PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphians are losing more than $1 billion in homeownership wealth due to tangled titles.
That means it’s unclear who owns a property, either because the owner died without a will, or they didn’t name their loved ones on the deed.
Philadelphia has at least 10,400 tangled property titles, with the median value of those homes being around $89,000 each.
Octavia Howell, who manages research with Pew Charitable Trusts Philadelphia, said the issue is mainly affecting Black and low-income families.
"That’s over $1.1 billion of household wealth at risk, primarily affecting low and moderate income households which are those that need the most. We found that properties with tangled titles are most likely to be located in parts of North, West, and Southwest Philadelphia," Howell said.
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"In these parts of the city that are predominantly Black, a lot of folks aren’t making wills. So nationally, only 20% of Black households have created a will. And the rate is much higher for white families; about 63% of white households have created a will. Just not having that infrastructure in place to pass on that property is one of the main things, that it contributes to household not being able to go through probate and have a tangled title."
Tangled titles are also connected to a myriad of other issues, including getting home insurance, repairs and selling the property.
"We also know that a homeowner who has a tangle title can’t participate. They can’t decide to sell their property to improve it," Howell said.
"They can’t decide to renovate it, and choose to stay in it just because they don’t have access to those funds. Being able to have all of the ownership information cleared out enables owners to tap into that wealth and benefit from it."
It can cost around $9,000 to solve the legal issue, which creates another layer of problems for families and their neighborhoods.
"Homes are tangled, titles are more likely to be in a state of disrepair and deteriorating," she explained.
"It’s an issue of safety that affects particularly in Philadelphia, where many homes are attached, the neighboring properties, the neighborhood at large, thinking about issues just as just a general sense of safety, a general sense of neighborhood housing quality, and then bigger issues such as fire risk and building collapse."
Howell said the best solution is prevention.
The city also offers a free program to help residents with deed transfers.