I had this same thing happen to me. I was renting a very nice duplex & the same people who owned the duplex also owned an apartment complex that was down the street. One day, the property manager showed up at my door telling me that the property was up for sale & I needed to find another place within 30 days! I had 2 small children at the time so this wasn't going to be easy! I found out that the reason the property was being sold so unexpectedly was because the owners had not been paying property taxes so the property was seized. There wasn't much I could do but move. Luckily I found a place within the 30 days. Several people told me I could sue the owners but I didn't bother because they ended up going bankrupt, anyway. I also did get my security deposit back before I moved so I decided to just let it go. As Dilly_Dally said, maybe you can contact an attorney to see if there's anything that can be done. The owners will owe you a security deposit. They cannot keep it unless there is damage to your unit. Good luck with everything.

Hi fbresnah, Before you step in the bucket of personal bankruptcy, I'd urge you to determine what you REALLY expect to get out of it. Bankruptcy is an effective tool for protecting income producing assets (like business inventory, machinery, and investments) from being siezed by creditors, thereby preventing any possibility of recovery. Many (most?) people who use personal bankruptcy have no income producing assets to protect, and thus take a much worse medicine than the problem they are actually addressing. Also, most folks who use personal bankruptcy are primarily attempting to "stop the noise" of the creditors & collectors who are relentlessly harrassing & pursuing them. If you fall into the category of those who have no income producing assets to protect, you can often get FAR better results, with FAR fewer negative side effects by using alternative strategies. Ken and I have gone from intense adversaries in our opinions to what I believe is allies in the concern for the common man who gets stuck in the mechanism of the public credit game. I know that at his core he cares deeply about people, and I think he knows that about me too. Together (or not exactly together, sometimes,) we've dived deep into various aspects of this topic... and some great stuff has come out of it. I'd invite you to surf a few of the following threads. Some examples of misery sustained, and misery conquered! http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg0914195427209.html?4 http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg081156017751.html?15 http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg1122145213469.html?49 http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg0811432230158.html?29 http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg010459412351.html?5 All the best to you with your challenges, Dave

Hi pkguy, Being here in Canada about a stones throw from Nancy in Mich's house almost literally I was trying to read up on what/why this is happening in the US and not in Canada. It is a good comparison because both the US & Canada have about the same percentage of home ownership by population along with being the highest world percentages. From what I've read so far the stark difference is that in Canada mortage payments are not tax deductible but capital gains on the sale of your principle residence are not taxed. Whereas in the US, mortgage payments are tax deductible but you pay capital gains tax unless you buy another house of equal or greater value? So how does this make a difference, well in Canada since you are not gaining a yearly tax deduction on your mortage payments there is more of an incentive to pay your mortage off as quickly as possible while in the US a lender may prod a purchaser into taking out a larger mortage, buy a bigger house or de-incentive people to pay of their mortage quickly because they'll lose the deductions. Does that make sense? As quip pointed out, your assumptions are a bit out of date (OK, quite a bit... but big credit to you for strategic thinking!!!!) Today, in the U.S., you get a cap gains tax exemption for $250,000 single, $500,000 married... as often as every two years (which means if you are a magician and can buy a primary or second home and re-sell it every two years you can take up to a halg Mill tax free each round... can't beat that with a stick!) The U.S. government's subsidy of mortgage leverage certainly DOES muddy the water from financial simplicity. It can be a very powerful advantage to those who understand it (and how to marry it with tax-subsidized investment strategies,) but when misunderstood people can, and do, hang themselves by it. Do you think if people living in the high value areas of the US were able to sell their overpriced $800k 3 bedroom ranch they paid $50k for 25 years ago could walk away with $750k tax free and move to a much nicer $300k house in Michigan and stand to pocket $400k or so of cash they'd move? Yup... In fact, you have just described an often-maligned migration tendency of Californians to Washington, Oregon, Arizona & Nevada. Believe it or not, oldtimer native Washingtonians birtch & gripe about how "unaffordable" and "tax inflated" their neighborhoods have become because of "the damn Californians" who sell their 3 bed, 2 bath starter in Sacramento for a cool Mill, and bought (at full retail) a 4,000 square foot mini-mansion in Bellevue for half their proceeds. As always... the knife cuts both ways. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner

Glenda, you do have a great memory! Kim Haas (wow that was years ago) The girl who supposedly had 4? young kids and she died (can't remember why) just before Christmas time and her husband wrote in hinting for some money to buy gifts for the kids. I remember the story slightly. Funny how no one could find the obituary notice or the story surrounding her death that should have been front page news at the time.