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Question

I was delivered an eviction notice today from a law office which specializes in debt collection for houses that have been foreclosed upon. I am renting the house, along with my mother and daughter, and about a month ago someone knocked on the door informing us that the house had been foreclosed on. We immediately contacted the owner, who claimed to not know anything about it and take care of it. He supposidly contacted his lawyer, paid the necessary amount of money to prevent the foreclosure, and proceeded to sign a new lease with us. Here we are a month later finding out the issue hadn't been resolved. What rights do we have to get our money back, considering he was renting property to us he doesn't even own and now we're put in an incredibly stressful situation which we not only don't have the time to deal with in the middle of a school semester, but don't have the financial means either. Is he responsible at all for compensating us? I'm at a loss at what to do next.

Submitted: 430 days and 21 hours ago.
Category: Legal
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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Charlottesville, Virginia

Posted by Curtis Staropoli, Esq 430 days and 21 hours ago.

Answer

Unfortunately, my opinion is that you would only have a viable claim for any amounts that you paid your "landlord" for in advance for either occupancy time or services (such as utilities) that you have not yet received, as well as for any deposits you have made.

 

If you consider it on a practical level -- it woud be difficult to convince a court that you should be reimbursed for rent paid for time during which you actually did occupy the premises.

 

I hope this was helpful to you. If it was please remember to click "ACCEPT" on your screen to make sure that I am paid for my efforts. By clicking ACCEPT you are not giving up your right to ask more questions on this issue, and I will be happy to respond to these as well.

430 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

Is there any way to know how long this kind of thing takes. The eviction notice said five days.

Furthermore, the underlying issue here is that I'm a student who receives scholarship money, just enough to cover expenses during the semester so I can focus on school- and because of the timing into the semester and already having paid out on this place there isn't enough money at this point to pay a down payment elsewhere. In addition- I take 6 classes, which are incredibly time demanding and I'm in my fourth year- I couldn't continue school and taking care of my daughter and have a full time job. I don't even have the TIME to move right now, pack, find a place etc. Aren't there "pain and suffering" damages to be collected in this case...?

Accepted Answer

No, there are no "pain and suffering" damages to be collected, these do not apply in landlord tenant matters. I would however demand your securtity deposit and any other sums pre-paid t them landlord back immediately.

 

I would start with the lender or the entity which is foreclosing to determine if you can at least get some kind of extension to remian on the property, however, if there is going to be a foreclosure sale of the property on a certain day in the near future, it is not going to allow you to remain there for long.

 

Finally, I would contact your local Legal Aid office or the VA Bar Association to determine if you can get some pro bono legal assistance.

 

I hope this was helpful to you. If it was please remember to click "ACCEPT" on your screen to make sure that I am paid for my efforts. By clicking ACCEPT you are not giving up your right to ask more questions on this issue, and I will be happy to respond to these as well.

 

 

 

 

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Expert: Curtis Staropoli, Esq
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 9/19/2008

Attorney

Practicing attorney for 17 years and principal of law firm.

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