Increase in foreclosures taking toll on renters

Arizona Foreclosure & Real Estate News

Article Abstract: With Maricopa county foreclosures on the rise, renters are finding themselves without a home as landlords face foreclosure. New groups have arisen that aid homeowners facing foreclosure in Pima County and in Maricopa County. For the full Arizona foreclosure news article please continue below:
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The rising number of foreclosures in the Valley isn’t just hurting property owners — it’s also pinching hundreds of renters who are being forced out when the properties go back to the bank.

Ken Volk, president and founder of Arizona Tenants Advocates in Tempe, said he’s getting dozens of calls from renters asking if it’s illegal for landlords to break a lease because of foreclosure.

No exact number of displaced tenants were available, but Volk estimated it might be thousands of people across the Valley.

Carlos Lopez, a south Scottsdale resident who lives near 64th Street and McDowell Road, is one of those. He said his landlord is forcing him and others to move out of their fourplex by Oct. 31 because of foreclosure.

“I don’t think it’s fair for us,” Lopez said. “They should give us more time to move out.

“Not just two weeks.”

Four families, including a pregnant woman and several children, said they were told they have to leave the fourplex in the 3100 block of 67th Place.

The fourplex has been turned over to R.O.I. Properties, which is the company behind the evictions.

A woman who answered the phone there Wednesday refused to comment or be interviewed.

Lopez said besides the cost of moving, he’s now hesitant to sign a new lease because of the high number of foreclosures.

“I’m nervous because maybe they’re going to do the same thing,” he said.

Terry Feinberg, president of the Arizona Multihousing Association, said lenders work to get renters out of a foreclosed home because it’s easier and cheaper to sell the property than serve as landlords.

“The goal of a bank is to turn it as quickly as possible,” Feinberg said. “While they may lose a couple of months rent, they are getting a quicker sell if there aren’t tenants living on the property.”

Volk said renters can be forced out if the property owner financed the property prior to the lease agreement. But, he said, if the home was refinanced after a lease agreement was signed, renters could have a case because the lease would take precedence.

If renters find themselves facing eviction due to foreclosure, Volk recommends calling the current owner to make a deal.

“Say ‘Listen, you can have the property sitting empty, uncared for, abandoned essentially or you can continue to take the rent from me,’” Volk said.

If that isn’t an option, Volk advises demanding the deposit back in writing and make sure it’s delivered by certified mail.

Desert Schools Federal Credit Union spokesman Jason Myers said that the home loan provider feels bad for renters evicted due to a foreclosure, some of whom are now looking to buy their own homes in order to gain control of their own living situations and financial futures.

“We see it as a classic Catch-22,” Myers said. “It’s an industry-wide problem and we’re trying to coach people through it.”

Myers said the credit union encourages prospective home buyers and renters to carefully research the owners of a property before entering into any type of agreement.

Article Source http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99970