PropertyProf Blog

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Of the many ills that resulted from the 2008 financial crisis, none garnered such a fantastic moniker as did the “zombie mortgage crisis.” But despite its name, this isn’t an episode of The Walking Dead. Rather, the phrase refers to a practice by mortgage lenders (or, mortgage servicers to be more precise) whereby a notice of foreclosure would be given and the defaulted and distressed homeowner would typically move out in anticipation of a foreclosure sale. But then, the lender would decide not to go through with the foreclosure process after all.

Not finishing the process was typically due to the fact that the property was “underwater” (meaning that the net of the debt due on the mortgage loan and the value of the property subject to the mortgage was in the negative—the secured debt was greater than the value of the collateral, in commercial law terms). This meant that there was no chance the lender could recoup its losses at the sale, which typically resulted in the property becoming REO (owned by the lender itself). This might seem obvious, but lenders don’t like being property owners—they would rather get paid. One reason they really don’t like owning foreclosed property is because ownership comes with costs. For instance, the bank is going to have to pay any homeowners association dues that might be required (which failure to pay can result in a lien on the property). There could also be tort liabilities if someone is hurt on the premises. But the lender can avoid all of this (and did) by just not doing anything—leaving the house still titled in the name of the now-absent homeowner but also leaving the mortgage in place. Hence the name—the mortgage process is initiated, leading one (the homeowner) to believe that foreclosure will soon happen and the mortgage will be gone, only to have the mortgage linger on (potentially forever)--like a zombie. You get the gist...

If you want a great (or terrible, rather) story, then look no further than this excerpt from a piece by Andrea Boyack (Washburn) and Robert Berger (Kansas Bankruptcy Judge):

After receiving notice from JP Morgan Chase in 2008 that foreclosure was imminent, homeowner Joseph Keller vacated his home, moved to a new residence, and tried to pick up the pieces and start again. Two years after he had relocated, however, the county sued Keller because his house, “already picked clean by scavengers,” was in violation of the housing code. Upon returning to investigate, Keller found his former home “in [] shambles,” with “hanging gutters and collapsed garage.” Keller also discovered that he owed back taxes, sewer fees, as well as bills for municipal weed and waste removal. Furthermore, he remained personally liable on the Chase mortgage loan, the debt having grown from $62,000 to $84,000 because of two years of unpaid interest, penalties, and fees. Adding insult to injury, the Social Security Administration rejected his disability application because the vacant, crumbling home he still unwittingly owned was a valuable “asset.” Chase had dismissed the foreclosure judgment two months after Kelley had moved out, but somehow Kelley was never informed. (citations omitted).

And the zombie mortgage problem isn't just something that's bad for homeowners. Abandoned property of this kind has a huge impact that reaches far beyond lot lines. Stories abound of zombie mortgaged properties that fall into disrepair and become havens for crime and create public health concerns. This, in turn, has the effect of diminishing the property values of those parcels that are nearby—indeed, the whole community can sink with just a handful of scatter-site abandoned properties. And of course, where the problem is bad enough, local governments see a shrinking of property tax revenues as a result of the decline of neighborhoods where abandoned homes are located. Also, for those vacant properties in common interest communities (like a homeowners association or a condo association), the lender has no reason to pay the assessments (except for those few states which have adopted the limited super priority of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act). Whatever lien is imposed by the HOA for nonpayment will almost always be inferior to that of the lender's mortgage. Again, the mortgagee's interest is protected. Thus, those owners still left in the neighborhood must bear the burden of the unpaid assessments.

Naturally, social harms also follow the zombie mortgage practice. Consider, again, an excerpt from Boyack and Berger:

. . . [P]roperties subject to zombie mortgages are concentrated in low-income and minority communities. More than 57% of zombie properties are located in census tracts made up of households in the bottom 40% of income, compared to only 22.5% of zombie properties in communities where household income is in the top 40%. Statistically, if minority households compose at least 80% of a census tract, it is 18% more likely that a foreclosure in that community will end up a zombie mortgage compared with foreclosures commenced in other neighborhoods. (citations omitted).

So why is this important now, since the practice has obviously been going on for several years? Well, in the 2016 legislative session, the New York legislature passed a bill (effective December 2016) to try and address the zombie foreclosure problem. At the time the bill was passed, NY state officials estimated there were over 6,000 homes that were unoccupied and falling into disrepair.

So how does this law work? First, the legislation (known as New York’s 2016 Zombie Property and Foreclosure Prevention Act but more properly Part Q of Chapter 73 of the Laws of New York) has "mandatory" reporting requirements when it comes to informing the state about abandoned homes. Second, the law requires mortgage lenders (servicers to be precise) to maintain vacant and abandoned properties (something that previously was only required when the bank actually became the owner of the property). The trigger for the shift in the obligation to maintain the property comes when the lender has “a reasonable basis to  believe that the residential real property is vacant and abandoned . . . and is not otherwise restricted from accessing the property.” If the lender fails to maintain the property, the government can impose a civil penalty of $500 per violation, per day, per abandoned property.

For lenders, the law gives them an expedited foreclosure process if there is a good faith showing that the property has been abandoned. Importantly, the new act mandates that the foreclosing lender must proceed to the foreclosure sale within 90 days of obtaining a foreclosure judgment. If the lender itself purchases the property at the auction, then it must ensure that the home becomes reoccupied within 180 days of the date of acquisition. Lastly, the legislature gave the governor $100 million to be used to help low- to moderate-income individuals purchase and make repairs to these abandoned properties.

So now that we’re one year in (well, a little less), how is the law working? Evidently there are some practical/enforcement problems, as recently reported by the National Mortgage News and other outlets. First, reporting requirements (although mandatory) are not easy to enforce. The law leaves it up to lenders and local governments to report homes that are abandoned or vacant—which can be spotty and unreliable. Also, despite the penalities, the New York Department of Financial Services (the body that is not necessarily charged with enforcement of the law but that has taken up the mantle) reports that no penalties have been assessed since the law took effect. Although the NY deparment reports that banks and their servicers are broadly complying, state officials admit that they do not send inspectors to the properties to assess the situation themselves. And some local officials, like the mayor of Lackawanna, NY, says that not all banks are complying with the law. He noted this past May 2017 that "[t]his is bringing down our neighborhood, not just Lackawanna, not just Western New York but all of New York State by having banks being absent in their obligations in what they're supposed to be doing."

Also, unfortunately the abandoned home registry is not public. State officials say that doing so would make it a target for “squatters and criminal activity.” I’m a bit incredulous about that claim, since I can’t imagine many squatters and/or everyday criminals being sophisticated enough to go check out the Department of Financial Services’ website and find its registry database (or even know about it) and then go through the process of finding the ideal abandoned home for their purposes. Like the CFPB’s complaint database, making this registry public could help researchers and academics in empirically studying the zombie foreclosure issue more closely.

Lastly, NY state officials hope to help local governments build the capacity necessary to enforce this law themselves (an additional task that most municipalities will likely find difficult to pay for without funding from the state or another source).

Here at the #PropertyLawProfBlog, we’ll keep an eye on how this law continues to be rolled out in New York (as well as what other states might be doing to address the zombie foreclosure phenomenon). For now, over and out!

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2017/08/zombies-mortgages-and-what-new-york-state-is-doing-about-them.html