It's official: We're in a recession.

[Army Wife'79]

But if you foreclose and "walk away" don't you lose all that money you have paid down on your principle? I've read an article in our AL paper here that people are doing "round robin silent bidding" on properties now. I guess it's like a silent auction where you keep adding your name and higher bid.
And what's with parents asking Toymakers to stop advertising on TV. Whatever happened to just saying "we can't afford it" to your kids. When I was little we got one big gift and a stocking. Now kids get about 30 big gifts. It's so unnecessary for people who can't afford it to rack up big credit card bills just to please a kid.

[AGDee]

Yes, you do lose what you've paid in so far but if you owe $250,000 on a house that's now worth $175,000 (because it was at $300,000 when you bought it two years ago) and you are out of a job and can't pay the mortgage, you're pretty much out of luck anyway. What options do you have?