After foreclosure is finalized when the sale has taken place in an auction depending on your status either as former owner or a tenant you don’t necessarily have to leave. You can execute several options available to you in pursuit of your goal.
A former owner has a few rights as compared to tenants. You still cannot move out immediately after foreclosure. The new owner will issue you with a 3 day notice to vacate the home and when these days elapse he/she will file for eviction with the county and the process will take about 30 days to conclude.
You can also enter into a lease-back agreement with the new owners, which benefits them by keeping the house occupied until it regains its value in the market for them to sell it and at this point you must quit the residence.
You can also reside in the house until the court orders you to leave. The new owners are not allowed to change the locks, to compel you out or remove your personal belongings or intimidate you. However this has downside effects of making it hard for you to secure a new place to reside, because most mortgage servicers are cautious when dealing with persons with past foreclosure(s) and evictions. Hence it is advisable to consider leaving before a full eviction occurs.
For a renting tenant or a tenant with a lease agreement you are entitled to continue leaving or utilizing their units until the lease expires, unless the new owner intends to use that unit as his/her primary residence. In this case he/she must serve the tenant with a 90 days’ notice to leave the premises before filing for eviction.
Consider the following tenants:
- Bona fide tenants
These are the legitimate tenants whose lease or rental agreements with the former landlord were neither based on an arm’s length agreement nor are they his/her close relatives: parents, spouse and children. However these tenants may have to move out in instances such as where the new owner sells the property to another person or you have done a wrong that is a just course to have you evicted.
- Non bona fide tenants
They include former owners, their immediate families, people who lived there but paid a discounted rent and/or who did not pay rent. They have the following rights at their disposal and thus they don’t have to leave after foreclosure:
- Tenant rights; if you are a former owner’s immediate relative or you were paying a discounted rent you don’t have to leave. For you to be evicted the new owner must involve the court to evict you.
- License rights; for those leaving there but paid no regular rent because you were a licensee, the new owner has to ask the court and serve you with an eviction notice in order to effect you.
- Trespasser rights; you moved in after the foreclosure without the permission of the owner, the new owner must involve the court to evict you, and you get a short notice and few protections as compared to tenants.
Sources:-
www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consumer-information-for-tenants-in-foreclosed-buildings.html