Renting house out after discharge?

[ssc2761]

My discharge happened on 7/7/10. I am in CA and have not paid any payments to mortgage company (BofA) since 2/2009, so it has been 18 months. They have done nothing to date except send late notices here and there. The house is surrendered and I am just waiting for foreclosure process so the house can be out of my name. I am not living in the surrendered home.

Is it legal to rent my house out while I am waiting for the FC process to complete. I would obviously have to disclose this information to the renters and possibly charge a lower rent than normal. Is this possible? I don't want the home to just sit there because the bank wants to drag their feet.

Thank you for any responses, I greatly appreciate it.

[tcreegan]

previous thread

The thread right before yours dealt with the exact same question. Here is a good answer from ccsjoe:

"Yes, as long as your name is on title, you can rent the property. Just because the bank's ability to collect on the debt was discharged, it does not strip ownership from you to bank. Explain the situation to potential renters. Also, be aware that your mortgage paperwork may have had an assignment of rents rider which the bank could use to collect rent monies directly instead of you." ccsjoe

[ssc2761]

renting out surrendered home

Would a good way to find a renter be on Craigslist? And put in the ad my situation? Anybody have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[ccsjoe]

I would not suggest putting your situation in the ad, I would just state short-term rental, please call for further info. Be aware that though you haven't paid, with your name still being on title, if something should go wrong with the house, you are liable for it.

Craigslit does work. I've found two houses that way. For the sake of all of us renters though, please be upfront when discussing the deal.

Good luck

[ssc2761]

Renting house out after discharge?

I definately want to be upfront and honest about it as going through Chapter 7 was stressful enough. I would first have to look through my BofA loan docs and see if they have an Assignment of rent rider in there. I suppose I could still probably rent it out and save the money in case they try to come after it. I was thinking about renting it as is at a lower rent per month of course. The house is in excellent condition, with only the front and backyards have dead grass though, but otherwise it is move in ready. On one hand I hope BofA forecloses quick, but I know Bof A is going to drag their feet. So if I do rent it, then I hope its for a long time without the rent rider. Any comments or other suggestions on how to make this work as a short term rental with the renter knowing they would have to move out once sheriff forces them to. Thanks again.

[ccsjoe]

Renter may not have to move out as quick as you may think. Look up PTFA of 2009 and state specific landlord/tenant civil code to have an idea. The house my former landlord was foreclosed on in April was a BofA loan, 1 week after trustee sale I had people talking to me about moving out. Negotiated over 4K in cash for keys to move out.

[ssc2761]

I feel that the bank is going to sit on this one for a long time, and that is why I want to rent it out for amount of time. If renters are there and they refuse to leave for some reason, does that prolong how long it will take to get my name off the title/deed. Thanks for any responses.

[ccsjoe]

No, upon bank taking possession of the property, either the lease survives the foreclosure and becomes effective with the bank under PTFA or the foreclosure extinguishes the lease. In either case, it would not delay or speed up removal of your name from title.