Just heard from reader BG in response to this post yesterday. A couple of national stories this weekend questioned what had been reported as a growing trend, that upside-down homeowners are deciding to walk away from their homes as an economic decision. I asked you for your insight, anecdotal or otherwise.
Here’s what reader BG, a homeowner in Paradise Hills, had to say:
My immediate neighbor to the west told me he decided “to rent for $1,000/mo rather than pay off a mortgage at $3,000/mo”. He and his wife (both senior citizens), walked away. I don’t miss their noisy dogs, frankly, but having a house next door in foreclosure is not a good thing. At least he has it listed for sale.
BG said they’d lived next door to each other since the mid-1980s, and theorized the neighbors must have withdrawn the equity from their house to end up with a mortgage payment that high. They urged BG to buy their house before they moved to Riverside County.
One anecdote does not a trend make. But as we hear more of these stories, and as the foreclosure rate rises, is the line blurring between voluntary and involuntary foreclosure rates?
Do you have a story like this? Send me an e-mail.