Dallas, TX · Member since 2009 · 19 posts · 0 votes
Hi,
I am a resident of Texas. I have been a good tenant (openly acknowledged by my land lord) and on occasion, I have even helped her out by forwarding her critical mails etc. I can only guess that she is having trouble paying her mortgage, given how many times the bank sent a occupancy verification letter to our house, which I forwarded to her.
Now my landlord is trying to terminate our lease early (move out by june 1st , 2014 ) without giving me a reason as to why, which is 1 month before our current lease term expires (june 30th, 2014). It is just not feasible for my family to move out by that date. So far, she has been ignoring my calls/emails, which is increasing my concern. Last thing I want to happen is someone showing up on my doorstep on May 31st and asking me to vacate.
In case someone tries to force me out, what is the best way for me to get help without incurring expensive attorney fees ?
Verification of occupancy makes it seem like she has an OO loan on property but is using it as a rental. Especially if those letters are coming to your residence. I can only guess the bank's interest is piqued and she's having a freak out.
Perhaps she wants you out early to move in herself? Whatever it is, it has the appearance of something sketchy. You may start looking elsewhere for housing as a backup plan.
Google "Texas Property Code Chapter 92, 91, and 24" for info on residential leases, termination periods, and forcible entry/detainer. It'll give you a primer without the $ an attorney will charge.
I'm not a lawyer not an expert on landlord-tenant laws, so factor that into your decisions.
Best wishes -
Mike
@Greg H. : Greg, or anyone, She already has my May rent with her.. I am wondering if I should propose that I will pay June rent after the move out (and de-risk my deposit, which is 1 months rent).. Lease doc forbids this. But hopefully, I can say I don't know who the owner is any more.. Just checking to see if you or anyone have any thoughts on that.
Originally posted by @Greg H.: @Raghu Kota
My guess would be that she would "like" to sell the property. She has no right to terminate your lease even if the property has been sold and would not be successful in an eviction. If it was indeed sold, more than likely the new buyer would have wanted a walk through, survey stakes might have been placed on the property to define the boundary of the property. Depending on what county it is in, it might not show up in the deed records yet as there could be a lag in posting the data. IF SHE DID INDEED SELL THE PROPERTY, She is NOT the person to be paying May and June rent or the person who can give you notice to vacate as she is no longer the owner of the property ! It depends how far you want to take this but what I see are some of your options :
-If you are willing to move by May 31st , negotiate the best $ amount you can and I might even have a third party hold the funds as at the very least she is stretching the truth at this point and I would be reluctant to trust her
-If you want to stay at least until June 30, send her a certified letter requesting the "new" owner's information(According to her) so you can make the June rent payable to them and state that you intend to honor your lease. Then plan on enjoying your vacation as she could not try to evict you without your knowledge. She has to send you a 3-day Notice to Vacate and then file with the JP Court in your county and then you will be served by the Constable so there is no way you would not know about it.
All this is being said assuming you have a standard lease with no special clauses that you agreed to in writing.
FYI- If she or you do not give 30-day notice to terminate the lease on June 30, the lease will continue month to month unless either party give proper notice
If your lease is up in one month start packing and find a new place. Lets say she did sell it there is a good chance the new owners will kick you out when your lease is up.
Based on your recent dealings with her, I would not agree to anything that is not in writing and the agreed compensation is not held by a third party or paid to you in advance. You are in control of the situation as the current agreement allows you to stay until June 30
@Account Closed
I have no idea where in Texas she is located but in Austin where occupancy in 95% plus locating a place at the end of May when school is ending would be very difficult and I would expect to be compensated IF I could find a suitable property
If his lease is up she owe him nothing but if she want him out before the lease is up give the tenant his deposit back and it is not the landlords problem if the tenant cannot find a place.
@Greg H. : Sorry for the naive question - any suggestions on how to find these 3rd parties ? Thx
Originally posted by @Greg H.:
Based on your recent dealings with her, I would not agree to anything that is not in writing and the agreed compensation is not held by a third party or paid to you in advance. You are in control of the situation as the current agreement allows you to stay until June 30
@Account Closed
I have no idea where in Texas she is located but in Austin where occupancy in 95% plus locating a place at the end of May when school is ending would be very difficult and I would expect to be compensated IF I could find a suitable property
As long as you have kept your end of the lease agreement you can not be forced to vacate prior to the end of your lease. Even if she is foreclosed on, the bank would then inherit your lease/tenancy and you can stay to the end of your original lease - though your payments would go somewhere else. Here in Texas, it is exactly the same if the property was sold. They may want you to go, ask you to go, tell you to go, etc. but if you keep your end of the obligation you will prevail.
The concerning thing is that your actions with the mail could be considered to be an accomplice to mortgage fraud. They would have a hard time coming back to you on it but consider that you have publicly acknowledged that you knew what you were doing on this forum. This is dangerous. I would delete this entire thread ASAP.
Landlord backed down after I pretty much held her to the lease.. It turns out , she was making up the stories about house being already sold etc.. She went out of contact after my final mail , in which, I said, either allow me to stay through the lease or pay ~$5000 for me to move out early and take care of move, temp accommodation , storage etc..
So I stayed through the lease and vacated after it expired..
Landlord backed down after I pretty much held her to the lease.. It turns out , she was making up the stories about house being already sold etc.. She went out of contact after my final mail , in which, I said, either allow me to stay through the lease or pay ~$5000 for me to move out early and take care of move, temp accommodation , storage etc..
So I stayed through the lease and vacated after it expired..
Thanks all for your helpful advises..
Did you ever check back to see if the property was in fact sold or she just took residence?
Glad it worked out ok for you, even if the landlord caused unnecessary stress.
@Jesse T.: Didn't bother to check back.. The landlady got her keys back from Property manager who I had left the keys with. The property is off market right now per Zillow..