"Brent White, a University of Arizona law professor, notes that a family who bought a three-bedroom home in Salinas, Calif., at the market top in 2006, with no down payment (then a common-enough occurrence), could theoretically have to wait 60 years to recover their equity. On the other hand, if they walked, they could rent a similar house for a pittance of their monthly mortgage." A clear-headed discussion of why a homeowner who finds that his house and mortgage are no longer worth keeping should let them go. Read the case in favor of "strategic default," ie, voluntary foreclosure, Here