called zombie mortgages, debts that homeowners thought were forgiven or satisfied long ago,

only to learn that they still exist and that they could cost them their homes.

Economics correspondent Paul Salman and producer Diane Lincoln Estes have our look at these back-from-the-dead debts.

This story is a partnership with Retro Report, which

is a documentary news group that delves back into major events of the past to understand

their relevance today. Single dad Terence Hardin bought this home in Bowie, Maryland 20 years

ago. Four bedroom, house, single family, nice yard, very friendly

neighbors. Hardin took out a $316,000 mortgage for the purchase, a $35,000 second mortgage soon after.

So I had a mortgage and a second mortgage after owning the property for a year.

But then the housing bubble burst.

Home prices plunged.

Harden, like millions of Americans, owed more than his house was worth.

So he was vastly relieved to get a loan modification through a government program.

The payment is very much reasonable. There is no second mortgage, and I'm able to

breathe. For the next eight years, Hardin paid his mortgage. By September 2023, he had built

almost $200,000 in equity. Then his neighbor called. There was some service that was taking stuff out of my home in trash bags and plastic bags

and putting it on the lawn, at which point I, like, raced home from work in order to try

to find out what was going on. I was informed by the sheriff's department that I had

four hours to collect my belongings. Hardin was being evicted from his home.

Furniture, dishes, medications, foods, toys, pictures,

just all shoved in a black bag and strown across the front yard.

Daughter Olivia was then 14.

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