Ugh oh.....Landlord sold the house....35 days until homeless...what are our options? (FLORIDA)

I did NOT think this would happen so quickly. Last week the property management company asked if the landlord could visit the house to show a friend which was potentially interested. That happened Saturday and I just got word that they want to buy it and the deal is set to close in June.

I'm not 100% sure what our lease states. Our original lease ran out 12/31/14. We were supposed to be month to month since then but the property management company never sent us the updated lease to sign. Best as I can tell as long as they give 30 days notice we have to be out.

This is a problem because rents in the area are at an all time high. Before I reach out to the landlord and try to work with them, I wanted to cover my bases and see if there is anything I should or shouldn't do. Ideas? My best one so far is to liquidate assets, quit my job and live off reserves in a sailboat. Wife isn't going for that....

What part of FL? I have a place coming open in Pensacola and know of others available in that area.

JThw8 wrote: What part of FL? I have a place coming open in Pensacola and know of others available in that area.

look at his profile … says Tampa

Good luck. I'm interested in how this plays out, although I would be looking at it from the other side of things.

are they about to lay waste to the lot after you're gone? is this plot going to be redeveloped?

you have some options, i'm sure, and you can make it inconvenient for them not to help you for them to get what they want.

Is the potential new owner looking to continue using it as a rental property? Also, just because the "friend" said he's interested, doesn't mean the deal is done. I'd want to know a projected closing date w/ an agreement on both sides that once the closing happens, that's your notice. This protects the seller from losing a tenant if the deal falls through. I feel like situations like this have to happen pretty regularly so there's got to be some typical protocol.

Datsun1500 wrote: If your lease ended 12/31/2014 it automatically switched to month to month, no need to sign a new one on either end. Unfortunately this leaves you where you are now, 30 days notice and you gotta leave. The only positive is you "might" have until the end of June. Typically if they told you after May 1 (and you paid rent for May) it becomes at the end of the next full month. They can't tell you May 5th to be out June 5th, etc. If they told you April 30th (before May rent was due) it would be May 31. Your State laws may vary.

Thanks, off I go to research if this is true. Those extra 20 days would be HUGE because of some work/travel commitments I have right when we are supposed to move out.

madmallard wrote: are they about to lay waste to the lot after you're gone? is this plot going to be redeveloped? you have some options, i'm sure, and you can make it inconvenient for them not to help you for them to get what they want.

No, the people that I gave the tour to are being kicked out of their rental and decided to buy this one to live in it.

bluej wrote: Is the potential new owner looking to continue using it as a rental property? Also, just because the "friend" said he's interested, doesn't mean the deal is done. I'd want to know a projected closing date w/ an agreement on both sides that once the closing happens, that's your notice. This protects the seller from losing a tenant if the deal falls through. I feel like situations like this have to happen pretty regularly so there's got to be some typical protocol.

I can ask them if they want to do that but from what I was told, they've come to agreement and the next step is inspection.

I'm really interested in this inspection. The house a few issues that are definitely going to come up like termites, mold and some other questionable repairs that the landlords cronies have done. I don't want to toot my own horn but I'm a model tenant and she's kind of a slumlord.

We've been trying to buy a house for the past 6 months we just haven't found anything we really like. Maybe this will motivate us to settle for something else. It's just a tough market for buyers out there. Hopefully we end up finding a nice house to buy and can get away from this place and it's associated train horns, swiss cheese walls and drug dealers. I just don't know if 30 days is feasible.

I did it in 60 days, your results may vary.

Datsun1500 wrote: If your lease ended 12/31/2014 it automatically switched to month to month, no need to sign a new one on either end. Unfortunately this leaves you where you are now, 30 days notice and you gotta leave. The only positive is you "might" have until the end of June. Typically if they told you after May 1 (and you paid rent for May) it becomes at the end of the next full month. They can't tell you May 5th to be out June 5th, etc. If they told you April 30th (before May rent was due) it would be May 31. Your State laws may vary.

Do you know what this is called? In Florida with a month to month lease they only have to give 15 days notice. Based on your logic and the fact that May's rent was already paid, does this give me until June 15th? I can't find anything that specifically says that.

The other drag is the landlord wants to come by multiple times this week to fix problems that I mentioned months ago. All stuff that needs to be done before the inspection. I'm all for making a smooth transition but getting out of the office early/late to be there is going to be a pain in the arse.

