Here's the gripping story...

You are the landlord of a small apartment building that you are offering for sale. You find a buyer and a sale is arranged.

The tenants learn of the sale and ask if they will be forced to move. How do you answer?

You explain that it depends upon the lease agreement. If the tenant signed a lease they have the right to remain in the unit at least until the end of the lease... longer if the new owner agrees.

In many cases the tenant signed a lease and remained after the lease term ended. At that point their occupancy became a month to month tenancy.

A month to month tenancy can be terminated merely with the landlord giving notice to the tenant. The length of the notice may be governed by state law, but a 30-day notice is customary.

In another situation the tenants learned that the apartment owner was in default on his monthly mortgage payments and the lender had begun a foreclosure action.

All the tenants had time remaining on their apartment leases and they had no intention of moving.

Bad news for the tenants... real property foreclosure law states that junior liens and leases are extinguished by a foreclosure.

This means tenant leases do not have to be honored by whomever buys the property at the foreclosure auction.

The tenants will receive due process by receiving a notice to vacate and if they don't move they will face an evicton lawsuit.