Landlord died

[ashina74]

We've been renting a condo in Florida for the last 3 years. Recently we were shocked to hear that our landlord murdered his wife and is now held in jail with no bond waiting for trial.

The title for the condo is on both names (hasband and wife) so wife and husbands names both took title when property was purchased and as of now we have 1 owner (hasbund) alive and held in county jail.

We received a notice letter from a lawyer representing PR of the wife estate in probate court requesting to send future rent payments payable to the estate of the wife or threat he will start eviction process even though he doesn't even have a copy of the lease or any info at all.

We don't know what to do. We would like to stay and continue to pay rent but we we are not sure how. We have the following important questions:

1. We're not sure if the property is legally belongs to the estate and therefore don't know if we should send rent payment to the estate as the letter we received from the estate lawyer demands. Since 1 owner is still alive (the husband) he can also technically request us to send him rent payment as well. We also in problematic situation since the estate demand rent but don't take landlord responsibilities towards us?

2. The condo association maintenance fees are past due and we received a letter from association that cable TV and parking privileges may be terminated soon. Should we deduct these costs from future rent payments?

3. We were informed that since the condo is underwater with no equity at all. Mortgage payments are not paid and probably the estate will have no interest to fight or manage this condo. The condo will probably go to foreclosure which can take few years till the bank buy it at auction here in FL. We prefer to stay if possible but wondering what should we expect to happen next?

4. How do we recover the first and last months deposits we gave when we initially signed the lease? should we hold rent payments in escrow account till things will be clearer?.

5. What should we do if the estate representative file an eviction against us with no lease on hand?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[somecallmejim]

Now I'm no lawyer, but my understanding is that a criminal isn't allowed to profit from his crime. In other words, if his wife was part owner of the condo, the surviving owner cannot charge you her rent because that would be making a profit from the crime. Further, the husband may have lost the entire estate altogether as a result of his crime. The estate can and likely will file a suit against him for any material thing he owns, including your condo.

Here's my advice, again keeping in mind that I'm no lawyer. For starters, speak with the estate manager and ask him to provide verification that they are entitled to collect the rent. (I'm almost positive that they are entitled to do so, btw.)

Second, get your lease paperwork, make copies of it, and provide copies of your lease to the estate manager so they know exactly what your lease terms are and what you have vested as far as deposits and rent go. I would be surprised if they don't have some paperwork already, you might not know it. I mean, if they didn't have any paperwork, how would they know who you were and what you owe?

Third, PAY YOUR RENT! Don't try to hold it off, dodge it, or anything like that. Use something traceable, like a check, and give the estate what they want. If it turns out to be a fraud later (highly unlikely), you can always use the paper trail to hold the estate manager accountable. If you're abiding by the rules of your lease and paying your rent, very little can cause your eviction, save foreclosure. And the odds of the place being foreclosed on go up drastically if you're not paying them rent, a portion of which they use for paying said mortgages.

Lastly, don't panic. There are laws out there to protect tenants. As long as you uphold your end of these laws, you're pretty safe. If your condo is foreclosed on, you have to move, but that's okay, rent is a dead end game. Consider buying something

 

[army judge]

We've been renting a condo in Florida for the last 3 years. Recently we were shocked to hear that our landlord murdered his wife and is now held in jail with no bond waiting for trial.

The title for the condo is on both names (hasband and wife) so wife and husbands names both took title when property was purchased and as of now we have 1 owner (hasbund) alive and held in county jail.

We received a notice letter from a lawyer representing PR of the wife estate in probate court requesting to send future rent payments payable to the estate of the wife or threat he will start eviction process even though he doesn't even have a copy of the lease or any info at all.

We don't know what to do. We would like to stay and continue to pay rent but we we are not sure how. We have the following important questions:

1. We're not sure if the property is legally belongs to the estate and therefore don't know if we should send rent payment to the estate as the letter we received from the estate lawyer demands. Since 1 owner is still alive (the husband) he can also technically request us to send him rent payment as well. We also in problematic situation since the estate demand rent but don't take landlord responsibilities towards us?

2. The condo association maintenance fees are past due and we received a letter from association that cable TV and parking privileges may be terminated soon. Should we deduct these costs from future rent payments?

3. We were informed that since the condo is underwater with no equity at all. Mortgage payments are not paid and probably the estate will have no interest to fight or manage this condo. The condo will probably go to foreclosure which can take few years till the bank buy it at auction here in FL. We prefer to stay if possible but wondering what should we expect to happen next?

4. How do we recover the first and last months deposits we gave when we initially signed the lease? should we hold rent payments in escrow account till things will be clearer?.

5. What should we do if the estate representative file an eviction against us with no lease on hand?

Thanks in advance for your help.

If you had a written lease, you would be secure in your home.
The fact that you are on a month to month tenancy, complicates things tremendously for you.
The owner may be behind on his/her payments, but that doesn't affect your leasehold.
The estate of the deceased spouse has no legal right to the rental payments, yet.
They can't assert those rights by sending you a letter.
Florida is a community property state.
The condo was owned equally by both.
There are some exceptions, but let's discount those for the time being.
This is already too complicated.
You would be foolish to send money just because a lawyer demanded it.
If that were the case, as a lawyer, I'd never have to work; just crank out demand letters.

Seriously, you need to spend some money and consult with a local property attorney or real estate law practitioner.
Most lawyers will meet with you initially for no fee (or a small fee).
So, ask your friends, relatives, co-workers of they know of a good property or general practitioner.
Call him or her, make an appointment and dicuss the specifics of your legal dilemma.
You should waste no time in doing this.
If you don't protect your leasehold, you could experience some fallout of the murder.

Now, just because the husband is accused of the murder, doesn't mean he's guilty (or will be proven guilty) of the murder.
So, don't assume the jailed spouse isn't entitled to receive your rental payments.
Remember, he is innocent until proven guilty.
That is why you need the service sof a lawyer in this matter.

The lawyer is probably going to set up an escrow account for your rental payments.
There may be other options, but that is one.
That means that you have to make sure you pay the full amount of your rent on time each month.

The other things that the landlord should be paying, shouldn't affect your leasehold.
The lawyer will probably tell you to arrange with the HOA to pay the cable and utilities, just so they do not get cut off.
In order to compensate you for doing that, your rent will most likely be offset by the extra amounts you'll be forced to expend.

All of this will take some time to arrange.
You should also ask the HOA if you could have a week to figure this out due to the recent, tragic events surrounding the death of one of your landlords.
I'm sure they know all about it, and will work with you, if you tell them your lawyer is helping you ties loose ends down.

When you've secured the services of a lawyer, have the lawyer contact the HOA with details.
Tell the HOA you'll have your lawyer get with them, if they could give you a week to fix this.

This is a going to be a nightmare.
You might also be wise (even though you're against it), to look for other accommodations.
Getting this in order might be more trouble than moving.
Anyway, I've given you some pointers to help you straighten things out for you and your family.
I wish you well in getting it done.