Almost wish I had a mortgage on a house I couldn't afford, provided that the servicing agent had changed a couple of times, especially if the mortgage had originated from one of the So. Cal. mortgage boiler room operations from whom I used to get calls. Just stop making payments.  The biggest downside likely would be that I couldn't use the home for collateral and couldn't sell it, but as a retirement plan when your mortgage is deeply underwater, it is not bad.

In the '70-71 downturn in L.A. a kid I was employing at minimum wage to help wire a console and studio in Hollywood managed to con his parents out of $4,000 for a down on a $40,000 house at the top of a canyon overlooking the SFV, with a view!  The seller, probably an agent for an estate, self financed the loan.  The house had a state park above, between it and the Mullholland Hwy. and had a glass enclosed atrium with a statue of The Buddha recumbent and displaying a mudra that was reputed to have stopped a charging elephant.  The neighbor across the street was Gene Cerwinski, founder of Cerwin Vega.  Very nice place!

The kid and his girlfriend lived in the house for a year or more without making another payment!  It took owners that had all their paperwork in order that long to get him out.  So, best of luck to all of the new "homeowners" out there.

I consider that mortgage holders who do this are, in many ways, being patriotic!  After all, the bought and paid for US Government and Congress will not do anything about the current situation other than try to prop up the vampires.  If we are ever to see an end to years of walking dead banks and other financial institutions and the dominance they hold over US society, this might be the best hope.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."