SC Tenant Options?

In October we signed a 1 year agreement on a house we have lived in for 2 years. We are now into the 3rd year. In late November, I received the signed copy back from the Property Management company (the owner lives in CA - we live in SC). In late December I received a call from the property management company stating that my homeowners financial advisor has suggested that he go into foreclosure on my home because he has to foreclose on another home he owns - and according to his advisor it is better to foreclose once than twice.

According to my property management company, if I stay until the bank evicts me, then I will receive my entire security deposit back with no questions asked. In addition, I will receive my last month rent back after 30 days.

What are my options? Is my lease even valid? I signed the lease on October 1 and didn't get it back until nearly 2 months later and less than 30 days prior to notification from the property management company that the owners have no intention of paying their mortgage beginning in January.

I don't feel its fair for them to stuff their pockets with my hard earned money (I am a single mom) however I do have a lease and I plan to continue paying them until I leave.

I feel that since I have been the only renter in the home since its construction, and have been timely with my payments, that they could have questioned me as to my intentions. I would gladly have committed to two years instead of 1 if it would have kept them from foreclosure. There must have been signs of financial distress prior to the signing of our latest lease. I feel that they have been dishonest with me and allowed me to sign another year lease knowing the demise of the situation, but knowing that I would be a steady flow of cash for them temporarily. We could have continued on with a month to month lease until they knew what was happening. I really feel misled.

My lease ends at the end of September. I merely want to be able to exit the lease without losing my security deposit. I feel that a 6 month lease instead of a 1 year lease under these conditions should be acceptable. I am a single mom with a 10 year old. I don't want to be forced to move rapidly because of the school system here. Some of our schools are less than acceptable and I don't want to be forced to relocate her to a new school not of my chosing because I wasn't provided with enough time to make adequate arrangements due to their lack of responsibility.

What are my options? Could my lease be void anyway if they already knew of a potential impending foreclosure?

Advice is appreciated.

Your lease is valid. The owner's financial situation has no standing on its validity. You must continue to pay your rent until you are notified by the bank that they have retaken the house or until it has been sold at auction, or face eviction. This is a tough economy and many tenants are in your position right now. Some states are enacting laws to try and help protect tenants like you. Check your state legislature site for any new laws on the books. (I am not up to date on the newest SC laws since I am from another state.)

On a bright note, many banks are now continuing to rent to tenants once they foreclose. Since so many banks are overloaded with these repossessed properties, some banks are actually becoming LLs and are allowing tenants to stay in the property while they attempt to sell it. Contact the bank that owns the property (You should be able to find the mortgage holder through a site called LandAccess.) Find the bank and contact their mortgage or foreclosure dept. Explain that you are the tenant and that you would like to stay in the property after they retake possession. See if they will work with you. Even if they don't want to rent it, they may extend the time you can have to move out.

You can also try and renogotiate the lease term with the current LL. Perhaps he will shorten the lease so you can move once the school year ends. IF foreclosure proceedings haven't been started yet (and they might not have if its only the financial advisor's advice to allow it to go into foreclosure) you still have several months before it happens. Foreclosures take quite some time to do. There are several steps in the process and each one takes approximately a month. There are notifications and court hearings to take place, sales to be scheduled and published, deeds to record after the sale. It will take some time. Good luck. Please update us with your situation and what occurs.