Local Home Buyers USA • Powered by the research of PropTechUSA.ai
The Hidden Economy of “Zombie Houses”: Vacant Properties, Out-of-State Owners & the Opportunity to Sell Without Coming Back
A Bloomberg-style, data-driven look at the silent housing stock nobody talks about—and how modern cash buyers turn vacant, out-of-state headaches into fast, remote closings.
Zombie House Exit Simulator
Move a few sliders to see how a vacant or out-of-state property might perform under different exit strategies: a traditional listing, an “as-is” listing, or a direct cash offer from Local Home Buyers USA.
This tool is an educational illustration, not a live quote. For a real, data-backed offer, compare your ways to sell a house in 2025 or request your custom offer directly.
Traditional Agent Listing
Full retail, full friction
$0
Estimated net after ~8% selling costs, repairs, and holding costs.
- Showings, inspections, buyer financing.
- Repair requests & concessions likely.
- Best when the home is already in strong condition.
Deep dive: how to handle multiple offers & pick the best buyer.
“As-Is” Open Market Sale
Discounted price, slower exit
$0
Estimated net with a price discount plus commissions and carrying costs.
- Investors & flippers compete on price.
- Still paying tax, insurance, and HOA until it closes.
- Good if you want options but can wait.
Direct Sale to Local Home Buyers USA
Fast, remote “as-is” exit
$0
No repairs, no showings, remote closing. Trade a discount for speed, certainty, and zero travel.
- We coordinate keys, trash-out, and local vendors.
- Close from anywhere by mobile notary or e-sign.
- Ideal for vacant, inherited, or out-of-state properties.
Explore your options: 8 ways to sell a house in 2025.
What Exactly Is a “Zombie House” in 2025?
Financial analysts use “zombie foreclosures” in a narrow sense. Everyday homeowners use “zombie house” in a much broader—and more practical—way.
1. The technical zombie foreclosure
Data providers talk about zombie foreclosures when a property is:
- Already in pre-foreclosure (the lender has started the process), and
- Already vacant or abandoned by the owner.
These properties are a tiny slice of the total housing stock, but they create an outsized drag on local neighborhoods: visual blight, vandalism risk, and downward pressure on nearby values. They’re the “bad headlines” version of zombie housing.
2. The real-world zombie house most owners mean
When most people say “zombie house,” they really mean a property that is:
- Vacant or barely used,
- Not producing income (no rent, no joy),
- Quietly burning cash in taxes, insurance, and HOA dues, and
- Located far away from the owner, often in another state.
In other words, a zombie house is a home caught between uses. It’s not a primary residence, not a productive rental, and not actively marketed for sale. It just sits.
The Five Most Common Paths to a Zombie House
Empty houses rarely start that way on purpose. They usually drift into vacancy through a life event, a financial shock, or sheer decision fatigue.
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Inherited homes & drawn-out probate
A parent passes away. Adult children live in different states. Nobody wants to move in, and everyone is juggling jobs, kids, and grief. The result? The house sits.
Probate can easily stretch 9–18 months in some counties, especially when wills are outdated or missing. In that time, you’re paying:
- Property taxes,
- Insurance (sometimes at vacant-home rates), and
- Basic upkeep to keep code enforcement off your back.
If this sounds familiar, pair this article with our probate homes guide to see where a direct sale fits in.
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Out-of-state landlords between tenants
Distance is the quiet killer of landlord ROI. When tenants move out or stop paying, long-distance owners face:
- Eviction timelines measured in months, not weeks,
- Contractor roulette (three bids, three wildly different stories), and
- New regulations and disclosure rules they’ve never seen before.
Many owners simply decide to “pause” and figure it out later. That pause is how rentals turn into zombie houses.
Want to know if the numbers still work? Use the Landlord Exit Calculator 2026 to see whether holding or selling makes more sense.
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Snowbirds & second homes that became financial dead weight
In popular vacation and second-home markets, it’s common for 25–30% of the housing stock to be used seasonally. When insurance, flights, and local costs all rise at once, “our place down there” can quickly feel like a second mortgage with none of the fun.
Some owners keep paying simply because they’ve owned the home for decades. That’s the endowment effect—we overvalue what we already own. A net-sheet driven offer can cut through that emotion and show whether keeping or selling actually serves your future.
