Beware of Zombie Titles

With the economy in a funk, anyone was dealing in real estate, quickly became familiar with terms like, short sales, foreclosures.  Now that the economy is turning around and the housing market is getting better, people are moving into better homes and a new term is coming to light----zombie titles.

The Zombie Title                                                                                                 

This was when a home sat vacant for a long time because the owners defaulted on their loan and the bank started the foreclosure process. For some reason, the bank failed to complete the process and never sold the home.  When the city started writing fines for the dead or overgrown grass and weeds, the homeowner who thought they were done with the home, got the bill!

A Home that keeps Haunting

The homeowner thinks they don't own the property anymore and therefore try to rebuild their credit and try to find a new place to live. It can be a rude awakening to find out that the home they thought they didn't own anymore, they still do own.  The whole time they could have been living in the home and taking care of it, but now because of it's long term vacancy, the property is in disrepair.

It's Spooking the Neighborhood

These scenarios with vacant homes can decrease the value in the neighborhood.  With the bank nor the homeowner taking care of the property it is an eye sore in the neighborhood with it's horrific dead lawn, weeds, broken windows, etc. This many time is a problem with no solution because the homeowner will not invest money in the property when the bank could come back anytime and take it back through foreclosure.

Nail Shut The Foreclosure Coffin

Homeowners who have been foreclosed on a home, should do some follow up and make sure that the bank actually followed through with the process and a closing sale. There are several ways that this can be check on, call a lender or check the public records. This could save you from a haunting nightmare!

Moral of the story...Don't let Zombie Titles from the past, haunt your future!  If you have any questions about local real estate here in Phoenix, Arizona, please give me a call at 602 647-6782, or email me at spinneo@prorealty3.com.