Pennsylvania Is Among the Top 10 States with Most Zombie Properties

Photo credit (vacant building): pwbaker via Flickr.
Photo credit (zombie): Nathan Rupert via Flickr.

Zombies may be among us, but not the way Walking Dead fans might think. RealtyTrac recently released the February edition of its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which showed foreclosure filings going down significantly, but zombie foreclosures still making up 21% of them.

So what exactly is a zombie property?

Essentially, it’s the result of a homeowner abandoning his / her house, which then sits vacant without owner or foreclosing lender doing anything about it. Or as RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist explains on MarketPlace:

“The bank is not claiming responsibility, the homeowner is not claiming responsibility, the property is falling into disrepair. The property taxes aren’t being paid. So it’s causing an eyesore in the community, and also potentially dragging down home values of surrounding properties.”

Pennsylvania is among the top 10 states with the most zombie properties, coming in at No. 8.
All is not lost, however. Below is a RealtyTrac infographic showing how to get rid of these living dead buildings.

Attack! (Foreclosures, that is) [MarketPlace Economy]
Zombie Foreclosures: The Vacant Dead [RealtyTrac]