Is there anything out there to help people, like me, who are $65000 underwater, so that we can keep our homes? Instead of foreclosure, it keeps looking better to just walk away if there is no help in balancing such an inequity!

This may get uglier. According to yesterday's WSJ there are $900bl+ in outstanding HELOC loans on banks books. Most will not default but even if 40% go down you are talking about $350+bl in bank capital wiped out in addition to the expenses associated with managing the situation. Many defaults on 1st mortgages will wipe out seconds in the foreclosure process. This pond has to be drained to reveal the "tires, bottles and cans" so we can find have price discovery and move forward.

By the way, it's getting really lonely shouting into the void...

well then... here's a shout out to Jamie!

Home prices have continued to drop since the beginning of the year... and shall continue to do so until about when the 1998 price levels are reached **and** THAT number correlates with median income.

Those two things will happen (I'm certain) but until they **both happen** any future increases will be delayed. This raises the next question of what sort of increase might happen then. Think "modest".

Hooray for comments! I'm glad the system has been fixed.

I have been saying for a long time that the number of homeowners with negative equity will be the major cause of our slow, plodding recovery and prolonged elevated unemployment rates. Mobility has always been our federation of states' greatest strength. Remember this all goes back to Wall Street without watchdogs.

Time Magazine blogged on this topic today:
http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/06/08/is-chronic-joblessness-here-to-stay/?hpt=hp_t2

What is the major problem of "underwater mortgages"?

When you purchase the home, you know what the payments will be for the next 20 to 30 years. The value of the home is not an issue as long as you can still pay the mortgage you contracted to pay.

You still need to pay for shelter. If you stay in the house long enough your value will increase and you will be where you started out.

Bob, why not just continue to pay the contracted amount of your mortgage payment and stay awhile?

The only thing that has changed in your situation is the value of your home correct?

If all else is the same, there is no big deal in the valuation of your home. You still need a place to live, you still must pay rent or a mortgage elsewhere.

Stick around and your value will return. If you leave and walk away you lose every dime you invested in your home.

Well, as I have been stating for a few years now, we are on the way to late 1990's NOMINAL ( NOT inflation adjusted) home prices.

What will this mean? well, that the average prices of a Baltimore home, which at the peak around 2006 was about 330K, will go back to late 1990's nominal value of 185K.

I will say it get again----"Sell now, or be priced in forever !!!"

Homes are now like autos. They are not an investment. We all drive cars knowing that their worth drops like a stone when we take possession. Time to get used to the thought.

Bob, is your current loan a FHA?

Someone asks what should they do to get help since they are underwater. You don't have to do anything except keep paying your mortgage that you agreed to. You have to live somewhere and just because you are upside down doesn't let you off the hook for your responsibiity. Some day you will be able to sell when the market makes its corrections

That's the problem- staying in place until your home value rises NO LONGER WORKS. I doubt most underwater folks will get what they paid unless they wait 15-20 years. Home considered a "nest egg" for future retirement; needing to sell and move for work; bought what you thought was a "starter home"; hoped to flip the home for profit-- those folks are in trouble. Only those that bought their homes as a permenant residence and budgeted for monthly payments are OK-- but even then, they've taken a big loss on paper, one that hurts their lifetime net worth.

Just to clarify - being underwater on your home is NOT a financial hardship. If you are still making your payments on time, then being underwater has nothing to do with going into foreclosure - you are not deliquent.

Falling behind on your payments due to unemployment, medical bills or other circumstances is not the same as being underwater. These things ARE financial hardships and there are programs available for these issues to many homeowners.

As another poster stated, being underwater does not change the terms of the mortgage you signed up for, it just means that you would take a loss if you sold the house today and you are probably not able to refinance any time soon due to negative equity.

If you are current, can still make the payments and plan to stay in the home then being underwater is a non-issue.

The sad truth is that buying real estate is a gamble just like the stock market. The concept of being underwater is mainly on paper and generally not even relevant to those who own a home for the long haul.

People are quick to blame lenders for the fall in home values, but I would be quicker to point the finger at investors who walked away and major employers who decided to either move their operations out of the area or outsource to foreign countries.

The housing market's major issues are directly tied to the job market. Until the government or private sector finds a way to stimulate small businesses to create jobs, there will be no housing recovery.

Bottom line - if you can still make your payments, you are still a homeowner whether you are underwater or not.

