Some risk there, but more in renting condos and even some risk in rental buildings. But  a renter should have some lease rights,  check the CA law and be sure your lease  contract is conform.  Short purchasers and bank takeovers may appreciate having a renter in place to avoid damage.

As a tenant you have no rights what so ever if the property you rent goes into foreclosure.  Your lease is between you and the presumed owner of the property, if he/she is no longer the owner, the lease is ..., well, dead.  (Think of it like bankruptcy, if a company owes you money and then goes bankrupt..., guess what, you get a write off )

The only thing in CA law that protects you (marginally at best) is the eviction process law.  If you live in one location for 30 days, then you are required 30days of notice to vacate.  That's why hotels move people around that stay longish term in CA.  So, if you rent a place that winds up being rented to you by someone who is losing the property, or someone who doesn't even own the property (yes that is happening)

The answer is easy, as the other poster pointed out, just go down to the county office and lookup the documents by APN# or address for that property.  You also will get to find out if your landlord has a losers loan, and is making money renting to you.

My recommendation is to make damn sure your landlord is making at least a few hundred a month.  If he's not making money, he's not going to be taking care of the property, fixing what breaks, etc.  In general, he's going to hate you, because you are making him poorer every month.

All my properties make money every month, and I like my tenants because they are making me wealthy.  I don't mind paying licensed people to go in and fix problems that occur at my properties.

A family member of mine also has rental properties, also purchased post bust.  However, he bought them primarily in the high end parts of town, more as speculative purchases.  They lose money every month, he hates his tenants, and tries not to fix stuff, but when he does uses the cheapest possible (read unlicensed) people to do work at the house.

Who do you want to rent from?  Me, or my family member?  Find out who by checking records, make sure that you are making them wealthy and not poor.  (I know it sounds crazy, but it's really true, put yourself in their shoes)

So glad there are unbiased  experts out there.  Wouldn't want to have to depend on lawyers for legal advice or bankers for workouts.  Find a landload instead