When we say, “double dip,” we're not talking about a Baskin-Robbins treat—we're talking about areas of the country where home values are dipping again, meaning that if you live in one, you might have an underwater mortgage again. Either that or you're getting underwater for the first time. In March 2010, Bloomberg reported that, after recovering for a while, housing values started … [Read more...]

You may remember earlier this year when the whole question of what people should do with an underwater mortgage was getting quite a bit of news coverage. The coverage was sparked by a report from a University of Arizona law professor who wrote a paper chiding people who, for one reason or another, were choosing to continue their mortgage payments rather than pursue a strategic default. The … [Read more...]

There are no hard and fast rules about how long you're likely to be able to live in pre-foreclosure and save the money you were throwing away on your mortgage. Generally, the foreclosure process is supposed to last about 6 months. But that was before the real estate bubble burst and the tsunami of foreclosures hit. With literally millions of foreclosures to process, it's taking banks longer … [Read more...]

If you're one of the people who are hoping that your underwater mortgages will get back on dry land soon due to a real estate rebound, think again. Housing prices depend on demand, and demand is way down. According to US Census Bureau figures published in May 2010, 14.5% of all of the homes in America are vacant. That's 19.2 million houses available for sale or rent. In addition, more than 7 … [Read more...]

The underwater mortgage may just be the last symbol of your past way of life—a way of life that was really a huge mistake in the first place. Remember the 1980s movie Wall Street? Remember how much we all wanted to be like Gordon Gekko? And remember just how important it was to us to have everything the Jones’ had, but better? Seems like kind of a bad dream now, doesn't it? It was a … [Read more...]

Don't worry—you don't have to suit up in SCUBA gear to measure how deep you are with your underwater mortgage. Though you may feel differently, mortgages are just pieces of paper with numbers and legal terms on them. Even if you're underwater and struggling, this is not a life-or-death situation unless you make it into one! Ready to proceed? Great! To measure your underwater mortgage, take a … [Read more...]

The slide in U.S. home prices may have another three years to go,” reported Bloomberg just yesterday, “as sellers add as many as 12 million more properties to the market.” Bloomberg cited the research of Morgan Stanley analyst Oliver Chang, who examined a phenomenon we’ve long chronicled in this space -- the “shadow inventory.” That’s all the homes in foreclosure that lenders are … [Read more...]

If there's one thing that Kristin and I know—both as real estate professionals ourselves and as people who have walked away from an underwater mortgage or actually twelve—it's that knowledge is power. When you're under water on your mortgage and you're considering walking away from it, everybody's going to have an opinion. Your family and friends will all give you different advice. God … [Read more...]

If you're stuck with an underwater mortgage, you're not alone. In fact, you've got a lot of company, with more than 11.1 million homeowners—24%—being soaked for more than their houses are worth thanks to the recession and housing crisis. In Nevada alone, 65% of all homeowners are faced with underwater mortgages. So what do you do with an underwater mortgage? Well, you could keep making … [Read more...]