PS Alright Amie! walk! walk! walk! It’s in all the rage now, everyone’s doing it, even Kris Allen! Do it! Encourage your friends as well, all at once! do it! (And do it quick enough so that not even the treasury will have the ability to bail the bankers out in time.)

“I have a much greater obligation to my family and the security of our financial future than I do to the bank.”

Right on, I respect the above statement.

Totally agree with you about Benzy’s quote. It is spot on. I appreciate the sentiment but don’t feel bad for me. I had the option to wait and I didn’t. In hindsight, I should have. I don’t appreciate getting chastized by some people for doing what I feel I have to do but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have a much greater obligation to my family and the security of our financial future than I do to the bank. It’s not an ideal situation by any means. I would like to be in a position where fulfilling the mortgage obligation and stabilizing our financial future were both feasible. It just didn’t work out that way.

“I’m not familiar with a “by the way” clause in the contract.”

Obviously we look at this very differently. What you are saying definately has merit, but what a mortgage contract boils down to is an “If-Then” contract. If you make all of the payments, then you own the house. If you fail to make the payments, then we take the house back. There is much more verbage but that is the crux of the agreement. The fact that a purchase money loan is non-recourse (in CA at least) solidifies what I am saying. I hope that you are able to take advantage of the homes being lost to foreclosure and I hope that maybe I will be able to do the same after service my time in credit jail.

My mistake on the 60% of value comment. Purchase price in our hood was ~$500k and now selling for $200k. So 60% OFF not 60% OF. My bad.

First of all, I have made a decision. I am not on the fence about what to do. I was just stating that the housing has not officially been taken back yet. As a matter of fact, we started the lease on our rental May 1 and have been moving to the new house slowly all month. The new house is only a mile or so away from the current one. We are moving all of the big stuff tomorrow. The sale date for the house is set for June 12.

I don’t really understand what you are asking/stating in the rest of your post. I will try to respond though…it seems as though you think that since our household income is okay that we should try to stick it out. There are other factors at play here. In short, we had a home in Phoenix which was in escrow (we were selling) when we bought in CA. We closed on the purchase and then the sale in Phoenix fell out of escrow. The sale would have been slightly above the break even point for us. That house stayed on the market for 10 months before we were able to sell at a $60k loss. That was a brutal year. The ten months of double payments (two houses) took our savings down to nothing and racked up a bit of debt. We could have walked from that house but didn’t and we regret it to this day. The people who say that “it’s the right thing to do” are living in a theoretical state and not in reality. What really sucks is that I wanted to make sure that our credit score was maintained so that we could refi the loan on the current home if need be. Well with the LTV at 250%, refinancing is not really an option. So my decision to walk is not really based on convienience, but is based on experience and realizing the real world cost of trying to do the right thing and maintain spotless credit.

Anyways, I am okay with walking and I am certainly not begging for anything (”you’re not ok with walking, but you’re ok with begging?”). And the $2000 a month savings is a big deal. It is going directly into a savings account and will help us save over $100k by Jan 2012. That’s the goal. I think that if we decide to get back in the market at that time we will be able to. And if not, I’m fine with that too.

I agree with Benzy on this.

The banks look at us as a number, a figure in their stats, and to borrow a phrase from moralharzard, they don’t put a human face to the problem. So they will treat, talk, negotiate with you, and will do whatever they think will benefit them financially. You should be able to do the same thing. If walking away is best for you, then do it. I don’t have a problem with that. I wouldn’t advise others to do the same though. Everyone is different with various factors to consider.

“the values in our hood dropped by over 60% (yes 60%!) ”

versus

“(not quite foreclosed yet) is worth ~60% of what the purchase price was”

Which one is it? down 60%, or down 40%? Did you put down a payment?

And while I feel your pain, I went through it.. you’re right.. not easy.. nighmares.. bad for the family.. leaving good neighboors.. etc
..you my friend as head of household.. have to make a decision! Your situation is not that bad.. with 140K.. you can still make the payment right?
- comfort, stay with neighboors, don’t move
OR
- explain the move, teach your kids.. and do what you’re not ok with it.. “I disagree with your contension that people sign a contract and then walk if it’s not convienient to pay.” ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU’LL DO?

Appears to me .. you haven’t learned anything yet! What do you want, as you’re making 140K.. you’re not ok with walking, but you’re ok with begging? and you’re not ok with paying the mortgage… well it’s $2000 more..