<prompt> Human: Im debating just sucking it up and paying for the repairs which would empty my savings vs handing the keys to the bank and walking away. Im 41, divorced with alimony payments to make, have 100k in a 401k, and am happily renting a room long term from a friend. Will walking away ruin me? Are there advantages to it?Update: numerous questions I should have addressed initially. Ill try to answer in this edit. 1. Rent. It has been rented for the past 5 years. 1600mo is about 100 shy of covering mortgage, taxes 5kyr!, watersewer. Rental market wont support higher rent for this house. 2. Is ex-wife on the mortgage: yes3. Have I considered short sale: yes. I earn a salary high enough that the bank will likely turn me down. Assistant: The house is in New York and I live in Oregon. It has been rented for the last five years, rent is about 1600 per month, which barely covers mortgage and home warranty. I have already put about 10,000 into repairs getting it ready to sell. Organizing contractors from across the country has been very frustrating!  <response>: I vote for continuing to rent it. I am old, so the dates here are true.. In 1987 I bought property at the height of a market in the UK. A couple years later I wanted to move on but it was worth 30 less than my mortgage. I ended up renting it out and barely breaking even in that for the next ten years. After 10 years, another property boom came around and I sold at well over what I owed on the mortgage. Renting it was a small PITA year to year, but so worth it in the long run. 