http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986 Among the unfortunate effects of this nation's credit and housing crisis is that it's not just that subprime ARMs are about to shove mortgage payments through the roof.  In <a href="http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2008/01/property_values_going_down_but.html">some markets</a>, property <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/01/the_foreclosure_crisis_what_it.html">values have crashed</a> straight <a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=27826&seenIt=1">through the en-us Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:47:20 EST Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:07:37 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#12 It's pretty astounding that anyone who had gone through the process of buying a home would need that much hand-holding getting out of it but obviously they are preying on people's emotions and really aren't offering much beyond self-esteem building. At lea Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:07:37 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#11 If you're in such desperate straits that you're actually thinking about walking away from the mortgage, talking to this outfit accomplishes nothing other than putting $995 in their pockets.  You're still going to have some rent free months (I've heard Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:14:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#10 No, think of the couple of months rent you <i>save!</i> Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:07:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#9 Show me a market niche and I'll show you a company or two ready to jump in to profit off the niche.  Meet <a href="http://consumerist.com/350525/exciting-new-service-helps-you-walk-away-from-your-mortgage">You Walk Away</a>, an exciting new service fo Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:25:14 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#8 Of (at best) unlucky families or (at worst) irresponsible jackasses are the cats and dogs that these morons either abandon, or lock in closets leaving the pets to starve for weeks after the foreclosure.<p> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080125/lf_a Sat, 26 Jan 2008 08:27:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#7 I don't give much credence to the moral argument myself. In every collateralized loan there is a deal which basically goes "I'll borrow some money from you and pay you back at this rate. If I don't pay you back, you can take this collateral which is what I Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:24:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#6  Everything has a price. It used to be 7 years was a LONG time to work off a bad credit rating.  However for being able to walk away from a couple hundred grand of debt, that just makes financial sense - few people's credit rating is worth 200k+ Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:53:52 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#5 <i><br> I'm old-fashioned about financing a home.  My first (fixed) mortgage in 1982 was at 16.5%.  Later on, I refinanced down to 13%, and after that again to 9%.  Now I have a home that's paid for.  </i><p> Holy Christ. For that much Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:47:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#4 <i>"My first (fixed) mortgage in 1982 was at 16.5%. Later on, I refinanced down to 13%, and after that again to 9%. Now I have a home that's paid for."</i><p> That's not a joke.  At the time that was a very good interest rate from a local savings &amp Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:35:36 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#3 When a bank makes the fiscally prudent decision, it's just a business decision. When an individual makes the fiscally prudent decision, it's immoral. Don't make me laugh. The fact of the matter is a lot of finance companies thought they could really screw Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:05:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#2 <i>My first (fixed) mortgage in 1982 was at 16.5%. Later on, I refinanced down to 13%, and after that again to 9%. Now I have a home that's paid for. </i> <p> That's fascinating to me, and it really goes to show how cheap credit drove the housing boom Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:51:13 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/24/95057/0986#1 There's an old axiom that says "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".  Too many home buyers ran to get mortgages that probably sounded great for homes that they couldn't have afforded in the first place.  Here's a thought:  <i>t Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:32:39 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/