Taking Posession And Evicting Tenant Under Previous Owners Lease!
Ok heres the situation,
I have a chance to aquire a condo because the previous owner owes back taxes. If I decide to get I will get a tax deed.
Well I did my due dil. and the condo is being occupied by tenants that are still under the soon to be previous owners lease.
When I get title to the condo, can I legally evict the tenant while they are under contract? Because someone told me that I could not, I would be responsible for paying the rest of the previous owners rent owed to him on the current lease. And then I would have to present the tenants with my own lease agreements comparable to the lease they are under now.
Has anyone ever had a situation like this? Would like to hear some feedback and opinions...or just how would you handle this problem.
Thanks
YOu need to talk to someone local as laws vary from state to state. In Oregon I think you would have to honor the lease. In a tax sale situation who knows?
Well you are in a relatively tricky area of law and the advice below should be reviewed with an attorney who actually practices in these areas of expertise in your state.
I think the general rule of thumb is that in the event of a tax-sale foreclosure you would not have to honor the lease (especially if you gave the tenant notice of the tax sale foreclosure). However this also does not mean you could just show up on the tenants doorstep one day and order them to move out. You must honor the terms of the states "Forcible Entry and Detainer act" (not sure this is the title of the act in all states).
This is not the same situation as in the foreclosure of a mortgage where, as a rule, you do have to honor the lease. Exceptions occur where the tenant is given notice of the foreclosure and is made a party to that suit. However in those circumstances the tenant would also have the right to re-instate the mortgage to maintain their position after which they could foreclose on the "owner".
In neither circumstances do you have to give any part of the future income to the foreclosed owner. At the end of the lease term you do not have to renew the tenants lease at comparable terms except in very restricted circumstances where there is a local rent-control ordinance. I think it unlikely that is the case in AL.