How to Find Out If a Rental Property Is in Foreclosure

It's not difficult to determine if your building is facing foreclosure.

When you rent an apartment or house, you assume that the owner of that building is paying the mortgage payments on time. But what if that isn't the case? If the owner of your building falls far enough behind on payments, a bank or lending institution can foreclose on the property. Owners don't always tell their tenants when they are facing foreclosure, which means that you could suddenly be without a place to live. Fortunately, finding out if your rental building is facing foreclosure is a relatively simple process.

Things You'll Need

• The address and parcel number of the rental building in which you live

Instructions

1. Ask your landlord if your building is facing foreclosure. This, of course, is the most direct way to determine if your landlord has fallen far enough behind on mortgage payments to warrant foreclosure. However, not all landlords are honest with their tenants. If you still have your suspicions after talking with your landlord, it's time to do a search of the public records.

2. Find the parcel number of the rental building in which you live. You can do this in one of two ways. You can call your local county assessor's office, tell the office your building's address and ask for the parcel number. Or you can log onto your local assessor's website and search for the parcel number online. Usually, this website will have an option for visitors to perform an "Address Search." Once you've found your building's parcel number, write it down.

3. Call your local county recorder's office (this may also be called the "county clerk's" office) and provide an official there with your building's parcel number. The employee will perform a search of public records associated with the number. This will turn up any foreclosure filings, default notices or trustee sale notices associated with the building. You can also do this online by entering the building's property number in the county recorder's website.

Tips & Warnings

• You can easily determine if your rental building is facing foreclosure on your own. Don't pay an outside company to find this information for you. The Web is filled with come-ons from companies that promise to find out if your rental building is in the process of being foreclosed on. The problem is, these companies don't do anything that you can't do for free on your own.

References

• Foreclosure Help: Steps for Renters to Find Out if Their Home is in Foreclosure
• Nolo.com: Renters' Foreclosure Rights
• New York Times: If Your Rental Goes Into Foreclosure