If you're underwater by something like 100k AND you lose your job, it would only be natural to consider sending some "jingle mail" or at least stop making payments. You'd probably be better off renting a few years anyway, and it usually takes banks over a year to foreclose. I've heard of cases more like 2 years, recently.

It's not just the fact that the house is "underwater", but rather a combination of things. First, for people who bought in 05-07, property values may never reach those heights again, esp once you adjust for inflation. Sure, a 400k purchase may be worth 400k again in 2020, but in the meantime, 15 years have passed, so the house would really need to be worth more like 550k to keep up with inflation. And, during that time you have taxes, maintenance, insurance.

I own my house, but I also bought in 2011, getting a house at 100k off its 2006 sales price. If the situation was reverse and I'd bought in 2006, I'd be taking a long hard look at stopping payments. It's not immoral, it's part of the deal. You make payments, you keep the house. You stop payments, the bank takes the house back and they can sell it.

It's actually a very simple and logical solution to the problem. The reason more people don't do it is because of their sentimental attachment (their house holds some memories, they may have pulled out money to make expensive home improvements) or wanting to "save face" publically. Banks benefit from this, because it keeps people tied down.

Anonymous,
i don't think most homes will go back to pre bubble prices and i think most people agree here. THe few homes that do go back to pre bubble, will happen many years down the road. By the time someone has a home that's egual to the value they paid, they will more than likely have to put more money into the house to bring it up to date and condition as to where it can be sold at the pre bubble price. they will probably loose the money invested just to be able to sell the home many years down the road. People are better off walking away and starting over. Just figure being in a home for 15 more years before the your home gets back to what you had paid, you will more than likely have had to invest in new heating and cooling, roof,ect. not to mention bringing the home up to date to be competative on the market. If you walk away today, you will be able to buy a home in a few years and not loose sleep hoping you don't loose anything on this one. BTW, if you also walk away today, you can just look at the payment you already made as rent to the bank.

Donnie S - how does an FHA loan help? I'm curious

neumatteo posted "Homes are now like autos. They are not an investment. "

I beg to differ. I NEVER bought a car with the expectations of it increasing in value, except my classic one that will for sure increase.

My 2 homes were purchased with the expectation of an increase in value either by time or by sweat equity. All homes will continue to increase in value over the long haul as they always have. Maybe not at the rate some have come to expect.

You forget that the value of a home is often due to the time spent in it and the equity you have put into it. All of us must pay for shelter and it will always be preferable to pay into your own home instead of paying into your landlords bank account.

If what you say is correct, why are there still many many investors in rental property?

If you have an FHA or VA mortgage, you may be able to refinance your mortgage without needing an appraisal.

you also have to figure in the fact that a home usually cost about 3 times the value once all paid for. If you sell the home 10 years from today and loose money, you not only loose the negative equity but also the intreast paid on that negative equity. Why pay intreast on lost value?

If banks had been remotely responsible when making loans, we could not have reached a point where it made financial sense to walk away. But if you put $200K cash into a house that was bid up to $700K but will now and for the foreseeable future only sell for $500K, you've already lost your principal. What motivation do you have to make the bank whole?

Even if you want to be the responsible one and pay your debt, you would be rewarding the irresponsibility of the bank in making the loan. I can't blame anyone for not being willing to do that, especially if you have tried to get the bank to write off part of the loan and they haven't been cooperative.

JFCanton-I'm sick of people not taking responsibility for the decisions they make.

Unless the bank, appraiser, title company and real estate agent put a gun to the homeowners head, they didn't have to overpay for the house they bought.

As far as putting it to the bank and walking away, your credit rating will suffer for years. And well it should. You made a commitment and you have to live up to it.

One problem about the current housing prices is that you might be paying $1500/month for a mortgage you're underwater on. If you could close that mortgage, you could get a comparable house for $1000/month.

So being underwater is costing you $500/month.

That's very irritating.

PS I find the CAPTCHA words very difficult to read.

Bob in Columbia, I find the CAPTCHA words difficult to read, too. (On the upside, the system seems to accept words that aren't exactly what it had in mind but are close.)