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Pre-foreclosure limbo & walk-aways
When a lender files a notice of default, some owners assume “it’s already over” and quietly move out, even though the foreclosure isn’t complete. The house sits vacant while:
- Legal timelines run,
- Fees and interest snowball, and
- Grass grows, windows break, and code violations stack up.
This is where a lot of true zombie foreclosures live—in that gray area between “still my house” and “bank-owned,” with nobody really in charge.
If you’re in this limbo, read Pre-Foreclosure Chess: Keep your equity or lose it. In many cases, a quick sale can preserve equity that would otherwise evaporate in fees and delays.
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Insurance, repair, or HOA shock
Sometimes the house itself hasn’t changed—but the economics around it have. In many states, owners are seeing:
- Double-digit jumps in homeowners insurance,
- Roof and foundation quotes that rival a brand-new car, and
- HOA special assessments that arrive like surprise tax bills.
When those numbers collide with a job loss, divorce, or health event, turning a home into a zombie house can feel like the only option. But it’s rarely the optimal one.
The Silent Cost of Letting a Property Sit Vacant
Vacancy feels like “doing nothing.” Financially, it’s the most expensive kind of doing nothing.
Carrying Costs
- Property taxes and assessments
- Homeowners or vacant-home insurance
- HOA dues and surprise special assessments
- Minimum utilities & basic yard / snow care
Risk & Liability
- Vandalism, break-ins, and copper theft
- Squatters and “professional tenants”
- Injury liability if someone gets hurt on site
- Code violations that accrue daily fines
Opportunity Cost
- Equity trapped in a non-performing asset
- Cash that could be used to reduce debt
- Stress that never fully leaves your mind
- Time you and your family never get back
Investors run the math on vacant houses the way traders look at stale positions in a portfolio: “Is the return I’m getting worth the stress and risk I’m carrying?” If the answer is no, it’s time to evaluate alternatives—from partnering with an investor via novation to a clean, “as-is” sale to a direct buyer.
Zombie House Risk & Strategy Console
Answer a few questions and see a data-desk style risk score, along with recommended next moves and reading. This is a high-level console—not legal or financial advice—designed to help you decide whether to keep holding or move toward an exit.
Your zombie house risk is elevated. You’re carrying real cost and distance risk, but there’s still time to be strategic instead of reactive.
Suggested next moves
- Run a detailed numbers check using our Landlord Exit Calculator 2026 or net-sheet simulations.
- Read The hidden economy of zombie houses for a full playbook.
- Decide whether a direct, remote sale to Local Home Buyers USA beats holding through another 6–12 months.
Why Out-of-State Owners Struggle to Exit Zombie Houses
Long-distance ownership turns routine tasks into mini projects. That’s why so many zombie houses belong to out-of-state owners and accidental landlords.
Friction #1: Travel & time
Seeing the property “just to figure it out” means flights, hotels, rental cars, and time off work. If you’re juggling kids, a career, or caring for aging parents, that trip keeps getting bumped.
Friction #2: Vendor roulette
You’re Googling junk-out companies and handymen from 1,000 miles away. Each quote is different, communication is spotty, and nobody seems excited about a one-off project for an out-of-state client.
Friction #3: Local rules you don’t know
Some cities require out-of-town landlord registration. Others have strict “as-is” disclosure rules, rental licensing, or pre-sale inspections. Violating these by accident can be expensive.
Friction #4: Coordination overhead
Even if you list with an agent, someone has to coordinate:
- Photographers and lockbox access,
- Cleaners and junk removal, and
- Inspectors, appraisers, and contractors.
When a deal falls through, that coordination repeats. Over and over.
Friction #5: Fear of scams
Vacant houses attract “investors” with wildly different levels of experience and capital. At the same time, deed fraud and wire fraud are more sophisticated than ever.
You shouldn’t have to become a real estate underwriter and cyber-security expert just to sell a house you don’t even live in.
If you’re already exhausted by the DIY route, our piece on FSBO fatigue and when cash offers make sense is required reading.
How Local Home Buyers USA Turns Zombie Houses into Clean Exits
Local Home Buyers USA operates like a focused, 50-state special situations desk: we look for non-performing housing assets and turn them into clean, fast, remote exits for everyday owners.
