What could be more frightening than Zombie Homes? Zombie Titles! At Palm State Mortgage Company, we want you to know how a mortgage operates, and that means you should be aware of how foreclosures function, and how a homeowner can be haunted by a home he or she abandons.
This week’s blog is actually Part Two of our most recent blog, Palm State Mortgage: Who’s Afraid of Zombie Homes? We invite you to review that article before focusing on deeper details in this one.
In our previous blog, Palm State Mortgage brought you the term, “Zombie Home,” not to frighten you, but simply to inform you about deserted houses which are caught in slow court foreclosure cases.
How Does A Title Become A Zombie Title?
A regular title to a home transforms into a Zombie Title when two things happen:
1. The Walk Away: The legal owner of a piece of property reacts to foreclosure by walking away from a home, and starting a new life, before the foreclosure proceedings are finished.
2. The Dismissal: The bank or lender dismisses the foreclosure, and the owner does not even realize that he or she is still the owner of the property.
The expert definition of this situation is “A zombie title is a title to real property that happens when a lender initiates foreclosure proceedings by issuing a notice of foreclosure and then unexpectedly dismisses the foreclosure.”
Caution: Watch Out For First To Final Steps Of Foreclosure!
By the way, as we told you in our previous blog, lenders do not have to explain the reasons they do not follow through with a foreclosure. They can simply decide they do not want the house back. They might believe that the costs of the foreclosure does not justify its completion. Sometimes lenders discover they have too much inventory of the same type of property.
A zombie title is in full form when homeowners become pursued by bills, taxes, and fees for neglected property which they think they no longer own.
A number of nightmares could ensue: “the homeowner could incur penalties and fees, and even face legal action. In addition, holders of zombie titles may have their wages and tax refunds garnished, and their credit destroyed, resulting in more financial trouble in the future.”
Allan S. Glass, president of ASG Real Estate, says, “It’s extraordinarily important to understand you can’t just walk away and expect the problems to resolve themselves.” He adds succinctly, “Homeowners must see the foreclosure process to completion.”
In other words, if you suffer foreclosure, you can not run away after your first notice. If you do, your title becomes a zombie title, forever stalking you with mounting bills and fees. In reference to foreclosure proceedings, your new life, free of the financial drain of your old property, begins only after you have a final notice.
To put it simply, that house is yours, until someone else’s signature is on the title. This will typically happen at a foreclosure auction, but beware; there might be some time in processing before you reach the auction point in the proceedings. Meanwhile, you should know you are responsible for upkeep and maintenance on a property while it is in foreclosure. You are also liable for damages caused by vandalism.
Protection From Zombie Titles:
Palm State has found an excellent article concerning this topic, from the experts at Forbes magazine where you can read and research more about zombie titles and foreclosures.Palm State Mortgage Company sees the take-away knowledge here as the realization of the commitment to ownership involved in mortgaging a home. We have seen “Zombies” recently portrayed as cute or cool monsters in the movies. However, “Zombie Titles” can eat your good name and reputation, potentially destroying your financial life. Zombie Titles show us that, ultimately, lenders do not really want your house; they want the money you have promised to pay monthly by signing your name to those mortgage papers.
This brings us to another very special life lesson taught by our mothers and fathers: Be sure you understand legal papers of any kind, before you sign them. We invite you to read more about this topic at this informative source. Palm State Mortgage Company will be with you through every step of your mortgage process. We will help you understand the rights and responsibilities of home ownership, and the meaning of your mortgage papers.
With such understanding, and a good family budget, you and your family will be protected from Zombie Titles.