Proud American,

Foreclosure isn’t that bad on a credit report, in 2 years you can get an FHA loan. Bankruptcy is worse than foreclosure. Stay in your home during the foreclosure process and it’s free rent, sometimes for a year. You can save the mortgage payment for a future down payment on a new home. You should shelter any money saved however, because in Maryland the bank can sue for lost equity after sale for up to 3 years. You may be forced to bankrupt to avoid paying the bank. But then thru Bankruptcy, you may be able to clear everything and save even more and stick it to the credit card companies. Just stash your money, the banks do so why not you.

@ Allen
your comments about sticking it to the Credit Card Companies makes me angry. Its people who "stick it to the credit card companies & the banks" that make my fees & other charges go up. Its people like that who make me angry. No one forced your arm to open the card or use it, no one forced you to get the loan w/out doing research, no one forced you to walk away from your house or file Banko. & I know what I'm talking about.. I do bankruptcys, FCL's, estate & probate among other things.
Banko is not as bad as a FCL on your credit report, they are both bad & can be extremely beneficial for a credit report if done correctly.
I'm going to "live rent free for a year on the banks expense" and see how you like it when your fees go up & your taxes go up

I love all the talk of walking and how "easy" it will be to get a loan in just a few years. Cause, you know, the banks will be just itching to hand out loans to a bunch of deadbeats. You will see new guidelines asking for you bank statments at the time of your foreclosure 7 years ago. Dont you think the banks will figure out who did what when? puleaaseeee. (i was a loan officer for 12 years)_

Pig town,

I’m a homeowner of 4 years now, have a 790 credit score. I’ve not bankrupted, nor stuck it to a credit company. I haven’t yet, but it's tempting when your home is worth half what you paid. No one forced me to buy, but no one forced you to sign up or do anything either even if you are perfect. I've done everything right.
This is the United Banks of America; you gamble everyday thanks to greed. Everyone out for themselves now, morality is no more. Banks could choose to take a hit, but they pass it on. No one told that bank to loan to me, but they sure as hell don’t care about America and will pass it along to her.
Pig town has a lot of foreclosures, not a great area, are you under water? Allot of homes purchased there during the hay day, allot of vacant and dilapidated homes to be rehabbed someday. When the market comes around in 20 years and your house is worth what you paid, will you have to do renovations to compete with newly rehabbed homes? Will you be able to come out ahead?

elweedz

You were a loan officer? Did you see the bubble coming? Did you realize how immoral it was to make loans to those who couldn't afford what they were buying? Do you think you personally bear some responsibility for this bubble, even as an employee?

The banks aren't fixed now and it's been 4 years, do you think in 7 years they will be? puleaaseeee.....where you been? Banks will loan money again, they will come up with other mechanisms to pass on the risks yet keep profit high. Besides, in 7 years you can save a lot of money to put down on a nice foreclosed home needing to be sold off the bank’s books.
?

"When you purchase the home, you know what the payments will be for the next 20 to 30 years. The value of the home is not an issue as long as you can still pay the mortgage you contracted to pay."

1/2 right, 1/2 wrong!
Principal and Interest have remained stable, but Taxes and Insurance have risen 110%.
Ain't what I contracted for now that I am retired (fixed income) and now unemployed from a part-time gig.
House market-value went from $360k to $190k.
I cannot wait 5 to 10 years for a turnaround to break even; ain't gonna happen.

I will admit this; My old man told me homes arn't affordable to the majority, and eventually the market will calapse. my father is 76, boy was he right way back in 1995

A home is a place to LIVE, not an investment. I hate when people are complaining even though they were irresponsible and bit off more than they could chew (the banks were also irresponsible, no doubt, but people could've opted for less house). I saved from the age of 15 and I don't want to destroy my investments. Can I just put 20% and get a loan for the rest? Sounds reasonable. Can I put 40% down? 50%? Nope, sorry, too responsible the banks said, I don't have enough debt and won't make them enough money.

Thanks jerks. Way to screw the responsible. Oh well, at least I'm 25 and have a good chunk of change. Man I love saving. Have fun with your Escalades and debt.

AB- Yes, in fact I did see the bubble coming. Look up MDMORTGAGEGUY on the housingbubbleblog.com. I have been spouting about it since 2003 when i saw these negative am/interest only loans start to take hold. I have railed against what was going on for going on 8 years now and have documented proof (just Google what I gave you above). If you ask anyone that knows me, they got tired of hearing my Chicken Little story over the years and now realize I was right. I did not do any of the described loans that were a leading cause of the bubble. These loans were invented by crooks, sold by naive crooks (most loan officers were more qualified to be bartenders) and signed by greedy homeowners trying to get some easy money. So, to answer your question-- no. I feel absolutely no guilt. I practice what I preach. I still live in a modest town home that i bought in 1998 for 118k when I could easily qualify for a loan many times that amount and not sweat it.

