It was an odd moment for Shawnda Rochon, the day she came home and taped a foreclosure notice to her front door.
The owner of the home she's rented since October had defaulted on her mortgage and an unidentified agent of First American Title Insurance Co. wanted to snap photos to prove that the notice had been delivered.
"The banks need to be not so inhuman when they're kicking families out on the streets," Rochon said. "They don't care. They just want their house so they can sell it again."
She had just picked up her 6-month-old daughter after a long day's work July 9 when she saw the agent standing in her driveway. The woman asked Rochon to tape the note to her door.
The notice indicated that the house would be auctioned July 25.
She didn't know if that meant she had to move by the auction date.
"I was just in shock," Rochon said.
Rent for the two-bedroom, one bathroom house was administered by a local property management company called A Better Way Real Estate and Property Management in Fontana on behalf of Yolanda Cuevas, the owner of the home.
When she sought the return of her $1,450 deposit, Rochon learned from the company that Cuevas was not returning its phone calls and that she could not be located.
Rochon then attempted to stop payment on her July rent and discovered that Cuevas had cashed the $1,250 check July 8.
It was the same day Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB1137, which gives renters 60 days to vacate a home after a bank forecloses on it.
Rochon was not aware of the new law.
On July 25, the house reverted to Chase Home Financing, according to an agent with First American Title.
Rochon received two copies of a note July 30, one taped to her front window, the other to the garage door.
It was from a Century 21 agent based in Norco, telling Rochon that if she did not contact them immediately to arrange for removal of her personal property, any remaining on the premises would be deemed abandoned, then removed.
Worried that his tools might be taken, Todd Stanford, Rochon's live-in boyfriend and father of her child, started packing. He's a professional dirt-bike mechanic.
"It is what it is," Stanford said.
When she contacted the agent, Shannon Chudzicki, about the notice, Rochon says the agent told her they needed to leave by Aug. 13.
The agent then offered $500 in relocation assistance and a threat of law enforcement if they didn't move, Rochon said.
When Stanford asked Chudzicki about eviction rights and a return of deposit, he said, she pleaded ignorance and told him to talk to the bank.
Rochon said the agent told her the bank would give her $1,000, then faxed a relocation assistance agreement to vacate the house by Aug. 15.
Chudzicki declined comment Thursday. Chase Home did not return phone calls Friday.
The property manager said he left a message after dialing Cuevas' last known phone number, saying he would need to go to the cops to get the deposit back for Rochon. He hasn't heard from Cuevas in two months.
Such cases are trickling into the Inland Fair House and Mediation Board.
The trickle could turn into a flood.
Jess Torres, assistant director of the board, said he has counseled more than 400 homeowners in default since April.
The number of renters seeking advice about disputes with landlords in default is starting to pick up, he said.
"They are facing a lot of uphill battles," Torres said.
Banks must give tenants a 30-day notice to leave, he said. Unfortunately, renters are usually the last to know that the houses they occupy have been foreclosed, he said.
"There comes a point where you (as a renter) don't know who owns the property," Torres said.
Rochon and Stanford took up the bank's offer for relocation assistance. They plan to live with her parents and save money to buy a home.
"For anybody who's renting, do some kind of property check on their property to make sure it's not going into foreclosure. That way they don't run into the same situation we're in," Rochon said.
One real estate agent based in the city said it takes about a one-minute phone call to any real estate agent to find out the status of a home for rent.
"In most cases, we can do the research for free," said John Ruiz of Re/Max.
Renters in today's market should be savvy about picking a place to live, Ruiz said. If a real estate agent is involved, they should ask to see the person's license number and verify it online through the Department of Realtors.
Depending on the agreement, some renters lose thousands of dollars in deposits to landlords whose homes are foreclosed, he said.
"I've heard of people selling their kitchen (hardware) and their garage (hardware) to save the house," Ruiz said. "As their last resort, people are renting out their houses."
Since Cuevas' house was up for auction July 25, Ruiz said it means the house was probably in default for at least three months.
Meanwhile, she apparently pocketed Rochon's rent checks.
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