A series of events happened to me lately. I lost my job, my wife lost her job. Then I landed another job out of town. However, our combined income is less than half of what we made before. We don't intend to move back as my new job is a stable job and I will be there for the next few years (hopefully). The problem is the house. With our lower income we have no chance to afford it. We can't sell it either, small chance to rent it out. So our options are down to Foreclosure or Short Sale. Although neither one is a good thing to happen, I hope short sale is less painful. Anyone has experience on this? We don't intend to keep the house even if we get a loan modification because the sum of mortgage and property is simply too high. I am lost and don't know what to do.
Short sales are a major PITA. Talk to your mortgage company about it ahead of time. There is alot of research they have to do (which takes a long time) to determine how much they will accept for your house. It will go on your credit too.
As Crazy said, shorts sales are a PITA. The benefit it has for you, is that it will save you from not having a foreclosure in your name. They involve a lot of work in a short time span, and you have to make sure all parties are satisfied, especially the mortgage company. Tough decision, but get with a Realtor who has experiences with short sales. Good luck with everything.
Why can't you rent it? Maybe you can turn a negative into a positive. LOTS of people are looking to rent these days. Probably more people than are looking to buy. Hire a property manager to handle everything and all you have to do is cash the check every month.