I found a home to rent. The landlord lives out of the country.
Before we move who do we call to check on the landlord and the property. I don't want to move into a house going into foreclosure.

You can check with the county clerk to see if there is a lis pendens against the property. You can also get the name of the lienholder but they probably will not tell you the status of the loan.

Before you move in make sure, darn sure, that this is a legitimate rental. Perhaps meet the neighbors that can confirm the landlord is who they say they are. We have had a ton of scams in southern CA for rentals with landlords out of country, they want to collect rent on a house that is for sale/vacant, and they don't even own it. One scammer even provided us with a key to the house. Not sure how that happened, but the neighbors were able to inform us that the house was for sale and the owners were absolutely not out of the country and had no intentions of renting this house. Beware.