[deb7ro]

I live in Florida. I just rented a house, through a realtor, legal lease, owner lives out of state.
Paid first, last, security. House had been empty 2 years, filthy, needed painting, exterminator, carpets cleaned, etc. I paid for all of this and spent 2 weeks cleaning and painting.

I asked realtor if the house was in foreclosure, she said no.

I moved in 2 days later the water was shut off. Went to utility co. they informed me water was shut off, because owner had not paid it in 3 months, I had to pay to have water turned back on.
Then the A/C went out, called the owner, he told me to call and have it fixed. So A/C was fixed, 2 weeks later ac company called and said owner did not pay bill, would not answer their calls.
So I called owner, and asked him if it was in foreclosure, he said no.

Well, just found out house is in foreclosure, it's on the county website.
Owner will not answer my calls.
Now what do I do?
Do I have to still pay rent?
I need to save the money to move again

[rockinmommy]

Legally, until the house sells to a new owner on the courthouse steps or the bank officially takes it back, yes... you still have to pay rent to the owner per your lease.

If you go back through the posts on here (won't have to go back very far) you'll find TONS of posts about this exact situation.

The central theme is that legally you're obligated under the lease. Many people have suggested holding the money in an escrow account so you have it in case the landlord comes after you.

When is the house scheduled to be auctioned off?

You might try contacting the lender and see if you can negotiate a purchase. Do you know how long the guy has owned the house? Might be a cheap way to purchase.

[ScottGem]

Your situation has some wrinkles that make it a bit different from the tons of others.

Do you have any proof that the realtor and owner told you the house was not in foreclosure? Do you know when foreclosure poceedings were started?

If you can prove that the realtor told you it wasn't, when it was, you could sue both the realtor and landlord for fraud. In that case, you would want to pay the rental into an escrow account and, if you get a judgement, you can take your moving expenses out of the escrow. You should be able to recover moving expenses.

Or you might consider buying the property. Since the owner is going to lose it, you may be able to get the mortgage holder to transfer the mortgage to you and you pay the arrears.