I have always been financially responsible. I didn’t like what I was seeing then and don’t like the tone of these comments on today’s entry either. If you think loans are tough now, what do you think they will cost when no one can be considered a safe credit risk? You see, all the risk takers have done people like me a great injustice. My conservative approach has been rewarded with no where to invest money (1% cd rates), bailouts that I have to pay for and economy that might take me down with it. Over at the other blog they refer to this as a “war on savers”. Those that were financially prudent are being rewarded by paying for all the f-ups.

I agree that no one was putting a gun to the head of the blissfully overpaying, but the average homebuyer is not an expert in the business. The bank is. The bank therefore gets more of the blame.

I think people are crazy to borrow as much as the bank will let them; I borrowed only 60% of the max, and my salary had to nearly double before I could pay any extra principal (I now don't have a mortgage). And that was in 1999; the income ratio that could be lent certainly got worse. But this isn't about whether people made the right choice on the house, but what choice they should make going forward.

I don't get why people don't understand that the obligation of a property owner to a bank is not a moral obligation, it's a contract. If you don't fulfill your end of the contract, the bank has the remedy of foreclosing and then selling the property. If the banks had not fed the housing bubble, they wouldn't mind getting the homes back, because the house would really be worth what was owed and they'd have verified income and creditworthiness better the first time they made the loan.

Most of the buyers have some blame, but so do the banks. I say this as a home owner with a high credit score and as a lawyer who is familiar with real estate law and the remedies avail to banks. There was a tremendous amount of stupidity on behalf of the banks. And if people want to exercise their options by sending the keys back or stopping payments, this is perfectly legal.

The fact is, there was no reason for home prices to go so high in nominal terms. And *if* (big "if") the prices return to those levels, it won't be because a) a lot of years pass--at least ten, b) a lot of work or improvements on the house, or c) lots of inflation (very possible), d) interest rates on mortgages being low (not really good, bc it tends to produce bubble market). For the most part, I think homeowners should look at their finances if their fiannces are stressed: ask if they can really afford to keep paying the mortgage after a job loss? And ask if they'd be able to rent something better for less money.

Another note to elweedz -- if loans remain hard to get, that will only help to keep property prices down, which is actually a good thing for the economy as a whole, in my opinion. Less money going to housing payments = more money available for the real economy, more savings, etc. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about "missing out" if I was one of those people stopping mortgage payments. At some point, if home values are going to go up again, mortgages will have to get somewhat easier to get.

Let me also add that at the end of the day, the vast majority of the blame lies with the people, not the big bad wolf banks. You dont have to be a doctor of finance to know what is too much money for you to borrow. From the time we were in our teens we all learned how burdonsome debt can be. Why would any rational person making 80K think they could afford a 400k home? Yet that was all you saw during the bubble. Firemen and teachers thinking that Robin Leach would be profiling them for their miraculous real estate savy. " I closed 45 minutes ago and i already have 50k in equity." Do you know how many times i had to listen to these jack-a**'s tell me how smart they were and how i was missing out? Do you know many times i had to listen to people tell me about how there piece of dirt was this special little place in the universe?

I actually believe that there is a 40% chance that Darwin Rules predictions are wrong! They are too conservative. Every hyperinflated assett OVERCORRECTS on the way down. I think people will come to the realization that spending a high percentage of your income on your domicle is retarded. Wouldnt you rather have more money to spend on stupid sh&t and retirement savings?

Allen,

Just because your house is underwater & its tempting doesn't mean you should walk away, its still your house. Under some special problems/circumstances could I see walking away, but not just because its tempting. Ok, so you stick to your house for the next 15/20 years, you pay off your mortgage & you stick it out, it is a roof over your head & a place to live & hang your hat. So your kids might not make as much or you might not make as much when it comes to retire & sell that home, but you'll be in much better place than those who walked away 15 years earlier & regret it. I think some of this equates to being proud which a lot of Americans are not anymore, they just move on the next thing. I see the difference w/ the 80 year old who still sends in the money on the CC bill he knows he is never going to pay off by the time he dies but still pays v. the 20something year old who says F' you and your mama.

