MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE

This is another common issue in foreclosure - is it worth it to keep the house? I have posted articles on this on my Facebook page and repeat a comment I made to someone on the NYS Department of Labor Facebook Fan page:

"Here's something some housing counselors and even myself tell homeowners: are you so "underwater (mortgage in excess of house value)" that you are paying a bank more for a house than it would be to rent? I have seen homeowners with monthly payments of, for example, $5000 for a home they could rent for half the price. I have seen homeowners with mortgages of over $700,000 wanting to keep their home when it is worth not even half that amount. I am not being political here as to who is to blame for this situation: I just want to point out that the decision to keep a home can be based on emotional reasons rather than financial. We are all adults and I understand all views - I have a summer home, no mortgage, that I inherited and has been in my family for almost 100 years and so far I am of the view that I will do everything I can to keep it. But I wonder how I would feel if my financial situation was different (and it has not been a bed of roses for me either)."