Rent is Paid, Now What?

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.

Property Taxes Front Lines

A few weeks ago, I published a blog on Florida’s property tax issues titled Florida’s Property Tax Conundrum. In addition to the ever rising cost of property insurance in our state, the real estate tax debate is now on the front lines. Currently faced with severe budget cuts, the Florida Legislature, Department of Revenue, local cities and counties, are in no rush to change the way they assess real estate property taxes.

However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The Florida Department of Revenue (“DOR”) recently issued an advisory opinion that foreclosures in general should not be used for assessment purposes, but that Property Appraisers may “calibrate” property assessments to “adjust” for foreclosures. The term “calibrate”, which does not exist in the DOR  rules and Florida assessment statutes, means that Property Appraisers may potentially qualify foreclosure sales that were sold on the open market, or more specifically, those that were listed on the MLS. Additionally, based on the October opinion issued by the DOR, short sales are now believed to reflect the market and may also be used for 2009 assessment purposes.

Property assessments in Florida are always done a year in arrears, therefore, this is good news for 2009 assessments.

Lori Parrish, Broward County’s Property Appraiser, is being very open about her interpretation of the DOR’s latest opinions and has publicly issued her 2008 assessments guidance on short sales and foreclosures. Let’s just hope that our new Miami Property Appraiser, Pedro Garcia, will answer to the voters who put him in the position. In a recent interview with the Daily Business Review, Garcia stated that his “primary goal” is to “establish the right value for all properties in Miami-Dade County.” Additionally, he stated that the “department will take a look at comparable sales, foreclosures and short sales in a community to establish the right value of properties in each market area.”

Let’s make sure that we hold him to this.

If you would like a FREE consultation on the value of your property or to discuss your real estate tax situation, please feel free to send us a request at info@miamiangelproperties.com or call Ross at (305) 673-5300.