For the summer home owners whose houses were involved in Sandy disaster, that’s what insurance was for. For the rest who are “under water” that has no bearing whether you can afford it or not. You either could make the payments or you can’t. If you have a job and can make the payments, then stay where you are.
If you lost your job, etc. well, bad things happen. It is no reason for the rest of us to bail your mortgage out.
Agreed. Heartless, but agreed.
I've owned a couple of houses. Each one I bought was within my means, and I had a plan for making the payments, as well as a backup plan, and a backup to the backup plan, for how I'd make payments if something awful happened.
Bottom line? IMHO, an affordable house generally is a good investment. But if you can't afford it, then it's not.