If this is your residence…i.e..your owner occupied home, the govt has given you real incentive to walk away if you do it in the specified time frame. No taxes on the amount that you owed and did not pay. And, if it was a purchase loan, odds are good that it’s a non-recourse loan as well. So the lender cant go after any of your other assests. Waiting may hurt you as the time frame for the govt not taxing you may run out at the end of this calendar year.