Aaaargh!

Why is it that Project Sentinel can't provide accurate information in the Rent Watch column published in the real estate sections of newspapers around the State? Really, don't they have a lawyer they can call for information? Are they too cheap to pay for research? My only hope is that most people don't read the column and won't be confused.

In this letter a tenant is evicted after foreclosure from a house owned by the tenant's father. The father does not live at the property, but at another property that also was foreclosed. The realtor handling the eviction gave the tenant a 3-days' notice to quit. Project Sentinel did note that the tenant's lease probably would not survive the foreclosure, as the tenant was a close relative of the owner. So the tenant's two year lease would not survive foreclosure, nor would the lender be required to give the 90-days' notice required under the federal law.

BUT that does not mean that the tenant must move within 3 days or face an unlawful detainer action. Simply not true. Only the owner of the property can be evicted on a 3-days' notice to quit. If the tenant son is not an owner, he should receive the 60-days' notice required under California law. The only exception to the 60-days' notice requirement is that the owner of the property cannot live with the tenant. (This can cause problems for tenants who share housing with the owner of the property, but that does not apply in this case.)

I used to propel myself around the Internet, stamping out incorrect information wherever I found it. But the various forums all required login and passwords, and I found that it wasn't worth my trouble to keeping hunting down error. But I hope that people find information from more reliable sources that the various forums--or Project Sentinel, for that matter.