When leaving becomes easier than dealing with upside down mortgage
Facing foreclosure is already stressful, and if you’re living in the property, it can seem downright claustrophobic. But, those owners that try to go through the short sale process in Arizona are doing their best to exit gracefully. Other owners are simply giving up, giving in, or walking away from an upside down mortgage. It’s the bitter truth, and it’s wrecked havoc for some neighborhoods.
During the foreclosure boom, it became a common sight to find vacant foreclosed homes. So many people had an upside down mortgage, and working with the banks could take months or years, so they walked away. Even now, more than 20 percent of the foreclosed homes are left vacant throughout the country as mentioned in a recent RealtyTrac report.
According to the vice president of RealtyTrac, Daren Blomquist, it is best to manage distressed properties and foreclosures efficiently so that they may not affect the value of the neighborhood houses. Financial institutions holding the highest number of foreclosed properties include GMAC, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.
Walking away from an upside down mortgage:
Most popular areas and price ranges
As mentioned in the RealtyTrac reports, the price value of around 29 percent of the foreclosed home is placed below $50,000; 25 percent in the range of $50,000 to $1, 00,000; and 12 percent in the range of $1 million and above. So, the highest probability of the homes people walked away from were the lower-end homes with an upside down mortgage and/or very low value.
States with highest vacant foreclosures
• Indiana County: 32 percent
• Oregon County: 28 percent
• Nevada County: 28 percent
• Washington: 27 percent
• Georgia: 27 percent
Blomquist further added that these homes would not lead to the double dip in prices after considering the strong demand and high number of non-distressed property sellers in the market. In Arizona, homes under $100,000 are going like gangbusters. Even on homes that have an upside down mortgage and need a short sale, the demand is still very high and produces multiple buyers.
If you find a vacant property in your neighborhood, you can call us at 602-741-1602 to see if we can help rescue it. We’ve deal with abandoned properties all the time and can help get that eyesore out of your neighborhood, and help you capture rising appreciation in Phoenix even more.
Tracy (G+) is an Arizona Short Sale Realtor, Investor, Rehabber, and Foreclosure Expert.
She also is an avid blogger, vlogger, contributor to Real Estate Magazines, and hosts Real Estate Rescue, a radio show dedicated to the distressed property market.
