Short Sale quandry

[Rook2g5]

I'm currently living in a property that is approved for short sale. Potential buyers paraded through the home just about every day for a month until about 3 weeks ago when the traffic stopped. My lease is month to month and my landlord is not communicating with me.

 

About a month into this process, I get a call from a family asking if they can come by to see the house because their offer was accepted. They told me that they hoped to be in the property by October. The landlord won't talk to me, other than rent reminders so I emailed the listing agent as an "interested party" and she told me that the owner had accepted an offer and was awaiting the banks approval. In the meantime, the landlord has offered me no information, and maybe that's normal but I'm basically packed and ready to go in case someone shows up one day with the keys to move in.

 

I've been "encouraged" by both real estate professionals and an attorney to escrow my rent until this plays out. They told me that the owner, chances are, hasn't paid the mortgage in order to even qualify for the short sale. I was also told that although he may not be paying the mortgage, I still owe him the rent. I received a 5 day pay or quit, via email 4 days ago.

 

My questions:

 

Is there a resource where I can check the status of a short sale?

 

What rights do I have, if any, being in a month to month agreement?

 

Is the 5 day notice valid through email in Virginia?

 

If I elect to "quit" and leave, what's the penalty to me?

 

How soon can this become an eviction?

 

 

Any direction in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Rook2g5

[Polaroy2]

You don't need to move for another 90-days under the the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is Title VII of PL 111-22. Tenants in foreclosed properties are entitled to a minimum 90 days notice to vacate.

If you have a fixed-term lease you may be protected through the end of the term. go to http://www.nlihc.org/template/page.cfm?id=227]NLIHC: Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit for additional information.

 

You do however need to continue to pay rent on time as required per your lease.

[Rook2g5]

You don't need to move for another 90-days under the the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is Title VII of PL 111-22. Tenants in foreclosed properties are entitled to a minimum 90 days notice to vacate.

If you have a fixed-term lease you may be protected through the end of the term. go to http://www.nlihc.org/template/page.cfm?id=227]NLIHC: Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit for additional information.

 

You do however need to continue to pay rent on time as required per your lease.

 

I don't have a signed lease. I'm on a month to month. Does that change the 90 day parameter? Does this even apply to me? How close is a short sale to a foreclosure?