DR B
To answer your question very few are underwater. They bought for the right reason and bought homes they will stay in long term.
I sold 24 hopmes between 2003 and 2007. Three have already sold for gains. Two sold for losses (short sales) but came out with little or no monetray losses and FICO scores intact. The 1st of those shorts would have stayed forever in the home they bought but had an incredible job opportunity so they moved. I got a short sale done for them which dropped their FICO’s from 800 to 780 (I saw the report 6 months after) and a full release from liability. The 2nd bought against my advice and was pushed into it by his young bride he has since divorced. I tried my best to talk him out of it.
Nearly all of the other 19 are all in homes they love and will stay in at least 5 to 10 years longer and many much longer. The most underwater bought in 2005 and I called and begged to them to sell in 2007. They were underwater and would have lost about $10K. They made over $200K a year and I told them to rent for 2 years and then buy back in. They would not listen and now wish they did. On the plus side they came to me committed to buying something in my area in 2005. A previous agent almost sold them a 1300 sf home for $50K more than the 2100 sf home I got them. While they are a bit trapped because they did not listen to my advice to sell and rent a couple years, they do have a enough space to live.
There is not a single client I cant look in the face and tell I did right by them.
