Our house we rent is forclosing. Do I have to keep paying rent, and can I move and break the lease?

[doran]

We moved into a house in Washington five months ago, only to discover via a note on our door that its in forclosure. We paid six months upfront when we moved in, and I dont know what the landlord did with that money. I know someone who has a rental property that is becoming vacant soon and I would love to move into there. I need the money I should be paying here for a deposit, and I know my lease isnt up and I dont think it will be forclosed yet. Is it ok to leave early and do I have to pay rent for the last month Im here? I feel like I was lied to when I signed the lease and shouldnt have to, but I dont know the laws.

[hyun-su]

We moved into a house in Washington five months ago, only to discover via a note on our door that its in forclosure. We paid six months upfront when we moved in, and I dont know what the landlord did with that money. I know someone who has a rental property that is becoming vacant soon and I would love to move into there. I need the money I should be paying here for a deposit, and I know my lease isnt up and I dont think it will be forclosed yet. Is it ok to leave early and do I have to pay rent for the last month Im here? I feel like I was lied to when I signed the lease and shouldnt have to, but I dont know the laws.

If you break the lease prior to getting a 30 day notice to quit the property, it's your risk to be pursued for breaking it.

The current owner may be getting out of default based on your rental payments; in which case, he may well sue.

[osryd]

We moved into a house in Washington five months ago, only to discover via a note on our door that its in forclosure. We paid six months upfront when we moved in, and I dont know what the landlord did with that money. I know someone who has a rental property that is becoming vacant soon and I would love to move into there. I need the money I should be paying here for a deposit, and I know my lease isnt up and I dont think it will be forclosed yet. Is it ok to leave early and do I have to pay rent for the last month Im here? I feel like I was lied to when I signed the lease and shouldnt have to, but I dont know the laws.

If you break the lease prior to getting a 30 day notice to quit the property, it's your risk to be pursued for breaking it.

The current owner may be getting out of default based on your rental payments; in which case, he may well sue.

Friends of ours were in a similar situation paying rent on a foreclosed house and are moving soon. You WERE lied to. Go to legal aid and get help. Our friends are getting their deposit back and being reimbursed for painting and repairs they did on the house. Their rent didn't go to the house payment, and I think they might be getting some or all of their rent money back as well. Your situation and theirs might not be identical, but if all they did was just fail to pay the last month's rent, they would have lost out on money they were entitled to. Get professional help, not just Yahoo Answers. Go to legal aid ASAP.