As an individual looking to rent currently what's the best way to see if a property is being foreclosed upon?
[USA] Right now the economy is horrid and I keep hearing more and more stories of people renting out their homes or rooms in their homes while the property is being foreclosed upon. This always seems to shaft the renter and giving them a sudden turnaround of having to find a new place to live or worse. Are there any ways to check via government offices or listings if a property is being foreclosed upon just so I do due diligence before committing to renting a property?
Posted Jul 16, 2011, 10:13 PM UTC
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In most states, the sheriff's department would handle foreclosure sales. You can call them to see if a sale is scheduled, though generally there is only a couple of weeks of lead time. If you live in a state with judicial foreclosure, you can contact the court division that handles foreclosure and find out if your landlord is a defendant in a foreclosure proceeding. Also, a mortgagee would generally file a notice of lis pendens with whatever agency handles deeds in your state.
Foreclosure could actually be a good deal for a renter, if you're a shark. Once the date of a foreclosure judgment approaches, you can stop paying rent. It's not as if the landlord is going to pay to evict you at that point.
Thanks doug374. Just the advice I was looking for, because all I want is the piece of mind that I am not going to be evicted by the police after moving in.
Things work differently in states with non-judicial foreclosure. You can look your state up on this chart.