>When you're underwater on your mortgage, you're trapped. You might be able to afford the monthly payments but you can't sell because you don't have the spare c

>When you're underwater on your mortgage, you're trapped. You might be able to afford the monthly payments but you can't sell because you don't have the spare cash to pay off the mortgage. You can short sell if the lender is willing. Caveat being they will gift you the difference which can count as income and is taxed. There was an Obama era program during the last housing bubble burst that provided tax relief as well as incentives to the lenders to allow the short sale. Not sure if it’s still active, but it helped a lot of folks avoid foreclosures.