Underwater Homes Remain Recovery Dark Spot

When Sally Herigstad and her husband wanted to buy a house recently in their Seattle suburb, they ran into some unfriendly numbers. They owe the bank about $360,000 on their existing home, but a sale would bring in only the low to mid-$300’s: they’d have to close the deal with a big check. So the couple went ahead and bought the house they wanted--and then rented the first. Still, Sally finds being a landlord a hassle. “If I could sell it and get my money out, I’d do it today,” she says of the first home.