Is it just me or are Zombie's literally everywhere? ( I don't know why I always say literally, when I really mean figuratively. I know I am not the only person that does this. Why do we do that? It doesn't make any sense.) After spending a few weeks in Z is for Zombie's I feel like everywhere, I go I am seeing Zombie’s. ( Not in an I am crazy way where I really SEE Zombies but in a my perception has now changed way.) When trying to determine what to write this blog post about it took a shockingly short amount of time to find a relative culture reference to Zombies, and I found it in a place I would never have suspected…banks.
Zombie foreclosure …just when you though foreclosure couldn't get more frightening it rose from the grave. For those of you who are more tuned in to the current state of American finances this probably isn't news, but for me (the uniformed ) it was totally new. From my understanding, a zombie foreclosure is when a bank tells a homeowner that they are going to foreclose on a property, the property owner who is unable to prevent this, abandons the home to escape the ensuing debt. Problem solved …not . Sometime after homeowners abandon their property to the bank, the banks do not actually foreclose on the homes. This means that while these former homeowners attempt to rebuild their finances , their home sits discarded falling into disrepair and incurring even more debt. Not only have people had to deal with the trauma and shame of leaving their homes but are now responsible for paying for things like property taxes, demolition and cleaning services.
I honestly don’t know what I think is more frightening the idea of being hunted by actual Zombies or the idea of being unable to get out of debt. No, actually, I do know, actual Zombies are more frightening but the debt is pretty scary too. What I find so interesting about this is not so much the use of Zombie as a metaphor for this scenario but how appropriately it fits. I don’t think I ever realized the concept of Zombie , something insidiously returning from the dead, really captures the appropriate sentiment for many situations. It’s like when you have never heard of something before and as soon as you learn of its existence you see it everywhere. It’s the same with Zombie , before I spent a lot of time thinking about it, Zombie didn't really seem relevant . I am coming to realize that I was wrong.
That is really interesting. I'm also not very informed about finances and banks. I find it odd that the bank doesn't foreclose on the house if the owners abandon it. I wonder why the people wouldn't just file for bankruptcy. Hmmm. This is actually a topic that I would love to look into more! Great post :)
My understanding is that when the banks DON'T foreclose, they get to keep your house's full value as an asset on their books.
If they DO foreclose, they have to auction the house off, and then they get a much reduced selling price, and hence a lower return on investment.
So, the banks prosper while the former homeowner suffers and communities suffer with abandoned houses creating dead zones.
Wondering why you're seeing zombies everywhere? Perhaps you can thank Baader-Meinhof:
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-baader-meinhof-phenomenon/
Seriously, read that article, just for future reference, you know, not-so-useless trivia you can pull out at the next possible opportunity. Unfortunately for me I always forget the name of it. I always try to call it the Baron Munchausen phenomenon...
Not relevant to the idea of zombie foreclosures, but I just read this article, which theorizes that the reasons zombies are "everywhere," is because of society's current sad state of affairs: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=174003033