The most screwed-up thing I ever heard of...

[JMichael]

kensho1976 » Today, 12:49[/url]"]It is not illegal to do so, at least in Florida. The ownership of the home is retained by the current owner until the foreclosure is finalized. Therefore, the current owner can continue to collect rent.

It is in my opinion, however, immoral.

If I'm reading this correctly, then no, the current owner can not continue to collect rent. The lease agreement is between the daughter and a third party, there is no agreement what so ever between the actual owner of the property and his daughter. Besides, it sounds like the bank is taking or already has possession of the property so there's not much point in trying to make some arrangements with the owner either.

 

[DocWatson]

kensho1976 » Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:49 pm[/url]"]It is not illegal to do so, at least in Florida. The ownership of the home is retained by the current owner until the foreclosure is finalized. Therefore, the current owner can continue to collect rent.

It is in my opinion, however, immoral.

It is NOT illegal for the OWNER to rent the property. It is, however, HIGHLY ILLEGAL for a third party with no financial interest in a property to take posession of and rent out a home they do not own and simply pay the HOA dues until the bank takes it or the owner returns.

Would it be illegal or immoral if some stranger rented your house out, to some random person who answered a Craig's List ad, while you were on vacation ??? Just askin'. :wink:

 

[kensho1976]

Not sure why you're directing the question and tone at me, since we're all armchair lawyers here - unless you have some jurist doctorate I'm not aware of. The only qualifications I have are being in a similar situation, and working for law enforcement that does the evictions, so you should take my comments as such.

If you have links to back up your statements, it may help the OP. The acts I posted may only work if the realtor was working on behalf of the owner.

Realtors usually act on behalf of someone, whether it is the owner, investor, bank, etc. They themselves must have legal standing to rent the house, so they enter into a contract with the owners to do so.

Since we do not know everything about the situation (we know maybe half of the story), I was assuming the realtor did indeed enter into a contract and was acting on the owners behalf.

If he wasn't, then I fail to see any legally binding contract taking place and probably a hint of fraud. If he was, then I would imagine the acts I mentioned previously should hold sway.

I imagine the situation as an investor/realtor scenario. If she checks her lease, is it signed completely by the realtor, or is it signed by the owner?

And honestly, here in FL, I dont believe the HOA fees have to be paid. We're renting a nice home from a well known investment company that bought it in foreclosure. The HOA fees had not been paid in two years. The only recourse the HOA had was to not let us use the amenities (pool, tennis courts, etc) until the fees were paid. We also had a realtor that represented the investment company, and all of our lease documents have the investment company's signature on them, not the realtor's.

The OP should find out, if he hasn't already. Any information we give is never a good substitute for getting a lawyers opinion. Unfortunately, sometimes hiring a lawyer to fight it may be more expensive than just leaving.

 

[DocWatson]

kensho1976 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:08 am[/url]"]Not sure why you're directing the question and tone at me, since we're all armchair lawyers here - unless you have some jurist doctorate I'm not aware of. The only qualifications I have are being in a similar situation, and working for law enforcement that does the evictions, so you should take my comments as such.

If you have links to back up your statements, it may help the OP. The acts I posted may only work if the realtor was working on behalf of the owner.

Realtors usually act on behalf of someone, whether it is the owner, investor, bank, etc. They themselves must have legal standing to rent the house, so they enter into a contract with the owners to do so.

Since we do not know everything about the situation (we know maybe half of the story), I was assuming the realtor did indeed enter into a contract and was acting on the owners behalf.

If he wasn't, then I fail to see any legally binding contract taking place and probably a hint of fraud. If he was, then I would imagine the acts I mentioned previously should hold sway.

I imagine the situation as an investor/realtor scenario. If she checks her lease, is it signed completely by the realtor, or is it signed by the owner?

And honestly, here in FL, I dont believe the HOA fees have to be paid. We're renting a nice home from a well known investment company that bought it in foreclosure. The HOA fees had not been paid in two years. The only recourse the HOA had was to not let us use the amenities (pool, tennis courts, etc) until the fees were paid. We also had a realtor that represented the investment company, and all of our lease documents have the investment company's signature on them, not the realtor's.

The OP should find out, if he hasn't already. Any information we give is never a good substitute for getting a lawyers opinion. Unfortunately, sometimes hiring a lawyer to fight it may be more expensive than just leaving.

No tone, just emphasis. Sorry if it was misunderstood. Writing is such an imperfect communication medium.

My comments stem from working with the condo association board in the 0ver 55 where I live. We have been having problems with vacant units since the real estate crash in '08. One in particular was being "rented" by the former son in law of the owner, who had been moved into a nursing home. He collected rent, but never paid the mortgage or condo fees. It took the police almost 6 months to find out who he was and arrest him. The unit is in foreclosure, the owner has died and our association has a lawsuit pending against the guy and a lien on the unit for back condo fees owed. This guy was a real estate agent who knew the ropes and was scamming the system. All his documentation given to the "tenant" was very legit looking. Just some incorrect information about the Realtor behind the transaction. Like the fact that they even existed !!!!

My statement here regarded what appears to be another crooked realtor scamming a tenant and then having the stones to tell them it was OK. Here's a link regarding the legality of this stuff in Florida.

"Q: Can you rent a foreclosed home?

A: Yes, however, you must (in Florida) disclose it is in foreclosure, the bank can take the rent money from you, or the new renters can decide not to pay you since you aren’t paying your taxes, or mortgage. So you get to keep you home for nothing and they get to live in a house for nothing."

Patricia Baker is a REALTOR® with Leslie Wells Realty, Inc. in Parrish, FL.


And, here's a link to the legal solutions in Florida. But, as you pointed out, we're all armchair lawyers (except Ahab) and for legal advice one should seek the advice of an attorney. Provided, of course, that one has the requisite spare $100,000 and first-born male heir to give said attorney in return for their advise. :wink:

 

[Jbennett]

She can definitely stay. She has tenants rights. I've heard of people in foreclosure"I'm a realtor" leasing the house to a girlfriend just to throw a kink in things.

 

[simbelle]

Someone may have said this already but....Realtors and banks know that Homes sell faster if they are occupied, have her talk to the bank.

 

[lswoody]

What Simbelle said