Mortgage Loans

[chasmith]

TYhis is going to be covered by landlord / tenant law in Colorado and possibly local laws.  Normally if there's not a lease you are a "Tenant at Will", and the amount of notice will be set by law, but you can be noticed to leave without a specific cause like unpaid rent.  Did you have a lease at one time that converted to tenant at will or "month-to-month".  There might be language in that that covers this. 

It sounds like she might be relying on the theory you are "month-to-month, you paid for January so she can tell you to get out the last day you've paid for.  Also, I'm not sure you have the right to determine when you will leave and pro-rate February rent.  Another option might be to offer to pay the February rent and keep all rights to the house you're renting until the end of February.  That means an extra expense for you but the landlord is entitled to some certainty too.  Remember that if you close February 10 your first mortgage payment shouldn't be due until April 1.

The filing of a suit doesn't hit your credit, but it could cost some money to defend.  It's entry of a money judgement that dings your credit (I'm not sure s staright eviction order even hits a credit report).

[MovingForward_2012]

We had a lease at one time...two leases for different time periods. The last lease ran through May 2012 and we have been month to month since then.

There is a reason we have a PO Box. The last landlord before her threatened to sue after we broke the lease when things got hostile. I was finishing cleaning the house after we moved over the 4th of July weekend when they were preoccupied with activities. I came back to the house the Sun after the holiday and was finishing the cleaning when they rolled up and told us to get out. I began to walk around him to get to the kitchen to grab my cleaning supplies when he assaulted me by slamming me up against the wall. I grabbed my spare shower poll to defend myself so I could get my cleaning supplies. As we drove off from the house, I looked in the rear view mirror and he running towards the car in the street. They never found us as I didn't forward my mail and was cautious not to answer the door when it rung and I didn't know who it was. I plan to not forward my address in this situation as well. If she does somehow find me, I plan to countersue for the 10 days of rent I paid above the days notice to vacate, the moving costs associated with having to leave under less than 30 days notice, and for rent paid above what was functional in the house as we have been unable to cook for 3 months, and the associated cost increase for having to buy prepared food during this time period. I have in writing when I asked for the kitchen sink repair that was not repaired and it was dated in Oct. I expect that all of this will counter her claim or break even.

[MovingForward_2012]

I just looked through the Colorado landlord/tenant law and it states that the landlord must provide the notice per the amount of time required by law (30 days) if the landlord desires to terminate a month to month lease without cause. And the termination must occur after the month to month agreement so after a full month from when the rent has been paid. In my case, the 30 day notice had to be received by the beginning of the month in order to move to evict if we the tenants were still on the premises after January 31st. She could provide a 3 day notice to vacate if there was cause such a violation of the rental agreement, damage by tenants, inlawful activity, or unpaid rent and the cause has to be uncorrectable by the tenants. There are none of those causes in this case as the house being messy is not a valid cause, and if she claimed it to be, it is correctable by the tenants.

The only thing I don't understand is how the expired leases come into play in this situation. Does anyone know?

[Unique620]

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JM-AM wrote:
Just a guess.

Your reply shows you received and acknowleded the email.

Make sure you pay close attention that she doesnt have a judgement put on you in the future. Save all your records.

If she being a j*** about things you just dont know how far she will try to go.

Wishing you the best. Hope it all smooths out without issues.

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+1

[chasmith]

I brought up the question whether the expired leases said anything.

In the Maryland standard residential lease there is language about the transition to month-to-month after the lease ends.  I thought there might something similar in the OP's situation.

"TENANT'S HOLD OVER.  If Tenant remains in possession of the Premises with the consent of Landlord after the natural expiration of this Agreement, a new tenancy from month-to-month shall be created between Landlord and Tenant which shall be subject to all of the terms and conditions hereof except that rent shall then be due and owing at ______________________________________________________________ DOLLARS ($___________) per month and except that such tenancy shall be terminable upon thirty (30) days written notice served by either party."

[MovingForward_2012]

We are in trouble. In Colorado, the landlord only has to give 10 day notice prior to the rent payment for the next month if renting month to month. So as long as she gives 10 day notice prior to Feb 1st, we have to vacate or face eviction without cause. So we MUST be out by Jan 31st. The only exception is if the expired lease has a month to month clause stating a longer timeframe and it doesn't. So we are screwed. I called my realtor and told him this and he is calling the builder and said he would get back to me. OMG! I can't believe this is happening! If we are still here past Feb 1st, and she files for an eviction, it will go on our credit report!!!!! This is what we get for abiding by the rental agreement and paying our rent on time! Unbelievable! It looks like all of us may be homeless soon. :'(

[MovingForward_2012]

By the way, I got this information from the housing counseling line in our state. So that is really the law here.

[cclee]

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Does she have a tenant ready to move in on Feb 1st?  Kind of dumb on her part to give up the money just to be spiteful.  Hopefully she realizes that and will let you stay a couple of weeks longer.

[MovingForward_2012]

No. She wants to sell the house as she is tired of dealing with it as it is a house from her divorce. She is very angry at me for not getting the house off her shoulders. She is an evil monster for throwing a 6 year old boy and his mother and father on the street. My realtor said the loan officer has expedited our loan and sent it to his manager for faster processing and he is saying he can get it done by Jan 31st but he didn't say it before, so I am not buying it. My realtor is calling our builder about moving in before closing but he said it isn't typically done on new builds so no real hope there. We might be pushed into a apartment and I don't know if I have the funds to do a double move. So sad...we may lose our home after I spent 7 years building my credit back up and saving for this day. :'(

[violetsmom]

This is quite obviously a sucky situation to be in, but why would this lady throwing you out jeopardize you buying your new home?  You may have to extended- stay it for a few days but that is the worst I see here... (other than being super inconvenienced...)