The people I feel sorry for are the ones who bought houses in CA at a much inflated price, make their mortgage payments on time, do all the right things, and see the value of their homes declining rapidly. It’s really bad for people who have to sell their homes right now, due to a change or transfer in their jobs. These people will have to go to the closing (if they’re able to sell their houses) with their checkbooks in hand.
“The people I feel sorry for are the ones who bought houses in CA at a much inflated price, make their mortgage payments on time, do all the right things, and see the value of their homes declining rapidly. It’s really bad for people who have to sell their homes right now, due to a change or transfer in their jobs.”
they - those that must move - are a small minority of those who meet the rest of your criteria
and they are not without options
one option is to get a renter into a five-year or longer lease on the house they need to sell
in most cases, if they get the bulk of their monthly obligation on it, then, that home and its rental income is seen by lenders as an investment and usually does not prevent them from buying another home in their new location
even when it is not seen that positively, the rental income keeps foreclosure at bay while they make whatever residential adjustments they need to in their new locale
when the market turns around, which it will, they can quit leasing it and try to sell it again
for everyone else who met your criteria, the ‘loss’ is an unrealized ‘loss’ - a paper loss - which may in fact be reversed by the time they decide to sell