I've made a short sale offer on the home that I'm currently leasing. My lease expires on Dec 1, 2008. A $1200 deposit is being held by my landlord and I fear losing it. I've never been late on my rent and continue to pay my landlord each month even though she isn't paying the lender. The owner has lied to me about many things and therefore, I do not trust her to refund my deposit.

I'm told that the bank can foreclose and will likely serve me with a 3-day notice and force me to move out before my lease expires should they not accept my offer to purchase. And, they (the bank) would not be required to give me my deposit back. Is this true? How can I protect myself? The realtor (landlords brother) tells me that they don't know when, or if, my offer will be accepted, originally he told me it would take about 3 weeks. Can I stipulate a time limit in which the lender has to respond to my offer? I don't know from one minute to the next if I'm going to be asked to leave my home, or what will be happening. Thank you for your response.