FWIW most of the distressed properties I see out there are not from the newbies they are from the renter class. Every city has a renter class. People who live paycheck to paycheck and who are best suited to renting. My maternal grandparents were part of that and never owned anything. The majority of what I see end up distressed is properties that were purchased by people in this category. WHen times got tough they saw they had nothing to lose. They were lifelong renters before and they could walk away and return to being renters in SD for the rest of their lives.

The newbies on the other hand come here more often than not for good jobs, with assets, savings and families back home to support them in event of trouble. They dont want to walk away because they have another option to renting in SD. They have the realistic option of moving back home where it is cheaper and buying a new home. They have more to gain by not walking away and will fight harder to save their credit scores. At least that is what I have actually seen happen among the several hundreds folks I have spoken with in these situations.