LEBANON, Ore. -- Renting a home may seem like the best way to avoid the national mortgage meltdown, but a number of area renters are learning they shouldn't get too comfortable.

Tim and Erica Hill said they're very much at home in their rental house in Lebanon.

Last fall, the Hills moved into a different rental home in Lebanon just down the street from their current home. Within five months, however, they received notice that the house was going into foreclosure.

"If you think you're secure in a house, you're not," Erica Hill said. "The bank can still come in underneath and foreclose on them."

They've since moved, but now they've received another notice. Despite paying their rent on time, they have 30 days to move out.

"The house we're in now is up for sale, so it's happened all over again," Tim Hill said. "Twice in one year."

Theresa Keeney said she faces a similar mess, but with an added twist. Her southeast Portland duplex will be auctioned in February and she said her landlord is forcing her to honor her lease until then.

"When she reminded me that we have a valid lease and we have to hold up our end of the bargain, I said, 'Why are you saying that? Are you making the mortgage payments?' And she said no," Keeney said.

Keeney's landlord told FOX 12 the situation is bad for everyone.

"I determined that this was so underwater and there's so much money owed because of the way my daughter set up the mortgage," said Metta Namak, who owns the property.

Ari Rapkin, of the Community Alliance of Tenants, said he's been getting more calls from renters tangled in foreclosures.

"All these tenants are thinking, 'I'm safe and have a year lease. I'm going to be in my home for a long time.' And then they get this notice from the bank and it creates this massive instability," Rapkin said.

Unless a private buyer scoops up the property at an auction, attorneys said renters must move out. Banks will not act as a property manager and typically prefer the home vacant. Experts said the only protection renters have is the 30 day notice they're given to move out.

The Hills said they plan to beat the buyer to the punch and move out on their own terms.

Mortgage Meltdown Puts Renters At Risk, Too