Zombie Home in my name..

[SimpleMind]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Property is in Michigan.. I live in Wisconsin..

Back in 2005, my wife and I both had decent jobs, and we decided to buy a 2nd home in Michigan. Things went OK until I got laid off, and my wife ended up getting sick. I let the property go into foreclosure, and supposedly the property was auctioned off. I never received notification the property was auctioned off, nor was I aware the 3 month redemption expired in June.

My intentions were to file bankruptcy, and let the 2nd home go anyway..

The problem the property was supposedly sold at auction back in April.. ... However, I am still listed on the title, and deed as the legal owner. I am still receiving property tax bills, and citations for not clearing snow... I am also receiving water bills.. (Town charges for sewage even if I have water disconnected).

It looks as if I have a "zombie home" in my name, nobody wants the responsibility to pay the taxes, or maintain the home... What must I do to get this off my name, and the title/deed to the rightful owner?

 

[FlyingRon]

Well it's difficult. You first need to see if the lender actually did foreclose. In some places the banks aren't bothering because the prospect the property will sell at foreclosure is small and they don't want your liability. If this is the case, there's really nothing you can do about it.

If it did foreclose, even if nobody bid on it, the bank most likely is the owner. However, again due to issues with REO inventory, many banks don't bother to record the deed on such foreclosures. This screws you and if there were other people involved like the HOA or the taxman, they get screwed as well. As a result many HOAs are getting pretty aggressive on foreclosing (either against the owners or the banks after a prior foreclosure). Your other option is with the taxman, but the problem is if your property taxes are substantial, the municipality probably isn't able to sell the property to recover their money easily either.