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WATCH: What is a zombie home?

Zombie homes are abandoned properties left unmaintained during foreclosure proceedings. Whether intentional or not, the home has been left vacant by the homeowner; in other cases, banks have foreclosed on the homes but haven’t done anything with the property.

Zombie homes can be found across the country, and can have a lasting effect on the homeowner and the entire neighborhood.

As of May, states with the most vacant zombie foreclosures were New Jersey (4,003), New York (3,352), and Florida (2,467), according to RealtyTrac, a company that monitors foreclosures nationwide.

In this Innovation Trail video, we take a closer look at these abandoned properties. We’ll show you how living near a zombie home could end up costing you money, and we’ll tell you about some helpful resources for homeowners stuck in the foreclosure process.

Sasha-Ann Simons joined the team at WXXI News as a Multimedia Reporter/Producer. She most often tells stories about the innovation economy and technology in upstate New York as part of a journalism collaborative, and is a fill-in host and regular contributor to WXXI-TV's weekly news magazine program, Need To Know.