Foreclosures leave renters in the lurch

Foreclosures leave renters in the lurch: "At first, Adriana Diharce ignored the envelope taped to her front door because it wasn't addressed to her. Then she saw the words 'trustee sale,' so she opened it. The letter said the modest, ranch-style Hayward house rented by Diharce and her husband would be sold at a foreclosure auction.

When Diharce called the phone number on the letter last month, a representative told her the house was slated for auction on Feb. 8 - tomorrow - and said the couple and their two young children would have to vacate almost immediately after that. Diharce called her landlady, but her phone had been disconnected.
'The landlady owes us our deposit, and we cannot locate her,' said Diharce, 29, who is expecting a third child in March. 'I am so upset. As a tenant, we have no rights, no deposit and nowhere to go.'"

Renters and landlords can both probably find some value in the tips (and traps) outlined in the article. If you've ever bought a house thinking "if I get transferred and can't sell it, I'll just rent it out," this article might just change your mind. Of note: Both California and the Federal legislatures have considered passing laws to protect tenants in foreclosure situations. Yes, tenants should have some warning, and yet, on the other hand, the harder we make it for banks to get their money out of a foreclosure, the harder banks will make it for people to buy homes. There's gotta be some balance.