Looking for a BP pro to weigh in on my responsibility to the tenants in CT, while the prop. is in a short sale

[Nancy Molinari]

Hello all,

I really need your expertise on this question. I own a duplex and live in 1/2, renting the other side out. I will be moving to Boston for a new job and at 57 years old, crunching the numbers doesn't make sense to rent out both sides - upside down by 30K. I went through bankruptcy because I was laid off over a year ago and couldn't keep up with my 6K income and expenses. I didn't reaffirm the mortgage with the lender during the bankruptcy.

A CT attorney advised me that the best thing to do was to do a short sale, and then I am able to continue to collect rent from the tenants and work with the bank through the attorney and a real estate agent on selling the property. The tenants lease is up 6/30/13, so we are only taking two months here.

I know the laws can vary from state to state, so if you can provide any feedback on this, especially if you are familiar with the CT landlord/tenant laws, I would really appreciate any and all advice. Thanks for your help. Nancy