I wasn't meaning you in particular in the earlier comment, I meant in general.

By the way, I am a home owner, and I'm not upside down on my house. I purchased a partly rehabbed row-home, I did my research. I can turn around, sell my house tomorrow & still make a profit after the money I've sunk into my house. In fact, I'm looking at purchasing another home in Pigtown with my father. I know all about the vacancies, there are two on my row & three on the next & I've seen the changes w/in the neighborhood. In the past year the changes have been for the good not the bad, except for the rats in my neighbors yard.

My wife and I bought our townhome (1st home via FHA) in 2007 and our home value has steadily dropped over the years. We would like to sell so we can move to a bigger house because we have started a family and have run out of space. However, we cannot sell right now because we are underwater. Where I live, townhomes right now are selling for between $100k - $115k and our principal balance is around $150k. We have good credit and can easily afford to pay our mortgage. In fact, we are paying a lot more (almost double) each month and applying the extra to the principal. It will take us about three more years to bring our principal balance down enough to where we can sell our home at the prices homes are currently being sold for.

People say we should rent our house out, but we would not be able to rent it out for what our mortgage is (around $1,300/month) and we do not want to subsidize the rent. From what I understand, people cannot have two FHA mortgages out at the same time. If we did rent out our home, the amount we would need to save to put down a 20% down payment for a conventional mortgage could go towards our current home’s principal balance and help us sell it.

Bottom line, it sucks that we bought when we did. However, we did. When we are able to sell our house, it will be painful to walk away with nothing to show for it after buying it for $172k and selling it for probably around $100k.

Hey Jamie,

I don't have cable but I get some of the late night infomercials and there is The Money Class by Suze Orman. I usually don't watch the show but last night she had a big section about real estate and leaving a property, short sales & buying property. The segment was pretty good. Maybe we can get part of the series on the real estate.

I hope my property value goes down... It will lessen my property tax in the city!

If the city wants to help housing value, they should lower property tax to the levels of Baltimore county. This would instantly give home values at least a 10% bump.

Also, this whole housing crisis is not a crisis, if you signed up for a variable rate, paid too much for your house so that you cant afford monthly payments... that is your fault. (unless deceived by the mortgage broker and realtor). When I bought my place I knew it was where I wanted to live and that the mortgage and tax fit my monthly budget. Now that I have my house, I don't really care what the appraised value is, it is still in my budget for what I signed up to begin with.

elweedz,

I agree that an overshoot (to the downside) is very possible - I believe Detroit is back to early 1990's prices. I see no reason why the rest of the country should remain immune. The end is not yet in sight, as the can has been kicked further down the road. Problem is, out on the horizon, there is a steep cliff at the end of the road.

Sell now, or be priced in, forever!!

All property, real and personal, depreciates in value relative to the money invested to purchase and maintain it. People that don't accept this fact are deserving of the fate that awaits them.

You just try to pay the best price you can and hope it works out in the end. If you want to make $$$, buy a bunch of mutual funds and let them sit around for 20 years.

I'm with el and DR almost all the time. However I wanted to make a comment about Detroit prices vs. the nation.

If every house value was roughly the same as Detroit. That would suggest homes in each state are very similar, the job market is also similar, and the environment and geographic locations are similar.

However this is not true and never will be. So the predicting a % drop and average price is literally like dropping a coin in a well and guessing how deep it is before it actually hits bottom.

I suggest to anyone who can. Rent a portion or the whole house. The tax rules are a massive income shelter.

Let's be glad the Homeland Security Act didn't grant full police powers to HUD as they did the Department of Education, or those who lied on their mortgage applications might be getting their doors kicked in like this guy http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/aim_of_swat-like_raid_was_student-aid_fraud_education_dept._given_police_po/

Reminds me of a discussion on here several months ago when someone pointed out that we are starting to move in the direction of debtor's prisons with police arresting serving warrants on those who don't show up for court over delinquent accounts.

@Josh

It would be nice to have those living in homes for years not paying their mortgage sent to jail for 6 months. Not enough time to destroy someones life. It's enough to teach them a lesson.

Josh,

The police aren't serving warrents for not showing up, its called a Body Attachment. Thats a little different.

