A Zombie foreclosure is when a homeowner stops making house payments and just up and leaves their home for house flippers to grab. Cathy Baker of Baker Mortgage says our inventory is too low. "There is no such thing as a slue of houses sitting around here vacant. If a house were vacant for more than a week or two, you would have neighbors, first time home buyers and investors crawling all around that property." She says she doesn't see the phenomena happening here. "When you look locally, I don't think this will ever be an issue, at least in the near future, in Texas or anywhere around here because we have the strongest real estate market in the country."
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Baker says if your agent shows you one, take heed. "If they are on the market, you're as safe to buy them as any other time they would be. BUT make sure you go through a title company to close on them."
She also says it's not only a sad situation, it's totally unnecessary to leave like that. "If you stay in touch with your lender, and you respond to their calls for you to take action, they will not take away your house." xx morexx
Zombie foreclosures are most common in New York and Ohio.
Zombie Mortgages not likely in Houston.Photo: GettyImages