
Underwater mortgages drain equity, dampen retirement
But instead, the housing market foundered, and the house in Oviedo, Fla., that the Wakefields bought for about $230,000 is now worth just $115,000. Jennifer Wakefield says she's put off hopes of moving to a larger home. She once thought she could use a home-equity loan to help cover the $30,000 cost of adopting a child, but now there's no equity to tap into. Ref. Source 9
Nearly 29% of mortgaged homes underwater, report finds:
A whopping 28.6 percent of homeowners with mortgages owe more on their loans than their homes could sell for, according to quarterly data released Tuesday by Zillow Ref. Source 7