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Re:Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather... by danhak on Tuesday July 19, 2016 @05:15PM (#12124969)
Real estate is usually leveraged. You don't simply get to keep living in a house if you are insolvent and owe more on the property than it is worth. See also: 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
Re:Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather... by dragonwriter on Tuesday July 19, 2016 @05:48PM (#12125198)
> Real estate is usually leveraged. You don't simply get to keep living in a house if you are insolvent and owe more on the property than it is worth.

Right, but the problem there is the insolvency, not being underwater (conceptually, you have the same problem if you are insolvent but owe a nonzero amount that is less than or equal to the worth of the property, though if its less you may be able to stay off insolvency by increasing indebtedness -- though that will probably take convincing a lender that your income/expense balance will change soon enough that you won't end up insolvent and overleveraged.)

Re:Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather... by morgante on Tuesday July 19, 2016 @05:38PM (#12125132)
Sure you do.

As long as you can continue to pay the mortgage each one, nobody is going to come along and kick you out of the house.

The "problem" is that you can't sell your house for a profit to exchange it for an even more expensive house. Hence, the rest of us are on the hook to ensure that your house can continue to appreciate in price.

Re:Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather... by danhak on Tuesday July 19, 2016 @05:43PM (#12125163)
"Insolvent" implies inability to continue mortgage payments.
Re:Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather... by morgante on Tuesday July 19, 2016 @06:12PM (#12125342)
Oh, I completely missed that you said "insolvent."

That being said, insolvency by itself sufficient to lose your house—even if you're not underwater.