Will my landlord be notified of my bankruptcy and can he evict me if I file?

(See my blog with an update to landlord notification and bankruptcy here: http://bit.ly/IAaaQc .)

No!  Your landlord will probably not even know that you filed and if he did you are protected by law.  A landlord cannot legally evict a tenant for filing bankruptcy.  If you file bankruptcy and then try to move in a landlord can keep you out only if he has a policy that every prospective tenant has to follow where he will not rent to bankruptcy filers.  But if you are already in your rental unit and you then file bankruptcy then you are protected by law and the landlord cannot evict you for filing.

Probably though he will never even find out that you filed for bankruptcy.  It is only if you have a unexpired lease for any amount of time that he would be notified of your filing.  If you are month to month then your landlord won’t be notified.  But if the landlord somehow finds out about your bankruptcy or he is notified directly because of an ongoing lease he still cannot evict you.   If your landlord tries to evict you after a bankruptcy and because of the bankruptcy then you can fight the eviction in California.  I believe other states have similar defenses to unlawful evictions.

Remember that you have a federal legal right to file for bankruptcy.  No landlord can challenge that or take it away or discriminate against you for exercising your legal federal right to get a fresh start with our debts!  If the landlord is smart he will see that you can now pay rent more easily as you will have discharged your credit card, medical, deficiency balance, and other debts in the bankruptcy which will free up more income to pay for rent and your other necessities.  You may get a landlord that does not care or even is happy that you filed.

But either way don’t be intimidated by a landlord who threatens an eviction.  You can fight the eviction and win if the reason he is evicting you is because you filed for bankruptcy.

I am a San Diego bankruptcy attorney.  For more information please visit my website at www.farquharlaw.com or www.freshstartsandiego.com.  Or call my office for a free consultation at (619) 702-5015.  Call now for free credit report and analysis!  If you are considering bankruptcy then get my Free e-book; “13 Things You Should D to Prepare For Filing Bankruptcy” by e-mailing me at farquharesq@yahoo.com.

Cash for keys! It’s still available after a foreclosure. My advice is get that cash!

(For the current state of the foreclosure crisis see this blog: http://bit.ly/JGU1dZ ).

How many times does someone hand you cash?  I’m sure it’s not often but it is the case that lenders are offering cash for keys after a foreclosure.  You may or may not be upset about the foreclosure and you may actually be relieved that the process is all over.  You may have tried a short sale that failed (or you may have never attempted one) and now the foreclosure sale has taken place and you are being contacted by the new owner of your property to find out from you what your plans are.

Remember that this new owner will have to evict you legally before he can get you out of this house that you formerly owned even though he is the new legal owner of the property.  He cannot throw you into the street.  There is no “self-help” allowed and the only way a new owner can get you out of your former home is through the eviction process.  You are no squatter.  You originally entered the property legally.   You are the former owner with the legal right to be there until a judge evicts you in court.

In California eviction means that the landlord has to give you a 3 day notice, followed by a filing of an unlawful detainer action, followed by a trial, followed by a sheriff who will actually remove you.  This all takes time and money.  To get you out will take around 4 to 6 weeks depending on how behind the courts and the sheriffs are.  In addition he has to hire attorneys, pay filing fees, and wait until the process finishes.

Or he can pay you money.  The going rate is about $3000 so don’t sell cheap.  Many of my clients have been offered and have received this money.  It will cost the landlord almost that much to proceed with and eviction plus there is the time involved.  The landlord may ask you to leave quickly (like in a week) but you can always try to negotiate for more time.  Just don’t scare him off so he doesn’t pay you.  Remember though that he will know the costs of legally removing you and that is your leverage.

You have a legal right to be in this home until he goes through the lengthy and costly legal process of removing you.  You can remind him of that if it helps the negotiations but always remember that you have legal rights.  If you don’t exercise them you will lose them.  You will be saving him time and money if you get out quickly with no hassles for $3000.

An extra $3000 can help a lot with bills and getting a new place.  If you can get more time then do so but if not then I suggest you take the money.

If you need a bankruptcy now to get rid of credit card or automobile deficiency or medical debt then call me and we will discuss how to free you up from the rest of your debt.

I am a San Diego bankruptcy attorney.  Please visit my website for more information at www.farquharlaw.com or www.freshstartsandiego.com.  Or call my office for a free consultation at (619) 702-5015.  Call now for free credit report and analysis!  If you or someone you know may need to file a bankruptcy get my FREE E-BOOK: “13 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO TO PREPARE FOR OUR BANKRUPTCY FILING” by e-mailing me at: farquharesq@yahoo.com.

