Rent is Paid, Now What?

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There are many renters in the Miami area that are paying their rent each month only to find a Notice of Foreclosure posted on their front door. According to RealtyTrac, so far this year thirty percent (30%) of all homes that received foreclosure notices where occupied by someone other than the owner. This is an unfortunate consequence of the struggling housing market as many landlords collect rent and do not pay their mortgage. In Miami, we have even witnessed instances where unscrupulous individuals rent out property that they do not even own to unsuspecting renters who gladly pay in cash each month on the promise of a big discount.

So if you are renting from an individual or company and nervous as to their standing with their mortgage lender or condo assocation, what do you do?

Here are two quick steps you can take that should provide you the facts on your landlord:

1. Step One – Check the public records to find the LEGAL NAME of the OWNER at your address. Visit the Miami Dade Country Property Appraiser, Click Begin Search in the middle of the page, Select in the drop down box to search via either the Owner’s Name or Property Address. TIP: Spelling mistakes of names or common names are sometimes difficult to find, so consider using the property address.
2. Step Two- Now that you have secured the legal name of the property owner, you have to search the public records to see if a notice of foreclosure [termed "Lis Pendens"] has been filed against the owner, your landlord. To accomplish this, visit the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court web site.  Select Standard Record Search and you will see four blank fields that you should complete as follows:
   • Party Name - Enter the legal name of the individual. Remember that some names are common and the system may pull up hundreds of records, so make sure you enter the complete last and first name correctly. If no records show up, or several hundred, try to further define the search (see below).
   • Beginning Date - Please type in the month/day/year format, so April 1, 2009, is 04/01/2009. Here I suggest looking back at least 12 months from today’s date.
   • Ending Date - I suggest leaving this blank as the system will search through the most recent recorded documents available online.
   • Document Type – This is where you may select specific notices of action, such as Lis Pendens – LIS or Notice of Foreclosure, Civil Court Paper – CVP etc. I recommend leaving this box blank to pull up any and all public records that may have been filed against the individual for the period entered.

TIPS: (1) A Notice of Foreclosure lets you know that your landlord is not paying the mortgage, or condo association fee, depending on the plaintiff named in the action, (2) once a Lis Pendens is filed, it may take months for the final Summary Judgement of Foreclosure to be filed and an auction date to be scheduled, (3) if you see a LIS filing, and CVP filings, open each document, download the file and READ the action being taken against your landlord – this is where you will be able to determine exactly what stage the foreclosure process is in and when a public auction will take place, and, (4) ensure that property address named in action, which should indicate a property legal address and physical address, is the one you are residing in.

Banks say that they are not in the business of owning real estate, but properties that are vacant are easier to sell. To help tenants that are victims of foreclosure, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently agreed to extend leases to renters until they actually sold the foreclosed property.

For more specific information as to your rights as a tenant in Florida, please download and review the specific Tenants Rights in Foreclosure Proceedings in Florida that was provided by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty  -  A 50-State Review of the Rights of Tenants in Foreclosure.

If you require any additional information or need assistance with your real estate needs, please drop us an email info@miamiangelproperties.com. We welcome any comments on this topic as well.

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