Bought an investment house, renter occupied

[Travis Ringe]

Hey guys,
I bought a house at trustee sale in arizona. Before bidding I talked to the tenant and she said she was month to month. I then won the bid and went to talk to the tenants about their options. Her husband then tells me they are not month to month but rather they resigned a 1 year lease june 2 of this year. I want them out so I can do some upgrades and sell the house. I am not interested in the rental aspect. Under the new laws/regulations, do I have to honor the said lease or is the slate wiped clean and I can start the eviction process? The tenants are not thrilled about moving and I have made them offers and my agent has showed them exact floor plans around the same price and they dont seem to want to cooperate. Also, I purchased the home August 22, 2009, and they did not make rent august 1st. I dont know if that is relevant cause I did not own the home at the time. Any help would be appreciated!

[Jon Holdman]

Get an attorney in your area who's knowledgeable about local laws. That's a phone call you should make TODAY. Knowing where you and the property are might allow someone to give specific comments.

Here's Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009'. It may apply. It does give tenants 90 days. However, my reading (not a lawyer), is that it only applies if the lease was signed before any foreclosure notice was given. You say they say they signed a lease on June 1. You purchased recently, I gather. In Colorado, there is absolutely no way an auction could have occured recently and the lease was signed before any notice. For the auction to occur in August, the first notice (called a NED - Notice of Election and Demand) would have been done no later than about March or April. So, if they signed a lease in June, the lessor (previous owner) would have already been served notice, and this law would not apply.