Hat Tip to T!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0908/gallery.Life_after_foreclosure/3.html

City: Carlsbad, Calif.

Price paid: $840,000

Current value: $600,000

This California resident bought his house nine years ago in a gated community within the posh, seaside city of Carlsbad. He took out an adjustable rate mortgage to keep the initial monthly payments affordable, but by this spring his monthly mortgage bill was $5,600.

At the same time, he found himself severely underwater thanks to falling home prices and several cash-out refinances.

The headhunter and motivational speaker couldn’t afford that big a payment and realized he wasn’t likely to make back nearly a quarter-million dollars in value. He tried for months to work something out with his lender, but he says, “They made me an offer that was unacceptable.”

Instead, Nash, who is married with two kids, decided to go through the foreclosure process. He didn’t pay the mortgage for 18 months and finally vacated in June. Not having a housing payment during that time kept him from financial ruin since his headhunting business was in a tailspin.

Nash and his family are now living in a $1,900-a-month rented townhouse in the same great neighborhood just a half mile away from their former home. “I downsized about 1,000 square feet to a 1,500-square-foot home,” he says. “Hey! It’s a lot easier to clean.”

He feels like he landed on his feet in just about every way: His kids were able to stay in the same school; he stayed in the same location, which is like living in a beach resort; and he’s spending a lot less on housing. “Nothing was lost but a big, freaking headache,” he says.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0908/gallery.Life_after_foreclosure/3.html

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