Any chance the new owner wants to continue renting to you? Have you spoken to them to find out?

Do you have a tent? It's FL, you certainly won't freeze to death.

I'd be working on getting my deposit back pronto before he vanishes and the new guy pretends he doesn't owe it to you.

USF just finished their Spring semester so I'm guessing there is a fair amount of available short term rentals available. Could you grab 2-3 month rental somewhere while you decide on the buy option? It does't have to be perfect, just dry and cool for now. Could give you a little more runway.

foxtrapper wrote: Any chance the new owner wants to continue renting to you? Have you spoken to them to find out?

He said earlier in the thread that the "buyer" is being kicked out of their rental, so they want to buy this place to live in.

It's month to month. All it says is the lease my be terminated giving written notice not less than 15 days prior to the end of some subsequent monthly payment period.

Since I've paid May's rent I would thing the subsequent monthly payment period would be May 31 and since they gave notice I have to be out by June 15th? Or since they gave notice now I have until May 31?

Datsun1500 wrote:

madmallard wrote: are they about to lay waste to the lot after you're gone? is this plot going to be redeveloped? you have some options, i'm sure, and you can make it inconvenient for them not to help you for them to get what they want.

What right does he have to make it inconvenient? He's on a month to month lease. The owner has every right to give him notice and have him leave? The owner does not have to give him any reason, as the owner is not doing anything wrong. Want more security when renting? Sign a longer lease.

why are you assigning some kind of moral implication to what i said? all he was looking for was options.

and as far as 'rights', In georgia, you actually have to provide 60 days notice as landlord. title 44-7-7. other local laws may allow for other provisions.

Enyar wrote: It's month to month. All it says is the lease my be terminated giving written notice not less than 15 days prior to the end of some subsequent monthly payment period. Since I've paid May's rent I would thing the subsequent monthly payment period would be May 31 and since they gave notice I have to be out by June 15th? Or since they gave notice now I have until May 31?

Your description of the language is too vague to say. Oftentimes these things can be a bit obtuse as you have to look up definitions of terms within the agreement outside of a particular section. I suggest a very careful reading to get your answer-- it should really be in there somewhere. Or post a picture of your agreement here (personal details excluded, of course) so that we can read it to answer your question.

Enyar wrote: It's month to month. All it says is the lease my be terminated giving written notice not less than 15 days prior to the end of some subsequent monthly payment period. Since I've paid May's rent I would thing the subsequent monthly payment period would be May 31 and since they gave notice I have to be out by June 15th? Or since they gave notice now I have until May 31?

Just because it's written in the lease, doesn't mean it necessarily matches local laws. Probably does, but worth verifying.

The "monthly payment period" is somewhat vague, is it defined elsewhere in the document? If not, then in the context I think it would have to mean the end of May. Otherwise, there would need to be some provision for payment of pro rata rent for a truncated month.

It does give you the alternative for paying double rent, but I expect there is some language in document that deals with that-- is it on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, for example.

Yeah I mean either way we're screwed and have to move out asap. Currently searching for a short term rental....this is going to hurt the bank account!

As others have said, start work towards getting your payment back. Has your landlord given you anything in writing that he wants you out? The writing is on the wall, but he's gotta give you something by what looks to be the end of next week (15th?) to make it official.

In reply to johndej:

It's managed by a management co so I don't think getting the deposit back will be an issue. Landlord already said that the place is cleaner/nicer than she's ever kept it so we should be ok. Official notice has been served! I need to be out by June 10th. Already working on liquidating toys and furniture so I don't have to deal with storing them. It looks like we might move in with my wife's grandparents until we can find a place to live. Anyone need a Jetta TDI or a Waverunner?

hobiercr wrote: USF just finished their Spring semester so I'm guessing there is a fair amount of available short term rentals available. Could you grab 2-3 month rental somewhere while you decide on the buy option? It does't have to be perfect, just dry and cool for now. Could give you a little more runway.

Hey where do you live again? We're striking out buying a place in S Tampa and now we're considering Safety Harbor. Good part about that is I know the cats are active off the causeway and I've been looking for sailing buddies.

More on the Jetta TDI

It's a 2000, GLS with manual/leather. 225k miles. Timing belt due at 250k.