eviction question.?

Question

My friend had a knock on the door when I was visiting her,.It was the bank. She was told since she was about five months behind she had been evicted. Her husband got laid off from his job and they got behind on their payment. My friend is a stay at home mom.She told me that the bank never sent anything in the mail or hasnt called them about letting them know that if they wouldnt pay then they would be evicted. What should my friend do ? should she contact a lawyer? She lives in west virginia. The bank said if she came up with the money in five days then she can stop the eviction. How long after the eviction notice does my friend have before she has to move out.

She is renting out a house. It was supposed to a rent to own. There wasnt a lease or anything on the house just a verbal agreement

Answer 1

Generally you will have 30 days to move after the court ordered eviction notice is served. When you don't pay, you get evicted, that's common knowledge. The bank doesn't have to send her anything except a cure or quit notice - She's received her cure or quit notice verbally, and a certified letter most likely will be arriving shortly. The only leg she has to stand on is if she has not and does not receive that certified letter. I don't know of one state that I can think of off the top of my head that doesn't require it to be delivered by hand or certified letter and in writing for a cure or quit claim.

Answer 2

"Rent to own" when it comes to houses is always a bad idea.

That said, I have two thoughts on this. First, it is true that the bank is LEGALLY obligated to inform them of the problem before they are evicted. That said, however, 99% of the time that someone says the bank didn't mail them anything, there is a big pile of unopened mail sitting around somewhere, or floating around in the trash. Maybe your friend is an exception to this rule, but odds are they did not pay proper attention. Don't get me wrong, though! If her husband is laid off and she is a stay-at-home mom, there was probably a lot of stress going on, and it would have been easy to lose track. That is a rough situation to be in.

My second thought is this: they have two choices. Move and forget about it. Or call an attorney. I would not heed much more advice beyond that in this forum. They may well be in the right. Who knows? But they are going to need professional help in order to resolve the issue.

I wish them the best of luck! Getting an attorney is rough when you have little money. You should help them find legal help for the poor. There are institutions out there designed to help people in need. It depends on where you are located what institutions are available to you.

Answer 3

They must give you 30 days notice in writing. Most states require them to take you to court and/or a sheriff will give you an eviction notice. If your friend can not pay they will eventually have to leave, but if they do intend on paying, tell them not to leave until the court or sheriff tell them otherwise. Rent to Own properties are for people who have credit trouble and the people renting them can charge a very high rent and 9 out of 10 times the tennants can't pay, so they get to keep all the money (it is a scam).

FYI: I don't think this is a rent to own. There is no such thing as a verbal contact for property. It's month to month rental if there is there is no contract. Below is WV tennant law.
http://www.uslandlord.com/laws/wvstatelaw.html

Answer 4

There's an old saying in law - a verbal agreement is as good as the paper it is written on.

It sounds like your friend is in a load of trouble and she should get herself to a legal aid office as quickly as possible (since I assume she cannot afford to hire a lawyer.)

If it's a rent to purchase option, but there is no paperwork - it sounds very suspicious. First she has to establish that she has a right to be there, and has been paying rent. The conditions of the rental agreement then become very important.

Then the bank will need to establish due diligence in makingi contact.

After that, a lot will depend on local legislation. A good lawyer, especially if the weather is cold, ought to be able to delay proceedings for several months. The rest is unknown.

But absolutely, positively and as quickly as possible - SEE A LAWYER!

Answer 5

she should either contact a lawyer or a law library (through the county) to find out what the law states. in arizona, you're given a five day notice & then you either come up with the money or they can evict you. she still can live in the home until there is a judgement. the eviction order comes from a judge, so depending on when the court date is set, she has that much more time to come up with the money. have her get in touch with someone who knows the law in her county.