1. Intake: 10–15 minutes to tell your story
You start with a short call or a quick form. We focus on four questions:
- Where is the property and what’s its rough condition?
- How did you end up owning it (inheritance, rental, previous home)?
- Is anyone still living there—tenant, squatter, or family?
- What does “a win” look like for you in terms of timing and net proceeds?
From there, we map your options against our broader framework in Ways to Sell: 2025 Seller Playbook.
2. Data-driven underwriting, enhanced by local eyes
PropTechUSA.ai pulls a data stack around your address: public records, comparable sales, neighborhood investor activity, rent levels, and visible distress signals.
We combine that with:
- Photos or a quick video walkthrough you (or a neighbor) take with a phone, and
- When needed, a local field rep visit for additional context.
The result is a transparent offer range that reflects condition, location, and realistic exit scenarios.
3. Side-by-side net sheets, not sales pressure
We lay out, in plain English, what your net could look like in three lanes:
- Full retail listing after repairs, with commission and holding costs,
- “As-is” listing at a discount, with slower closing risk, and
- Direct sale to Local Home Buyers USA, with no repairs and a set closing date.
This is where the Zombie House Exit Simulator at the top of this page mirrors the logic we use in real life. Instead of guessing, you’re looking at modeled outcomes.
4. E-sign and remote closing infrastructure
If the direct offer makes sense, you e-sign a purchase agreement from your phone, tablet, or laptop.
We route the deal through licensed title companies or real estate attorneys in the property’s state, using:
- Remote online notarization where allowed, or
- Mobile notaries who meet you where you live now.
You don’t board a plane. You don’t sit in a title office lobby. You receive a wire at closing.
5. On-the-ground execution: keys, trash-out, and compliance
Behind the scenes, our team handles:
- Lock changes and secure access for vendors,
- Trash-out and broom-swept cleanups after closing,
- Basic safety measures (boarding, winterization where needed), and
- Coordination with HOAs and city inspectors to get the property back into compliance.
Your role is simple: make decisions, sign documents, and approve timelines. We execute locally.
Choosing the Right Exit for Your Zombie House
Think of your vacant property the way a portfolio manager thinks about a legacy position: is it still earning its keep, or is it time to reallocate?
When a direct sale usually wins
- The house is vacant, dated, or damaged.
- You live in another city or state.
- There are multiple heirs, a divorce, or a health event in the background.
- You care more about certainty and time than hitting a hypothetical top-tick price.
When a retail or hybrid path might fit
- The home is in excellent condition already.
- You can handle some showings and minor touch-ups.
- You’re comfortable waiting 60–120 days to close.
- You’re open to hybrid structures like novation or wholetail.
Our article on how to handle multiple offers walks through how to compare buyer types—including investors, owner-occupants, and institutional capital.
There is no single “right” answer. But there is almost always a better answer than “let it sit empty for another year and hope something changes.”
Turn Your Zombie House Back Into a Living Asset
Zombie houses don’t fix themselves. They either drift deeper into neglect or get pulled back into the productive housing stock. The real decision is whether you want to be the one carrying that asset through the next cycle, or whether it’s time to hand the baton to a buyer whose full-time job is solving exactly this problem.
Step 1: Get clarity on your options
Start by understanding the full menu of exits available to you as a seller in 2025. That includes not just agents and investors, but novations, subject-to structures, and institutional offers.
Begin here: Ways to sell a house in 2025.
Step 2: Pressure-test your assumptions
Use the Zombie House Exit Simulator at the top of this page alongside tools like the Landlord Exit Calculator 2026 to sanity-check:
- How much carrying cost you can really justify,
- What your realistic net looks like in each lane, and
- How much your time and peace of mind are worth.
Step 3: Get a data-backed offer you can sign from anywhere
When you’re ready, Local Home Buyers USA turns your vacant or out-of-state property into a clean, remote closing—with keys, trash-out, and local logistics handled for you.
Next step:
- Request your no-obligation cash offer online, or
- Call 1-800-858-0588 to talk through your scenario live.
From there, you can decide whether to treat your zombie house like a legacy holding or a closed-out position.