They were making interest-only payments on a $210k mortgage, essentially just renting from the bank, while a comparable house down the street was on the market for $160k. Around the country people were starting to walk away from houses that were “underwater”, worth less than the mortgage, and he knew that he could easily rent a house 2x the size for 50% of what they were paying. But to him, walking away from a mortgage was unethical. “I owe the bank money. I want to make good.” For now, the couple were planning to sit tight in Maricopa until the market turned, even if it took another 5 years. Someday, they hoped, they would be able to recover what they’d lost.

portrait of a hellhole where the biggest industry is buying and selling homes