Take the $2000, but tell them you need 30 days to leave.

Get it in writing.


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Best wishes to you,
Fred
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According to the National Association of Realtors, S. 896, the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009” included some provisions to protect tenants from eviction as a consequence of a foreclosure affecting the property being rented. Many examples were seen of families living in rental housing throughout the United States who were evicted without any prior notice when the home where they had lived was foreclosed upon. Much of the time, the rental family had no idea the home was in delinquency or subject to foreclosure until their eviction.

Under the new law, which went into effect on May 20th, tenants will have to receive 90-days notice prior to being evicted, when their rental home is foreclosed upon. In addition, tenants must be allowed to stay in the property through the end of their lease, with two exceptions:

* The new owner wants to occupy the property as a personal residence, and
* There is no lease (month to month), or there is a lease but state law allows the lease to be terminated at any time upon notice.

Even under these exceptions, the tenants must be given 90-days before they can be evicted. Notification must be provided by the “immediate successor in interest”. In some cases, this notification will come from the bank (when they assume the home), and in other cases it may be the new owner. Much will depend upon state law.

A number of states have existing laws protecting tenants. This law will preempt existing state law, except where the state law offers greater protection.

The protections of this law apply only to “bona fide” tenants – who have a written contract, the lease was the result of an arms-length transaction, and the rent is not substantially less than the fair market rent for the property. Under any conditions, tenants may still be evicted if they violate the lease terms.
These provisions expire on December 31, 2012.

Cash for keys is acceptable in NJ, but what's often not mentioned is that you have rights as a tenant. Check out this brochure...

http://www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate/public/pdf/tenantsfore…

And here is a link to a press release by the NJ Public Advocate dealing with tenant rights in forclosure proceedings..

http://www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate/news/2009/approved/081…

Laura Giannotta
Keller Williams Atlantic Shore

Lez, read this article on a new bill from the Obama administration that covers this, http://www.realtytrac.com/news/Press/newsletter-articles.asp…

Lez: This is a fairly generous offer. The lender who held your landlord’s mortgage wants to get control of the property. Sooner or later, you will be forced to move out. As Ken says, you may have tenants rights under state and/or municipal laws. If you do not understand them, you might seek the counsel of an attorney.

However, attorneys cost money and you may end up foregoing a good offer to create waves that will not float your own boat any higher or longer.

The big drawback that I see here is the precipitous nature of the deadline date. It will more than likely take you more time than that to find a suitable place to move, pack, obtain a mover and go for it. You may also have lost your deposit, because the landlord obviously was in financial trouble. While you may get the deposit back in the long run, unless you have other reserves, you may find that to be a problem. In the cases where I was involved, the lender was not in any mood to return a deposit they did not collect and did not wish to add more than the original "cash for keys" amount o the pot as an amount to replace it,

These offers, just like any other in real estate, are open to a counter offer, even though it is difficult to get more out of most lenders. My advice would be to look into the practicalities involved in you own life and in the moving burdens that you have. I'd try to ascertain EXACTLY when I could move and then attempt to strike up a bargain with the lender.

Remember this: If the lender does go to force you out, under the landlord-tenant laws, you are entitled to a day in court. Legal things can drag on for some time and I would not worry about being out in the street for quite some time. I bet against anything before the end of October!

You may have diligently paid your rent and be current to the present. Since your deposit may be lost or hard to get, you may want to stop paying the rent and start accumulating funds for your move. I am NOT saying this is a legal response but as a practical matter, I doubt that much can be done about it. The present owner can't fault you for not paying him; he doesn't have a contract with you. (That's one of the reasons why he won't return a deposit.)

So, start adding up where you are financially and from the practicalities of a move and start looking for new lodgings. The sooner you are back in control the better off you will be.

If you feel that legal counsel is going to be helpful, by all means get it. It's just that, in the long run, you will end up moving and rather than spend money on an attorney, you may find it more practical to use your resources elsewhere.

Bill Holt

I would recomend you talk with an attorney. There is something called "cash for keys" but I have only heard of an owner being approached not a tennant.

The building can be sold, but as Ken states, you do have rights as a tennant. You should talk to an attorney if you want to stay -or- if you want to negotiate a buyout with the new owner go and do that.

But, no they can not just throw you out.

speak to an attorney, you may have tenant's rights to the property.