Dumb question, but if folks have to re-locate to find a new job, what's to stop them from renting their home for the amount of the monthly mortgage payment? Whatever else may be going on, I haven't yet heard of people fleeing one area of the country for another a la "Grapes of Wrath". Even in my little rural part of the nation, rents seem to be humming along quite nicely. If your home is underwater, why can't you just hang on until prices re-align themselves as they always do?
