Phoenix Real Estate Attorney.
Assuming the court date is with respect to your failure to pay the rent, it is my general understanding that even with an order in Landlord's failure, it merely allows them to go get the sheriff to forcibly remove you. The risk you have is that the sheriff is available to immediately come to your apartment.
I'm not the guy who can help you directly, but try calling Cindy Hynes at McCarthy Law, 602-456-8900.
Without more information about your overall situation, including whether you might have liability to a HELOC lender, you are certainly free to use the monies you are not paying to the lenders any way you wish. As far minimizing impact on your credit score, the question I have is whether you are not paying your credit cards at all. That, along with the short sale, would really hurt your score. If the only late payments are on the home loans, and you don't have any other lates, then generally,...
If the second mortgage was a "purchase money" mortgage, and your property qualified for anti-deficiency protection, then they shouldn't be able to do this. If your second mortgage was not used to purchase the property, or the property doesn't qualify, then in fact they can sue you. I don't handle this type of matter now that there's litigation, but email me and I can give you the name of someone who may be able to assist you.
While you can transfer title to an LLC, you may trigger a due on sale clause which may create immediate issues for you. In addition, creditors can "undo" such transactions within certain time frames, so there is no certainty that such a move will be effective. It is likely that there are other options to consider, including whether it is even worth keeping the house and trying to be a landlord when you will be so far away.
You have the practical and the legal to consider. On the legal side, if you only have a single loan on the property (or a second loan that is purchase money) and the property qualifies for anti-deficiency protection, then you have the option to foreclose or short sale. Which you choose depends on a number of factors, including when you anticipate borrowing money again, as well as costs of carrying the property aside from the mortgage. If you have a second, non-purchase money mortgage, e.g., a...
As Mr. Press indicated, you are likely at best in a month-to-month tenancy situation. With that legal information in hand, the next question is what to do with it. Do you want to firm up your situation and execute a lease, thus protecting yourself from early (and unexpected) termination? Or, is flexibility important? What about the landlord? Any risk that they might default on the loan encumbering the property? A signed lease helps protect you.
Of course, I need to see your lease to give you any firm counsel about this. That being said, how early did you break your lease, i.e., you gave 4 months notice, but was there 8 months left? I ask since in my scenario (and, frankly, almost any other), you are liable for the rent for the remainder of the term. So, practically speaking, if you are terminating early and the landlord is retaining one extra month's rent from you, I would strongly recommend formalizing this "settlement" with the...
Mr. Seegmiller is helpful, but in addition to the legal side is the practical side. First, we, as homeowners, do not have the option of dictating to the bank how we intend to divest ourselves of the home. You can stop making payments and the lender will eventually foreclose. Or, you can attempt a short sale. A deed in lieu is an alternative avaialable to the lender, and is rarely offered (foreclosure being a less expensive alternative). Assuming a non-judicial foreclosure and assuming your...
