Hello,
I have been renting a house from a rental company since last March. My lease is for 12 months. It will be up on March 31 2009. I have paid my rent on time, every month. Last week, I received a letter from an attorney with some surprising news. My landlord is in default. The following is taken word-for-word from the letter (aside from removing names):
Dear Tenant,
This firm represents --- Investors, Inc. (the "Lender), who holds a mortgage on the property where you are currently renting. At the time that --- (the "Borrower"), executed the mortgage on the property, he also executed a 1-4 Family Rider ("Assignment of Rents"). A true and correct copy of the Assignment of Rents is enclosed herewith for your reference.
The Borrower is currently in default. A true and correct copy of the Default Letter sent to the BOrrower is enclosed herewith for your reference.
Therefore, please deliver any and all future rental payments to the Lender, --- Investors, Inc. at the address of ------, pursuant to the Assignment of Rents. Failure to comply with this request will result in the Lender seeking an order from the Court ordering you to comply. Should my client be required to seek an order, then we shall also seek payment of attorney's fees from you and the Borrower.
Please call my office should you have any questions.
I called the office and spoke with the attorney. She explained to me that the house would likely go into foreclosure. She said that the Borrower owes the Lender a lot of money, and that I should not be sending him my rent. She said that if I did, they would put out a court order to demand that I send rent to the Lender. She did not say the following directly, but she hinted that if I did not cooperate, when the house is foreclosed, I could be evicted from the property. She said that if I sent the Lender the money, as requested, I would likely be threatened by my current landlord but that he could not actually evict me. She also stated that if I did what was asked, The Lending company would likely allow me to sign a lease with them and live until my original lease was up.
Here are my questions:
I recieved a copy of the 1-4 Family Rider. However, I am unsure of what it means, and would like an explaination of it's terms.
The letter stated that if I did not send my rent to the Lender, that a court order would be requested and they would seek payment of attorney's fees from me and the Borrower. Can they actually seek payment from me???
What is the right thing for me to do? I understand that my lease is a legal contract with my current landlord, and I do not think that I should stop paying him until the house is legally out of his posession. However, does this lawyer have any legal grounds for charging me with attorney's fees if I continue to pay my landlord?
Finally, my lease is up in three months. I will gladly leave then and find a new place to live. A copy of the original letter sent to my landlord from the attorney was first sent to my landlord on December 31, 2008. It states that he has not made his mortgage payments since July 1, 2008. The letter states that he has 30 days to dispute the claim, and after that, the claim is valid. I am wondering how long it would actually take for this house to transfer in ownership from my landlord to the investors. If it takes more than three months from now, I would assume I continue paying the landlord, to avoid eviction. Then again, If I do that, it seems like I will be served court orders.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated.
Charlie
I have been renting a house from a rental company since last March. My lease is for 12 months. It will be up on March 31 2009. I have paid my rent on time, every month. Last week, I received a letter from an attorney with some surprising news. My landlord is in default. The following is taken word-for-word from the letter (aside from removing names):
Dear Tenant,
This firm represents --- Investors, Inc. (the "Lender), who holds a mortgage on the property where you are currently renting. At the time that --- (the "Borrower"), executed the mortgage on the property, he also executed a 1-4 Family Rider ("Assignment of Rents"). A true and correct copy of the Assignment of Rents is enclosed herewith for your reference.
The Borrower is currently in default. A true and correct copy of the Default Letter sent to the BOrrower is enclosed herewith for your reference.
Therefore, please deliver any and all future rental payments to the Lender, --- Investors, Inc. at the address of ------, pursuant to the Assignment of Rents. Failure to comply with this request will result in the Lender seeking an order from the Court ordering you to comply. Should my client be required to seek an order, then we shall also seek payment of attorney's fees from you and the Borrower.
Please call my office should you have any questions.
I called the office and spoke with the attorney. She explained to me that the house would likely go into foreclosure. She said that the Borrower owes the Lender a lot of money, and that I should not be sending him my rent. She said that if I did, they would put out a court order to demand that I send rent to the Lender. She did not say the following directly, but she hinted that if I did not cooperate, when the house is foreclosed, I could be evicted from the property. She said that if I sent the Lender the money, as requested, I would likely be threatened by my current landlord but that he could not actually evict me. She also stated that if I did what was asked, The Lending company would likely allow me to sign a lease with them and live until my original lease was up.
Here are my questions:
I recieved a copy of the 1-4 Family Rider. However, I am unsure of what it means, and would like an explaination of it's terms.
The letter stated that if I did not send my rent to the Lender, that a court order would be requested and they would seek payment of attorney's fees from me and the Borrower. Can they actually seek payment from me???
What is the right thing for me to do? I understand that my lease is a legal contract with my current landlord, and I do not think that I should stop paying him until the house is legally out of his posession. However, does this lawyer have any legal grounds for charging me with attorney's fees if I continue to pay my landlord?
Finally, my lease is up in three months. I will gladly leave then and find a new place to live. A copy of the original letter sent to my landlord from the attorney was first sent to my landlord on December 31, 2008. It states that he has not made his mortgage payments since July 1, 2008. The letter states that he has 30 days to dispute the claim, and after that, the claim is valid. I am wondering how long it would actually take for this house to transfer in ownership from my landlord to the investors. If it takes more than three months from now, I would assume I continue paying the landlord, to avoid eviction. Then again, If I do that, it seems like I will be served court orders.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated.
Charlie
