Whether you realize it or not, Western New York has some homes in pretty bad condition. Even though there are some excellent examples of great housing all throughout the area. From the inner city neighborhoods in Buffalo, Lackawanna, and Tonawanda to the rural regions of the county like Alden, Arcade, and Wilson - unique homes are everywhere. However, that also means terrible homes are everywhere as well.

Some neighborhoods in 716 have quite a few neglected, overall bad-condition homes that need serious repair. Many of those homes are abandoned and vacant and may even be considered zombies.

Western New York Has A Zombie Home Problem

A fair amount of abandoned and neglected houses all over the region are considered zombies. Not the kind of zombie that Merriam Webster calls a will-less and speechless human held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated, like the kind we see in TV shows like The Walking Dead. The zombies we have in Western New York are abandoned properties that fall into a unique legal category.

According to the Erie County Clerk’s Zombies Initiative, a zombie home is a vacant property in which the homeowner moves out of due to mortgage default and threat of foreclosure.

By all accounts, hundreds of zombie houses in Western New York are acting as a plague on neighborhoods. However, officials at the Initiative say a few properties are so bad that they have had to create their own ten-worst list.

You can check out the worst of the worst below. If you want officials to look into an abandoned property in your neighborhood, you can contact the Erie County Clerk’s Zombies Initiative here.

These Are The 10 Worst Zombie Properties In Western New York

Abandoned and forgotten properties can really be a nuisance, but these are the worst of the worst in Buffalo and WNY, and they fall into a unique legal category. 

Gallery Credit: Ed Nice

The home becomes a “zombie” because the bank has not completed the foreclosure process. In some cases, the bank decides to abandon the foreclosure years after determining it no longer wants the property. This allows the banks to reap the tax, insurance, and accounting benefits from documenting a loss. In turn, the zombies haunt former homeowners who find themselves legally liable for properties they did not even realize they still owned. All the while, the zombies bring down property values and negatively impact entire communities.
-Erie County Clerk’s Zombies Initiative

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Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young

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