There's no formal agreement. The owner is a pilot, and he set up this townhouse as a "crashpad" which is common for flight attendants to use because we 1) get paid very little and it's cheap 2) dont mind sharing space because we are literally gone 70% of the month and 3) pay month to month since most of us dont know how long we will be in our current bases. He told us he decided to close the crashpad and sell, but the contracts would need 60 days to go through, which would have been true if the buyer had not paid in cash.

Where do you live? Depending on the country and state, even without a formal agreement if you've lived there long enough and can prove it, you still have rights and they still need to provide sufficient notice. I'd suggest seeking some free legal advice on the matter.

I'm a Pennsylvania landlord, and in this state, you have rights. I've done what they are doing many times - bluffing to get people out faster than the legal process allows. (I bluff when they aren't paying rent and not looking for a way to start paying rent again). In PA you have a default lease when there's no signed contract. It gives you the right to an eviction process. That means they need to need to give you a "notice to quit" that in your case should give you 15 days. You can stay past that, but doing so may cause the landlord to really start to not like you and will encourage them to reclaim financial loses from you. 5-10 days out for the magistrate; 10 days to appeal (can add months); 5-10 days to be kicked to the curb legally. (I always forget which of the above days are business days - so double check).

Who would ever pay a year's rent up front? That's thousands of dollars....

Before I bought my house, I always paid rent for my apartments yearly, this way I never had to worry about the rent being due. With my house, I signed a 30 year mortgage and paid it off in 13 years. I prioritized with my money