Abandoned homes haunt neighbors in Cape Fear region [The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.]

Oct. 07--SPOUT SPRINGS -- For more than five years, Jim Redgate has been living next door to a zombie.

During the summer, the stench of rot and neglect forces his family to close the windows of their Harnett County home. In the winter, the odor is replaced with hordes of roaches looking for a warm place to live.

Redgate isn't alone. In the Cape Fear region, dozens of abandoned properties, known as "zombie titles," rot in limbo as mortgage companies pursue owners to care for their vacant house.

The property next door to Redgate, tucked in the rolling hills of western Harnett County, is a bit different.

There's no house to care for, and there hasn't been for more than five years, when flames gutted the modular home on Andrea Court.

"That's when my nightmare began," Redgate said. "Less than two weeks after we moved here. I love this area, I really like my home -- but we've never had an opportunity to enjoy living here.

"You'd think after five years, they could work all this out. But you'd think wrong."

The legal responsibilities for the Andrea Court property remain as tangled and thorny as the vines sprawled across the back of the smoke-scarred property.

Even now, there is no clear plan for clearing the property. According to Harnett County court records, the property was offered for foreclosure auction in June but had no buyers.

As a result, the property -- and responsibility for cleaning up the mess -- would revert to the mortgage holder, Chase Mortgage.

However, as of mid-September, the title had not conveyed back to Chase. Until that happens, Harnett County cannot begin legal proceedings to remove the debris.

Calls to Chase Mortgage seeking comment were not returned.

Randy Baker, senior zoning inspector for the county, has described the situation as "a wad of legal red tape that's tied up in knots."

According to Baker, after a fire in April 2008 rendered the home uninhabitable, the owners, Michael and Linda Kendzierski, moved out of the area.

Attempts to reach the couple we unsuccessful.

When they stopped making payments, Chase began collection attempts. In the meantime, an insurance payment check for the home was cut for the couple. However, since they were in default, but the home was not yet foreclosed, no one could cash the check.

Jennifer Slusser, the county's senior staff attorney, said the county became aware of the situation in August 2008. The Kendzierskis were declared in default, and the property was declared a public nuisance in violation of numerous local and state regulations.

A series of what Redgate calls "legal mumbo-jumbo" took place since then. The end result: "Not a damn thing has changed," Redgate said, his voice quivering with frustration.

"The only change is every year more cockroaches crawl out of there, and more feral cats move in."

He carefully pokes around the front of what was once a manufactured home. The grass and weeds near the home's base are well over knee-high.

"Perfect for snakes," he mutters.

A toilet has rotted through the floor and now rests in the crawl space. Mildewing carpet covers some spots, while rotting leaves cover others.

"The fire department can't even use it for training," Redgate said. "There's too much plastic, and there would be toxic fumes.

"I'd take a chain saw to the place myself, but I've been told I could be arrested for trespassing."

An envelope hangs from the charred front porch. It contains a notice from Chase's collection agency, urging the occupants to help make sure they can keep their home. Of course, the only occupants at the time were wasps and fire ants.

"Think anyone is staying in this place?" Redgate asks. "That just shows you how screwed up this system is.

"They put a notice on the door of a burned-out home, and everything is just hunky-dory for them. Meanwhile, my family has to live with this every day. Tell me what's fair about any of this."

In previous years, lenders would proceed through the foreclosure process, find a new buyer and start again.

But in 2008, the year the house on Andrea Court burned, the housing market went up in flames, as well.

Realtytrac, a national firm that tracks home foreclosures, estimates that since 2006, more than 10 million homes and condos fell into foreclosure. With the economic downturn, most homes were not as likely to sell, and a new foreclosure strategy began to emerge -- the zombie title.

In a nutshell, if loan companies don't think a property will find a buyer at a suitable price, they may leave it in limbo as they work through more promising inventory. The owners, including many who think the foreclosure has taken place, end up on the hook for additional legal and municipal fines to keep up a property they left long ago.

Counties end up with homes that don't produce property taxes, and neighbors end up living with abandoned homes next door that can't be resold because they've never technically been foreclosed.

"Basically, if they don't think they can get what they want for the property, they'll just let it rot," Redgate said.

In cases like the Andrea Court home, the structure must be removed before anything else can be done. In the past, Harnett County, like many in the Carolinas, had funding to clear such property. For years, the burned hulk was at the top of the county's "problem property" list.

However, tough economic conditions have dried up those funds.

"I feel for Mr. Redgate, I really do," Baker said. "I picture myself in that situation. It would be very frustrating"

There may yet be hope. After a half-dozen postponed foreclosure notices, the house reverted to Chase during the summer. As soon as the title is filed, Harnett County hopes to work with the lender to remove what's left of the building and clean the property.

"The day that happens, I'll be the happiest man on Earth," Redgate said. But years of delays and disillusion have left him wary.

"I'm not holding my breath."

Except, perhaps, when the wind blows across the property next door.

"No one should have had to deal with this," he said. "It should have been torn down long ago."

Staff writer Chick Jacobs can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3515.

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