“I think that homeowners will be walking in droves. Once people hear it’s OK to do so, they’ll be saying bye-bye to the lenders.”
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This is a real possibility, PC. Especially the folks with non-recourse 100% loans that get way upside-down. And the bagholders will be the servicers/lenders/investors who signed-off on these very risky deals. The 2nds would really get murdered.

For the folks with recourse loans, we may see a trend develop in judicial foreclosures where lenders (particularly those battered HELOCs) go for the deficiency judgment instead of watching a couple hundred grand blow away.

A big red gash on the credit report is not ideal, but at some point I think some folks will just take the hit. They will do their own cost-benefit analysis. Every man has his price.