Despite what it may sound like, a zombie home is not part of a Halloween story. A zombie home refers to a residential asset that has no identifiable owner. The typical process of becoming a zombie home starts with the asset undergoing foreclosure and the owner vacating the premises. Next, the foreclosing lender cancels the foreclosure procedure for one reason or another leaving the home unoccupied. The result of this process allows the real estate property to remain vacant without anyone to take responsibility for its upkeep or maintenance. There are other ways for an asset to end up as a zombie home, Bigger Pockets explains these in greater detail.
Zombie homes are actually common throughout the United States, especially after the market crash in 2008. In the last decade, Long Island has seen an increase in zombie homes. This surge can be attributed to when many homes went into New York’s three-year foreclosure process in the late 2000s. Presently, this process continues and homes remain vacant.
To learn more about zombie homes in Long Island, Sharestates lists the top five zombie home cities on Long Island based on data from Newsday. These calculations use the ratio of zombie home per thousand units, and housing unit data of specific neighborhoods from censusreporter.
Top 5 Zombie Home Cities in Long Island
Hauppauge
Zombie Homes Per Thousand Units = 20.12
Housing Units = 7,360
Total Number of Zombie Homes = 148
Islandia
Zombie Homes Per Thousand Units = 20.12
Housing Units = 1,050
Total Number of Zombie Homes = 22
Ronkonkoma
Zombie Homes Per Thousand Units = 20.12
Housing Units = 6,500
Total Number of Zombie Homes = 130
Roosevelt
Zombie Homes Per Thousand Units = 20.91
Housing Units = 4,500
Total Number of Zombie Homes = 96
Wheatley Heights
Zombie Homes Per Thousand Units = 15.86
Housing Units = 1,484
Total Number of Zombie Homes = 23
Sharestates Now Offers Non-Performing Loans
Sharestates recently launched a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) program. NPLs are offered at up to 80% of the unpaid principal to qualified real estate professionals. One of the most common hurdles to purchasing a non-performing loan as an individual real estate investor is access to capital. There are very limited financing sources for people that are buying non-performing loans today. When you’re buying the asset there’s a ton of people that want to lend you money because you own the asset. When buying an NPL, you’re one step removed, so many developers will have to provide all cash which is a much larger check to write and prohibitive in terms of how much volume they can buy. Sharestates NPL program now offers real estate developers funding to complete renovations on dilapidated loans in neighborhoods across America. To learn more about Sharestates NPL Program, click here.