Rents

[John C.]

I bought a house as primary residence and after 2-3 yrs. of living in it I rented it out, been about 4-5yrs. It has been foreclosed on Dec. 9,2010. Now I am in the redemption period until June, 2011. So, I still have tenants ad they are still paying me. Do I keep that money or can the note holder get it from me? If they can get it is it just the amount in the redemption period? The house is in michigan. The bank is Republic Bank (Sold to Citizens Bank), Note bought by Kondaur 2 days before foreclosure ended. If the note says nothing about the rents I receive can they still sue for it and win?

[Jon Holdman]

Your best bet is to contact a real estate lawyer in your area and discuss the situation. There was a discussion here recently about Michigan foreclosures and the redemption periods and apparently the former owner does retain some rights. That said, what you're doing is called "rent skimming". Its legal in some states and illegal in others, and I just don't know about Michigan. Its possible that the tenant could sue you in addition to lender. Again, you really need some legal advice from someone who knows MI law and how a judge might rule if this goes to court.