Renters Often Unlikely Victims of Foreclosure

SAN DIEGO, CA, Nov 15 (MARKET WIRE) --
When the foreclosure crisis first hit the U.S., many individuals and
families living in rental housing were evicted without notice after the
property they called home entered foreclosure. Often those tenants, who
had been paying their rent on time, had no idea the property was in
delinquency or facing foreclosure until they received notice to evict.

At a forum today during the 2009 REALTORS(R) Conference & Expo, a panel of
experts discussed the impact, liability and ethical issues of foreclosure
on single-family and multifamily rental housing to the property owners,
managers and tenants. Data from the National Low Income Coalition show
that nearly 40 percent of families facing foreclosure are renters.

"Realtors(R) build communities and are working to reduce the impacts of
foreclosure on all community members -- homeowners and renters alike,"
said National Association of Realtors(R) President Charles McMillan. "Our
goal is to help keep people in their homes, but if a sale can't be
avoided, it's important that rights of renters are protected as much as
the owners."

According to panelist Charles Achilles, vice president of legislation and
research for the Institute of Real Estate Management, a new law signed
into effect in May 2009 by President Obama, "The Helping Families Save
Their Homes Act of 2009," included provisions to protect tenants from
eviction after their rental property enters foreclosure.

Under the new law, tenants must be given 90 days notice prior to eviction.
Depending on state law, tenants are allowed to stay in the property
through the end of their lease with two exceptions -- if the new owner
wants to occupy the property as a personal residence, or if no current
lease is in place or there is a lease but state law allows the lease to
be terminated at any time upon notice. Even under these exceptions,
tenants must be given 90 days notice.

Achilles said a number of states have existing laws protecting tenants;
however, the new law preempts existing state laws, unless the state's law
offers renters greater protection. The provisions of the law expire
December 31, 2012.

Panelist Stan Mullin of California Real Estate Receiverships in Newport
Beach, Calif., said there are many potential liabilities and ethical
issues facing tenants and property managers during foreclosure.

Mullins said receiverships are incredibly beneficial and are used during
disputes between two parties. Receiverships are appointed by the court and
play an important role in protecting the property and the interests of the
all parties.

According to Mullins, the benefit of real estate receiverships is that
they work with the owners, tenants and property managers to ensure the
property doesn't become neglected and help all parties come to an
agreement on the course of action. Receiverships typically last several
months, but can extend for more than a year, until the loan is modified
or the property is sold.

Panelist Gabe del Rio of Community HousingWorks in San Diego shared
information on several successful initiatives to help owners and tenants
during the foreclosure process, including free foreclosure prevention
counseling and more than 50 community homeownership clinics that provide
education, one-on-one legal and foreclosure counseling, and review of real
estate and lending documents. To date, the clinics have helped more than
3,500 consumers.

The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is
America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members
involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate
industries.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news
releases are posted in the Web site's "News Media" section in the NAR
Media Center.

REALTOR(R) is a registered collective membership mark which may be used
only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not
all real estate agents are REALTORS(R). All REALTORS(R) are members of
NAR.

For further information contact:
Sara Weis
202/383-1013
Email Contact

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