It has to be coming. The day when the term “zombie foreclosure” isn’t routinely linked in the same sentence with the state of Florida must be inexorably approaching.
Unfortunately, empirical evidence indicates that such a time is yet far off in the distance and that Florida will continue to be closely associated with property foreclosures and the distinctive “zombie” variant for an appreciable time going forward.
We have visited zombie foreclosures before, most recently in a March 21, 2014, blog post. They contrast materially from more common foreclosures pursuant to which a challenged homeowner remains on the premises trying to work things out with a lender — or challenging it — while his or her property is going through the foreclosure process.
With a zombie foreclosure, a homeowner simply walks away from a distressed property. That soon becomes apparent by overt signs that the residence is suffering from neglect, such as discontinued maintenance. In many such instances, a lender pays scant or no attention to a neglected property for many months, or even years.
Once again, a foreclosure tracking national report finds Florida at the top tier of states with zombie foreclosure-related incidents and attendant problems.
RealtyTrac provides relevant property information for all states, and what it recently indicated in a foreclosure study is a resurgence in zombie foreclosures in many areas of the country.
Lamentably, Florida finds itself once again — as has often been the case with other RealtyTrac surveys — prominently linked with such foreclosures.
Moreover, RealtyTrac states that, once a foreclosure process is formally initiated in Florida, it takes an inordinately long time to complete it. Reportedly, it takes a whopping 946 days in Florida to foreclose on a property, on average.
The relevant figures clearly indicate that foreclosure activity continues in high volume across the country and that, as has steadfastly been the case, Florida is especially affected.
Persons in Florida with questions or concerns regarding foreclosure can obtain prompt answers and knowledgeable legal guidance from a proven Miami-based debt-relief attorney.
