Eric Snider | Tampa Bay Business Journal |
“If you ever get the creepy feeling that your neighborhood resembles a set from “The Walking Dead,” maybe it’s because greater Tampa Bay ranks way up on the list of zombie foreclosures.
These are properties that have started the foreclosure process but never foreclosed and the homeowner has vacated. These distressed assets are a byproduct of lengthy foreclosure timelines and shifting state foreclosure statutes.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market experienced 9,642 zombie foreclosures in the second quarter this year, fourth highest in the country, according to RealtyTrac. Thirty percent of the foreclosures were owner-vacated, also among the highest in the U.S.”