Lenders Double As As A Supernatural Force In Zombie Titles
Imagine you have gone through the nightmare of foreclosure on your home. You have moved out of the home after receiving notice of foreclosure and thinking the bank is now the owner. Sometime later you are again haunted by the spectre of documents asserting that you are still the owner of the home, and that you are responsible for back taxes and fees, even bills for municipal services, and you do not live in the home!
How can this happen?
Add the term zombie title to the growing list of ominous real estate terminology.
Title is the legal document that assigns ownership and responsibility of a piece of real estate to a rightful owner. In the case of a zombie title the lender who foreclosed on a property either through legal delays, or by choice, fails to take title to the property, thus avoiding the costs and responsibilities of ownership of the home. In this title limbo there seem to be no repercussions for the lender that initiated the foreclosure, but plenty of legal and financial challenges for the home owner.
The zombie title will continue to hang over the owner’s head until the lender, at it’s discretion, decides to finalize the process by taking title to the home.
It would seem to make sense to impose guidelines so that homeowners know whether or not their home is going to be sold. If a lender schedules an auction, sheriff’s sale, or another kind of foreclosure sale, that lender should be required to finish the process within a set amount of time. Whatever that timeline is, it should be clear to the homeowner that they will not be subject to financial and legal hassles without end.
Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086
