Thread: Lost Lease..

So im prepearing paperwork for an auction. I have yet to have one since Ive started, which im glad cause i dont have to rely on it for collections, but i came across a lost lease. Now the first thing that came to my head was " crap cant sell them"


what do i do?
Im gonna pull out moveout files just incase it was slipped in there, but im a bit stumped as to where it went.

that's a good question, and I've often wondered what would happen in that case myself.

Contact your lawyer, but in most cases with copies of payment receipts, collection notices etc. you could prove your case that you have a contractual agreement in place with the tenant. BUT, you will require legal advice to proceed on this one. Keep looking, and check to see if someone was suffering from dyslexia when they filed the contract, like unit 123 was filed into unit 132's file etc. They usually turn up... after you've run out of time for the current scheduled auction.

If you have contact with the tenant and haven't notified them of the pending auction you can always try sending them a letter or calling them requesting an update to information you have on file. Some of them actually come in when I've called and had them sign an updated lease and everything. Stranger things happen in what I refer to as the land of the lost.

In Iowa the lien law defines a rental agreement as a written or oral agreement. We have lost a lease in the past we try to get the tenant to sign a new one which we are usually successful in doing. There has been a case when that was not possible, our lawyer (please check with a lawyer in your state) said that when the tenant makes a payment on the unit that is considered a oral agreement in that case and we were ok.

I have told someone in the past that if they sign a agreement we will take them out of the sale, I prefer having the paper vs trying to rely on a oral agreement.

Smartgirl, in Texas without a written lease you cannot auction them. The property must be held at least 6 months, then it can be considered abandoned and you can auction it. You can however move it to another unit, as long as it is not piled into other stuff. If you need more info pm me and i will give the specifics from TSSA Gold Book.