These forgotten second mortgages are crawling back from the dead.
Without any feasible alternatives, spending 30-plus years paying off a mortgage with rising interest has become the norm.
What you may not know: Sometimes people need two mortgages to buy (or keep) a house.
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Home prices have become so high that its not uncommon to take outa second mortgageto finance the purchase.
These second mortgages can become zombie mortgages, and they can haunt you if you’re not careful.
What is a zombie mortgage?
The term is not, strictly speaking, perfectly accurate.
How did zombie mortgages happen?
Issuing second mortgages was especially popular during the housing bubble in the years before the Great Recession.
To help keep people afloat, the government installed debt relief programs.
People stopped getting reminders and statements, and the mortgage basically … died.
Or so these borrowers thought: These mortgages weren’t truly dead, but rather dormant.
Why do these mortgages come back to life?
Why are zombie mortgages popping up now?
Its a question regarding home value.
Now, with exorbitant home prices, its the perfect time for these collectors to make a move.