My wife and I rented an apartment on Miami Beach in April of this year through a large, licensed real estate broker. We signed a year lease, as is customary. 2 weeks after we moved in we were served with foreclosure papers. We contacted the broker who moved us in and she said not to worry, as these processes can take months, if not years, and that there will likely be a buyer anyway, so we need not worry about being thrown out. To our horror, we did some online research ourselves (which we obviously should have done before), and discovered that the unit's owner closed on the property in October of 2007, and since then had not paid a dime in mortgage.
We then inquired about possibly buying the property ourselves, and she said we would have the right of first refusal. A short time later, maybe a week or so, she informed us the unit had a new buyer (so much for the right of first refusal) and we'd now be paying him the rent, rather than our former landlord/unit owner, whom we had never met. Not being complete fools, we asked for a new lease showing this new man as the actual landlord. She said that would be no problem. But after multiple requests, all we got was a fax from the Realtor's office of a hand0written not with our old owners name and initials saying we would now be paying the rent to our new owner, with his name and initials. We then again asked for an actual NEW LEASE showing this man as the landlord, but only were sent a copy of the old lease, with this handwritten note attached as an addendum.
Although we were concerned, this new "buyer" introduced himself and his wife, had business cards, and after research we saw he was in fact a licensed real estate agent, also working for a large local real estate agency. We were dubious, but just happy it seemed we would be able to stay in our apartment through the terms of the lease. However, we continued to receive notices from the bank and the law firm representing the bank, that the foreclosure process was indeed moving forward. With each notice, we would contact the broker and the new "landlord" and each time they would tell us not to worry, that this is typical procedure, that a "deal is in the works" and that he was getting the same notices and information as we were and that he was "on top of it." So, we paid our $1000 rent on the 1st of the month, every month, as usual, figuring everything was a-ok. Oh how hindsight is always a crystal clear 20/20.
This past Tuesday (11/18/08) we came home to find an eviction notice on our door. We called the "landlord" right away of course, and he rushed over to the apartment. He seemed as stunned and confused as we were, and said he would "take care of it," asking for an emailed copy of the original lease, and the eviction notice. Well, to make an already terribly long story a little shorter, we have been in contact with the actual lawyer who got the eviction, the bank, the sheriff's office, and anyone else who would listen to us. This "landlord" never had any claim of ownership whatsoever to this unit, nor it seems was there any deal "in the works" to buy this unit from the former owner or the bank. In short, this guy has been collecting free rent every month and now the jig is up, and we are the ones screwed.
Yes, we were foolish. We were gullible. We were way too trusting. And this story is being repeated again and again every day here as this is an exploding problem with renters everywhere. However, what I have in mind to do is to tell this "landlord" that since he acted as our de facto landlord although he had no claim of ownership whatsoever to this apartment, and he's made out nicely with $7000 of mine and my wife's money for being such a good con man, that the easiest thin FOR HIM to do is to return us our last month's rent, essentially our security deposit, which of course there's no chance we'll get back from the original owner. Otherwise, I've been advised I have an excellent case against this fake "landlord." What about the Realtor? Of course our first priority id to somehow get back our security deposit. Any insight or advice is much appreciated.
We then inquired about possibly buying the property ourselves, and she said we would have the right of first refusal. A short time later, maybe a week or so, she informed us the unit had a new buyer (so much for the right of first refusal) and we'd now be paying him the rent, rather than our former landlord/unit owner, whom we had never met. Not being complete fools, we asked for a new lease showing this new man as the actual landlord. She said that would be no problem. But after multiple requests, all we got was a fax from the Realtor's office of a hand0written not with our old owners name and initials saying we would now be paying the rent to our new owner, with his name and initials. We then again asked for an actual NEW LEASE showing this man as the landlord, but only were sent a copy of the old lease, with this handwritten note attached as an addendum.
Although we were concerned, this new "buyer" introduced himself and his wife, had business cards, and after research we saw he was in fact a licensed real estate agent, also working for a large local real estate agency. We were dubious, but just happy it seemed we would be able to stay in our apartment through the terms of the lease. However, we continued to receive notices from the bank and the law firm representing the bank, that the foreclosure process was indeed moving forward. With each notice, we would contact the broker and the new "landlord" and each time they would tell us not to worry, that this is typical procedure, that a "deal is in the works" and that he was getting the same notices and information as we were and that he was "on top of it." So, we paid our $1000 rent on the 1st of the month, every month, as usual, figuring everything was a-ok. Oh how hindsight is always a crystal clear 20/20.
This past Tuesday (11/18/08) we came home to find an eviction notice on our door. We called the "landlord" right away of course, and he rushed over to the apartment. He seemed as stunned and confused as we were, and said he would "take care of it," asking for an emailed copy of the original lease, and the eviction notice. Well, to make an already terribly long story a little shorter, we have been in contact with the actual lawyer who got the eviction, the bank, the sheriff's office, and anyone else who would listen to us. This "landlord" never had any claim of ownership whatsoever to this unit, nor it seems was there any deal "in the works" to buy this unit from the former owner or the bank. In short, this guy has been collecting free rent every month and now the jig is up, and we are the ones screwed.
Yes, we were foolish. We were gullible. We were way too trusting. And this story is being repeated again and again every day here as this is an exploding problem with renters everywhere. However, what I have in mind to do is to tell this "landlord" that since he acted as our de facto landlord although he had no claim of ownership whatsoever to this apartment, and he's made out nicely with $7000 of mine and my wife's money for being such a good con man, that the easiest thin FOR HIM to do is to return us our last month's rent, essentially our security deposit, which of course there's no chance we'll get back from the original owner. Otherwise, I've been advised I have an excellent case against this fake "landlord." What about the Realtor? Of course our first priority id to somehow get back our security deposit. Any insight or advice is much appreciated.
