Another responsible American homeowner

Not. My neighbor is no longer paying his mortgage; going on six months now. He's lost nearly half the "value" from when he freely purchased in the hot hot market. Oh, he's not lost his job, and his wife's business seems to be thriving. Better yet, he says he's not been saving what's he obligated to pay. Sometimes you gotta root for the bank.

Amen. I know two people that fit the description you just described. I feel for people who got laid off and are struggling to keep their head above water. I have issue when people blow off mortgage payments in lieu of purchasing a new leather jacket and a beach vacation.

Many of them just go buy a cheaper home. Sooner or later they will hit a windfall and feel brilliant.

I know a couple of people like that as well. Ticks me off.

On the other hand, I have a friend who lost his job and has been unemployed for months. He's so far behind on his mortgage (a single family home; nothing extravagant) that between the late penalties and what he owes to catch up, he just said he's going to save what little money he has, and before the bank takes his home, move his family into an apartment for a few years while he attempts to build his credit back up.

Sucks, but I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I were in his shoes.

Bushman

One in our area managed to hang on 16 months before the bank was able to evict him. Like your example it was NOT an instance of not being able to pay but rather his home was worth far less then his mortgage.

In our immediate neighborhood we had at least two properties where the bank foreclosed and when they left the folks trashed the place. Punched holes in walls, in one case pulled down the garage door. Left garbage out.

A number of those here in our development, Marc. REOs and short sales. A few have been stripped nearly bare. Like I said, Responsibility R Not Us for far too many people. Then there's the guy who wanted to re-fi the term on the amount outstanding, and the bank said no. That one I don't understand. He and his wife kept it in perfect condition until the day they left. Now it's been vacant for two months.

Previous owner didn't do anything here, that we've been able to see. Although her housekeeping practices appear to have gone dormant weeks before we closed.

What's the contract?
If you stop making payments, the bank has a right to take the house back.
I recommend the bank do that. Justice.

He asked. The bank said no. The bank now has a foreclosure proceeding on its hand, a once-cared-for house sitting empty with a yard going to seed, and an outstanding debt of x for which it will get x minus a lot. The guy made his payments until the bank said no on the term modification. They moved out shortly thereafter. Ironically, the bank would've made more money since all he wanted to do was lengthen the term. That might be justice. Sounds to me more like penny wise and pound foolish.

Indeed the bank has that right but consumers have rights too. And it is no simple process. As I mentioned one guy in the neighborhood strectched it out for 16 months staying in the house and not making a payment! I understand that, if one wants to dig in, that isnt an unusual time.

We have an added bonus here of course, pools! Lots of homes have pools. When folks walk away variety of problems. Whatever enclosure folks had usually go to hell and kids can wander into the pool. The water becomes stagnant and give it long enough becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests. County inspections do what they can but sometimes getting a bank, or owner of the property, to fix the problem can take forever.

The cavalier no-look rush that got so many banks (and people) into trouble has now been replaced by a lock-stepped rigidity. Our short sale went smoothly, yet it still took months for a straight up transaction. Ultimately it cost the original lender even more of a write down when it couldn't timely process and we came back with a lower price. Winner winner in that regard!

Marc touched on a great point. There is a public interest in all this private/market turmoil.