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why is being upside down on a mortgage so bad?
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sample numbers: owe $100k on house.  house (after 'crash') valued at: $50k.  reason for consternation: what rational person pays $100k for property that is only worth half that amount? true story: my neighbor paid almost $250k (a quarter-of-a-million dollars - think about that..) for a house that when he walked (ran!) away from it was sold by the bank for $88k.  unless he declares bankruptcy (and forgoes all his other assets, including retirement savings) he still owes the bank the difference. and even with bankruptcy, he may still owe the bank - this should cause anyone to be a bit concerned about being up-side down in a mortgage loan.
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