Zombie House--What to do about YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD EYESORE??

Does your neighborhood have a Zombie House?

As Halloween is approaching, I think it's the perfect time to talk about the "Zombie House," the appropriate nickname for a vacant neighborhood property that is in bad shape and one that could be affecting your property value.

These distressed homes are easy to spot, usually overgrown grass, out of control shrubs, maybe a boarded window or two, piles of trash, and of course, my favorite --the obnoxious bright blue tarp on the roof. Before I became a real estate agent, I worked for several national banks handling distressed properties all over the Lowcountry. I have dealt with thousands of preforeclosure homes, and I have seen the good, the bad, and THE VERY UGLY over the years.

There may be several reasons a home has been abandoned, in default of mortgage, homeowner has passed away, homeowner is in jail, or maybe tax liens against the property. In my experience, it is usually a default of the mortgage.

Lenders will usually start foreclosure proceedings at about the 120 day mark without payment and no communication from the homeowner as to why they are behind. When the bank is left in the dark for a few months they will hire a local person to drive by the property and see if it is still occupied. I have had to deem thousands of properties either vacant or occupied; sometimes it takes a few months to determine if a property has been abandoned.

Once the property is deemed vacant most banks, NOT ALL BANKS will pick up the routine exterior maintenance and address any other safety or health concerns on the exterior such as piles of trash, overgrown shrubs, or an unsecured pool. A majority of the banks will also secure the property by changing out a secondary door lock to a bank coded lock and allow crews to enter to address safety and health concerns on the interior. Most of the time, this is when the house is in preforeclosure, this time period can last as short as 6 months or I've seen them stay in preforeclosure for 5 plus years.

What many struggling homeowners don't seem to understand is the property is STILL THEIR PROPERTY! I can understand death, jail time, but I never understood why homeowners abandoned their homes the moment the bank notifies them they are in default. There are many different ways to halt or slow the preforeclosure process; you can do a loan modification, sell the property, or if you owe more than the current market value, you can short sell the property during this period. You don't have to leave; it is still your home!

This is the time period during preforeclosure that the once loved and well cared for home can turn into THE ZOMBIE HOUSE! The lender doesn't own the house and therefore won't invest tons of money into the property, the homeowner has abandoned it and won't maintain it, and depending on the backlog of preforeclosures, that house may remain in limbo and a lot of them get lost in the system for years and years without ZERO maintenance. The poor condition of these homes can certainly affect the value of surrounding homes. Who wants to live next to a house with 6 boarded-up windows, a massive blue tarp on the roof, and grass 4ft high??? These unsightly homes not only drive potential buyers away from your house but attract vandals, squatters, snakes for the high grass, rats feed on the piles of trash, and mosquitos explode in the unkept pool. But you don't have to feel hopeless living next to a Zombie house. Each county has a team of code enforcement officers that will put violations on the property, which sometimes forces the mortgage company to restart maintenance or encourage the homeowner to hire someone to take care of the property. The contact information for code enforcement can be found on each county website.

You can also contact a local real estate agent who specializes in distressed properties, LIKE MYSELF. Often, I can track down the owner and talk to them about selling the property. I have all-cash investors who can purchase the property from the current owner extremely fast and bring the property back to life FAST!

If the county can not force the owner or the bank to cure the violations and the current owner can not be tracked down or refuses to sell, unfortunately, the condition of the house will most likely remain the same if not worsen until the property is sent to the foreclosure auction. At the auction, the bank's representative will bid up to a predetermined amount. Investors can bid higher than the bank to win the property. If they do not bid higher, the title is transferred over to the bank. The foreclosure auctions are held once a month, and the number of homes being auctioned can vary from just 4 or 5 to 20 or more.

If you cannot find out what is happening to an abandoned property near you, contact me. I will be happy to help get you answers and hopefully tell you how far along the property is in the process and if a sale date has been ordered yet. There is a light at the end of the foreclosure tunnel. Don't let the Zombie home get you down.