off service to tenants in foreclosed apartment buildings for the time being, but stopped short of authorizing liens on the property for bills their landlords have not paid. The Board of Directors of the East Bay Municipal Utility District unanimously agreed to continue a moratorium begun last month on water shut-offs to multi-family buildings whose owners stopped paying the water bill.

***

• The board's action was criticized by Just Cause Oakland, a tenants-support group that had lobbied for a permanent end to water shut-offs where tenants are not at fault for unpaid bills. [...] The board agreed that it would revisit its policy for multi-family buildings in three to four months. [...] Advocates for tenants and some Oakland officials have complained that the surge in foreclosures has caused a sharp increase in attempted illegal evictions in foreclosed rental properties.

For more, see EBMUD won't leave tenants high and dry. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Washington Mutual, Countrywide Accused Of Illegally Booting Oakland Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

In Oakland, California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports:

• Renters in the East Bay have been forced out of their homes because the owners of those homes have defaulted on their loans. One Oakland grandmother is facing eviction by Washington Mutual bank even though it's illegal in Oakland to force out a renter for any reason other than just cause.

***

• Since 2002, when Oakland passed Prop EE, it's been illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant unless they have just cause and a foreclosure [doesn't] change that. The East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley is trying to help [one tenant] and dozens of others keep their homes. [...] Oakland doesn't know how many of these illegal renter evictions are going on, but City Attorney John Russo says he's put banks and eviction agencies on notice.

***

• WaMu returned our calls to say that although their attorney's names appear on all the eviction notices that [one tenant] received the loan belongs to Countrywide.

For more, see WaMu kicks out renters. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Another Financially $trapped Landlord Cuts His Losses; Pockets Rent & Stiffs Bank

Tenants of landlord Rudy De La Cruz of Los Angeles have been rudely surprised recently, according to a story by KBAK-TV Channel 29 in Bakersfield, California. Tenants in two of De La Cruz' rental homes have recently discovered that, despite paying their rent every month, De La Cruz has been stiffing the lenders holding the mortgages on his properties. Moving from the homes is in the immediate horizon for them. For more, see Renters surprised by foreclosure notice.

Go here for stories of other landlords facing foreclosure cutting their losses by stopping the morgage payments while continuing to pocket the tenant rentals, go here and go here, and go here.

The California statute addressing rent skimming (aka equity skimming) and can be found at Section 890 through Section 894 of the California Civil Code. unwittingly epsilon

New Hampshire Tenant Ripped Off In Equity Skimming Scam

The Nashua Telegraph reports on a Nashua couple who unwittingly paid $1,650 in late July to rent an apartment in a four family building to an owner who was about to lose the building to foreclosure. It wasn't until August 7 that a city official was able to confirm that Miguel D’oleo was no longer the owner of the premises and that the new owner was the foreclosing mortgage lender. Reportedly, another tenant had also paid D'oleo for August rent. For more, see Tenants live with leaks, rats, roaches.

For posts on other stories of tenants unwittingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here and go here, and go here epsilon