Shawn Murphy discovered a zombie mortgage on his Los Angeles duplex while trying to refinance to help his sister with cancer bills. The $75,000 debt has ballooned to $159,355 due to back interest. Zombie mortgages are old second loans resurfacing from before the 2008 financial crisis. 5.5 million were made from 2002 to 2008, with an estimated 600,000 still existing. Banks had $442.1 billion tied up in these second liens. Homeowners who had their mortgages modified thought the second mortgage was included. To avoid zombie mortgages, perform a title search, review credit reports, and check for Form 1099-C.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: LA veteran blindsided by ‘zombie mortgage’ after 14 years. Why so many Americans face the same nasty surprise decades on