There is a service by private Processor for a service of suit, there is service by Sheriff which costs more & an officer will serve the suit, its a bit more helpful when someone is trying to avoid being served. Then there are Body Attachments which are more severe, they are extremely tricky & should be considered with care when trying to execute service on a suit. Usually its about one or two days you'll be in lockup, or they take you down town. Its not a debtor's prison but it's helpful when trying to serve someone.

In my opinion, they need to close the amnesty period for having to pay federal taxes on forgiven mortgage debt. That is a huge deterrent to jingle mail. For those that dont know what i am referring to.... EX borrow 400k to buy home, walk, bank sells for 300k= IRS asking you for a check for 100k*30%tax bracket=$30000 in taxes for the 100k in income you recieved. I agree with those that say its a contract and that people have evey right to give it back to the bank. What i dont agree with is changing the rules for the consequensces. If people suffer hardship, we have bankruptcy. If your state is a recourse state and you have assetts, bet your ass that bank can and will get around to getting them.

I cant beleive the amount of sympathy going to homeowners that gambled and lost. No one ever wants to hear your cry story when you bought a Lexus that got repo'd. Why do we have all this rescue garbage for a house?

One more thing. Being under water on your home is not new. It has existed since mortgages have existed. People act like it was invented in the bubble years-not true. It has become more widepread now but there have always been many underwater homeowners that had to bring a check to the closing table.

What i find more amzing than anything and what first set off my alarm bells is this.......We were fresh off of th biggest assett bubble in the history of time!!! The dot.com bubble just taught everyone a very painful lesson on risk and they ignored it and went headfirst into another one just a couple years later. WTF?? The notion that we could all get rich buying and selling homes to each other is downright comical. I feel no pity for those that got in over there heads. I am just glad they are removed from the buying pool so i dont have to compete with a 620 credit score and a box of stupid on a home that i am interested in purchasing.

And what about the banks who gambled and lost?

Thanks for the clarification Pigtown Girl, although denying someone their liberty for any amount of time over what is purely a civil matter is dubiously un-American.

I'm underwater and as far as I can tell, the foreclosure process is about to begin. I owed more than what I could sell my (suburban Baltimore area) house for. I moved to be with my husband who was stationed in San Diego and right before I moved, I decided to contact my big-name mortgage company to discuss refi options. They said there was nothing they could do for me because my loan was "too new". So I ended up walking away. This was less than a year ago. I'd love to keep the place and have my elderly father rent it from me for cheap, but highly doubt they'll look at my loan at this point since they didn't bother before, when I was current on all payments....

Hooray me.

Just a little more clarification, body attachments are usually for after judgments or witnesses. I've seen them used for Post-Judgment Execution & Discovery in Consumer Debt or debt collection cases.

Here's the basic definition of Attachment "body attachment" for MD Rules.

Attachment.

A witness served with a subpoena under this Rule is liable to body attachment and fine for failure to obey the subpoena without sufficient excuse. The writ of attachment may be executed by the sheriff or peace officer of any county and shall be returned to the court issuing it. The witness attached shall be taken immediately before the court if then in session. If the court is not in session, the witness shall be taken before a judicial officer of the District Court for a determination of appropriate conditions of release to ensure the witness’ appearance at the next session of the court that issued the attachment.

Chappy is the attny correct? Can you verify? In Rule 2-111 of Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure

Good link to an article talking about why some people (foolishly) continue to make payments when they're in difficult financial shape and are way underwater on their house: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1494467

Author is a noted law professor and expert on this subject.

It's interesting to hear so many different viewpoints on this topic. My husband and I purchased our home in Washington Village/Pigtown in 2005 for $190K. We were told that it was "up and coming". Six years later we found that we were more than ready to move due to a growing family, long commute/high gas prices, underwater on our home, but the number one thing that pushed us out was the crime and overall continuous downfall of the neighborhood. We moved for our little girl. We moved in with my inlaws and even though it's not ideal, it is so much better than where we were. Our three year old can ride her bike outside and not just on the sidewalk, she can run and play in the backyard, catch fireflies in the evening, and go to sleep at night without hearing sirens, helicopters, yelling, and cursing in the street. If we had waited 15-20 years for the market to recover, our daughter would be an adult and I can't imagine raising my child in that environment. That is the number one reason why it was worth it to us to walk away. We are putting our home on the market next week. It's a short sale for $69K.