Free Republic

February 3, 2010 No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away By DAVID STREITFELD In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach. By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid. Or maybe 2040. “People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said. “Why not let it go in default and rent a better place for less?” After three years of plunging real estate values, after the bailouts of the bankers and the revival of their million-dollar bonuses, after the Obama administration’s loan...

I'm walking from my underwater mortgage By JANET SPEER Last Updated: 7:34 PM, January 31, 2010 Posted: 4:34 AM, January 31, 2010 I stopped paying my $1,450-a-month mortgage on my 200-year-old, four-bedroom home in September 2008 -- after making the hard decision to walk away from my mortgage because it is hopelessly underwater. It is not an easy decision to walk away from your home, and in the beginning I actually felt like a loser. That was the hardest part. You see, I was raised to live up to my financial responsibilities. I was taught plenty about personal responsibility. But...