Zombie Foreclosures Result in Millions of Delinquent Tax Revenue Dollars
So-called “zombie” foreclosures have been known to lower property values of surrounding homes. But they also present another problem: property tax revenue lost, RealtyTrac recently reported.
According to RealtyTrac’s most recent data on zombie foreclosures, about 21 percent of the 141,406 total foreclosures reported in Q2 were of the zombie variety. With the owner having deserted the distressed property, not only is there no one to maintain the property’s outward appearance, but there is no one paying taxes on the property.
RealtyTrac estimates near $400 million in delinquent property tax revenue as a result of zombie foreclosures in Q2. The top metropolitan statistical area (MSA) as far as delinquent property tax revenue in Q2, according to RealtyTrac, was New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, with $208.5 million. This MSA also reported the highest total number of zombie foreclosures of any MSA in the nation in Q2 with 13,574, according to RealtyTrac
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