When squatters attack! Once they occupy your house you have to evict them (but you pay for them in the mean time).

(Check out my update on squatters here- http://bit.ly/Iyo3g4 ).

(For how to get squatters out of your property see here: http://bit.ly/JMX8kG ).

I am fascinated, perplexed and appalled by this ongoing problem of squatters.  It seems to point to bad things coming to this country (like a depression).

I thought I would blog about a squatters report that I saw on the news.  I wrote about this topic previously and the problem of squatters occupying foreclosed homes is certainly not going away.  In fact in some ways things may be getting worse out there with squatters.

Buyers of foreclosed homes are finding themselves paying insurance, taxes, and payments while the squatters occupy their house.  As I previously reported the squatters are probably not the previous owners of the home.  Those people have probably already gone.  The squatters are often people who move in after the foreclosure.  They find the vacant house, move in, occupy, and dare you to kick them out.

According to Fox News a family in Connecticut had squatters in their home after the family purchased the home in a foreclosure sale.  They went to move in and they found the squatters on the premises.  At that point they realized that they had become landlords and the squatters were their tenants except that these tenants paid no rent.  All they did was occupy and refuse to get out.

Before I did bankruptcy law I was doing landlord/tenant cases.  In California self-help is not allowed. You cannot kick squatters out without a court order and they become your tenants once they occupy the house.  They may even produce a phony rental agreement or they may say they had a verbal agreement with the previous owner.  Either way they stay until you evict them legally.

The police don’t want to get in the middle of what they consider to be a dispute between you and them.  If your lucky the squatters will take cash to leave and if you are not then you must got through the eviction system.  To evict them legally you need to serve a 3 day notice on them and then file an unlawful detainer action and then wait for a court date.  You need to win in court and then file a writ of possession and get a sheriff to kick them out.  All of this takes time.

In the Fox story the buyers could not move into their house after they bought it.  The bank had promised that they would evict these squatters yet they had not.  The family who bought the home had to wait for the sheriff to remove them.  When they interviewed the sheriff he told of how in the early morning the squatter was drunk, had a vicious dog that had to corralled, and he had a gun.

The sheriff did get them out but the evicted squatters left a horrible mess in the house.  The mom who bought the house said that she did not even want to move in at that point.

Be careful if you buy a foreclosed home.  Go to the home regularly before you close the deal to see who is occupying the house.  If you see signs of squatters make sure they are moved out before you close on the home and you become the owner. If you do not then you could become a landlord to some squatter who you would have to evict yourself.  This could take months and in the mean time you could be stuck paying taxes, insurance, and the house payment while the squatters live for free in your house.

These people know how to manipulate the system so don’t become the victim of this latest scam.

I am a San Diego bankruptcy attorney.  For more help please visit my websites at www.farquharlaw.com or www.freshstartsandiego.com.  Or call my office for a free consultation at (619) 702-5015.  Call now for free credit report and analysis!

For a free e-book: “13 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO TO PREPARE FOR YOUR BANKRUPTCY FILING” please send a request by e-mail to: farquharesq@yahoo.com.

Cash for keys after Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

If you have been in foreclosure before the bankruptcy then after you file and get the bankruptcy discharge your house could be sold at a foreclosure sale.  (Sometimes it happens before the discharge if the lender gets the bankruptcy stay lifted).  When the house is finally sold you will be contacted by the new owner who is usually the mortgage holder.  They will then ask you when you will leave.

At this point you need to enter into negotiations with them.  Be sure to tell them that you need rent money to rent a new place and you need moving money.  Remember, it is expensive to evict you.  They cannot throw you on the street.  They would have to give you a 3 day notice and then hire an attorney and file an eviction.  They would then have to go to Unlawful Detainer court and get a judgment and then a Sheriff to remove you.  All of that takes money and time.  You might not be out for another 2 months by that formula and then they would be out filing and attorney fees.

It is better for them and you if they negotiate a “cash for keys” where you leave in a reasonable time and they give you cash for it.  Get as much as you reasonable can.  I have heard stories of around $3000 sometimes for some lenders.  Negotiate with them and get the money and then move out.  After all it was your home and you should get something as you leave out the door!

Check out my websites for more info:  www.farquharlaw.com or www.freshstartsandiego.com.  Or call my office for a free consultation at (619) 702-5015.  Call now for free credit report and analysis!  I am a bankruptcy attorney in San Diego.

For a free e-book: “13 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO TO PREPARE FOR YOUR BANBKRUPTCY FILING” please send a request by e-mail to: farquharesq@yahoo.com.