You thought Zombies only ate flesh and brains? Well they also eat up adjacent property values. Be careful, you may be living next to a “Zombie” foreclosure.
There are a large number of houses in South Florida sitting empty because their owners abandoned them during a foreclosure proceeding, so called “Zombie” foreclosures. Just because a homeowner defaults on his mortgage does not mean his home immediately goes into foreclosure. Often times it takes the banks years to refer a foreclosure to a law firm for prosecution. There are a great deal of federal regulations which tie up the banks and prevent them from moving forward on residential foreclosures until they have jumped through a number of hoops. Many homeowners who are not fully informed of their rights have assumed they are required to move out once they have defaulted on their mortgage, or once they have received papers that their home is in foreclosure. This is simply not the case.
The banks must go to court and receive a judgment of foreclosure and subsequently a court order for eviction before they can remove a delinquent borrower from their home. The foreclosure process takes a minimum of three months when undefended. With the proper defense counsel, it can take the banks years to successfully prove their foreclosure case. Thus, delinquent homeowners do not need to abandon their homes until forced to do so via the eviction process.
The rate of “Zombie” foreclosures in South Florida has dropped as of late. Homeowners are realizing they have rights. If you are unclear as to what your rights are as a homeowner or tenant, call Glachman & Brill today.