The US foreclosure crisis is starting to hit families renting houses as their landlords fall behind with payments. Tenants even with perfect credit and payment histories are being evicted in record numbers because owners are delinquent on monthly mortgage commitments.

When a rented or leased home enters foreclosure, US banks and landlords have no legal obligation to inform the tenants. This means many renters are the last to know there is a problem, according to Boise Real Estate Info.

The site says:

“Many discover their imminent eviction only when they come home to find an official notice from the lender posted on the door.

“In the worst cases, for example if families were away on long vacations when notices were posted, they return home to find the locks changed and their belongings in the street.”

According to the site, around 40 per cent of all single family home foreclosures in Los Angeles involve rented or leased property, and those figures are rising monthly.

A statement from the site also said the rental tenant-foreclosure situation in LA and other US cities is reaching “a boiling point”.

photo credit: MACSURAK

US tycoon Donald Trump is to sell one of the world’s most expensive penthouses as part of his venture into the UAE property market. Nakheel and the Trump Organisation have received bids for an exclusive property in Trump International Hotel and Tower on Palm Jumeirah.

Public sales of residences in the tower have now begun, with some units fetching as much as $2,450 per sq ft. Trump has announced he has even reserved a unit in the tower for himself, such is his confidence in the development.

Mr Trump said:

“I have created some of the world’s most spectacular buildings and hotels, but my project with Nakheel will be one of the most impressive undertakings I have ever been a part of.

“I’m thrilled with the early sales of the residences and I plan to reserve a property in the Tower for myself. I can assure you that the hotel will be a destination in itself, providing a stunning centrepiece to the skyline of Dubai.”

The 62-storey, stainless steel and glass Trump project will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah and is expected to be completed in summer 2011.

The 399 residences and townhouses will be offered in three categories, the Platinum Collection, the Titanium Collection, and the Pinnacle collection.

A survey of potential UK property investors has uncovered an opinion split over whether now is a good time to invest in property. The first quarterly Property Tracker poll from the Building Societies Association (BSA) found 51 per cent of people believe now is not a good time to invest.

However, 27 per cent of people agreed that the current period is an opportune moment to splash out. The new survey will also track which factors are currently considered to be the greatest barriers to house purchases, with most mainly worried about being able to keep up repayments on a property.

BCA director general Adrian Coles said:

“People often view property buyers as a single group. However, the Property Tracker survey shows that is not the case, and while most people don’t believe now is a good time to buy, more than one in four people believe the opposite.

“A significant proportion of respondents said expected future falls in property prices are a reason not to buy. However, the fact that a lack of job security was relatively unimportant in preventing property purchase suggests that concerns about the wider economy are not currently undermining the housing market.”

The BCA represents the entire UK building society sector and expects to publish its next set of Property Tracker figures in September.