OP, Southeast PA here. I have recently taken a part time job because I was laid off last month. The job entails taking pictures of homes going in to foreclosure.

I am seeing homes in foreclosure from shacks to mansions. There is an equal amount of homes in all ranges. No one is omitted from this economic crisis.

There is one difference that I am seeing that makes me say hmmm. The million dollar homes still occupied by owners are being cared for regardless that they are going to foreclosure. The lawns and shrubs are beautifully maintained and the home looks impeccable. However, the mid to lower range homes are being let to rot 50% of the time, even though the homeowner is still living in the house. It seems like the mid to lower range income families are loosing their pride. It is very sad to see.

My son's ex-wife recently dumped their home in my son's lap. She was 12 months back on the payments and the mortgage company was starting foreclosure procedures. My son was able to work out a deal with them to stop the process and they were very agreeable, of course. They don't want it back - they have too many. He paid all the fees for the arrears and they put the 12 payments on the end of the mortgage.

I hope that people who are loosing their homes can learn to have hope. A new job is always possible and if that happens, the mortgage company will be ever so happy to work things out. Unfortunately, many people want to let their homes go and are sticking it to the mortgage company by letting the houses go to the dogs and living there without paying for as long as possible. Have they given up hope or do they just not care? I really want to understand. I do know that many people are giving up because their homes value has decreased below the amount of their mortgage and that is understandable. However, there are people giving up who have houses that still have some equity....