| | Downloadable Forms | p. vii |
| | Introduction | p. ix |
| | How Did So Many of Us End Up with Underwater Houses | p. ix |
| | What Happened to Real Estate Prices? | p. x |
| | Easy Money Home Loans | p. xiii |
| | When Lending Guidelines Loosened-The Beginning of Our Current Problems | p. xvii |
| | Meet the Authors | p. xix |
| | Acknowledgments | p. xxii |
| | Options for "Underwater" Property Owners | |
| | Is Your Home Worth Less Than the Mortgage? | p. 3 |
| | How to Estimate the Value of Your Home | p. 4 |
| | What Banks Want | p. 6 |
| | Introduction to a Short Sale | p. 7 |
| | Other Options for Underwater Homeowners | p. 8 |
| | What Happens If I Walk Away from My Property? | p. 11 |
| | Stop Making Payments, Move Out, Let the Bank Foreclose | p. 11 |
| | Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure | p. 13 |
| | How to Protect Yourself | p. 14 |
| | Your Losses Don't Stop with Foreclosure | p. 15 |
| | Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act | p. 19 |
| | If You Are in Financial Trouble, Deal with Your Emotions First! | p. 25 |
| | The Typical Mindset of People in Distress | p. 25 |
| | How It Feels to Be Trapped | p. 31 |
| | Putting Your Pride Aside-The First Step to a New Life | p. 34 |
| | How to Get Free from Your Property and Get on with Your Life | p. 36 |
| | Aggressive First Steps to Get the Highest Possible Price | p. 39 |
| | Try to Sell the Property Yourself before Calling a Real Estate Agent | p. 39 |
| | Using a Real Estate Agent | p. 41 |
| | What If My House Is Underwater but the Payments Aren't Late? | p. 44 |
| | Try a Loan Modification: Negotiating a Lower Monthly Payment with Your Lender | p. 47 |
| | Loan Modification | p. 48 |
| | Forbearance Agreement | p. 52 |
| | Government Programs and Mortgage Relief Organizations | p. 57 |
| | Mortgage Relief | p. 58 |
| | Financial Relief | p. 61 |
| | Short Sales: How to Sell a House When It's Worth Less Than You Owe | |
| | The Short Sale Solution | p. 65 |
| | When a Short Sale Won't Work | p. 67 |
| | Short Sale Requirements | p. 68 |
| | Short Sales for Investment Properties | p. 71 |
| | How to Approach Your Bank | p. 73 |
| | How to Ace the Broker's Price Opinion | p. 75 |
| | How to Put Together Your Own Short Sale Package | p. 79 |
| | Requirements for Financially Distressed Homeowners | p. 81 |
| | Requirements for Solvent Homeowners | p. 84 |
| | Putting the Package Together | p. 85 |
| | Sample Contract for Sale and Purchase | p. 85 |
| | Sample Comparable Sales | p. 86 |
| | Sample Pictures of Disrepair | p. 86 |
| | Sample Net Sheet | p. 87 |
| | Sample Investor Letter | p. 87 |
| | Sample Repair List | p. 87 |
| | Making Sure Your Package Is Complete | p. 88 |
| | Sample Short Sale Package | p. 89 |
| | How to Work with an Ethical Investor to Short Sale a Property | p. 105 |
| | What Should an Investor Do for Me? | p. 106 |
| | How to Negotiate with Investors | p. 117 |
| | Closing Any Deal-What You Need to Get in Writing | p. 123 |
| | Get Everything in Writing from the Bank, Investor, or Real Estate Agent | p. 124 |
| | What to Expect from the Closing Agent | p. 126 |
| | Check Your Credit after the Deal Is Done | p. 128 |
| | Other Options and Issues for Underwater Homeowners | |
| | If Nothing Else Works, Consider Bankruptcy | p. 133 |
| | Bankruptcy-How to Buy Time | p. 135 |
| | Will Bankruptcy Help or Hurt My Credit? | p. 138 |
| | Temporarily Renting Your Home | p. 143 |
| | Section 8 Program | p. 160 |
| | Don't Go Broke Trying to Save Your House | p. 165 |
| | Don't Go Broke | p. 166 |
| | Living with Negative Cash Flow | p. 168 |
| | Living with the Emotional Stress | p. 172 |
| | How to Rebuild Your Credit | p. 175 |
| | Credit Repair Services | p. 176 |
| | Steps to Rebuilding Your Credit | p. 181 |
| | Formula for Paying Off Credit Cards | p. 183 |
| | Is There Life after Financial Disaster? | p. 187 |
| | How Do I Avoid Disaster Again? | p. 188 |
| | Will I Be Able to Invest Again? | p. 190 |
| | Sharing Your Experience with Other Distressed Homeowners | p. 192 |
| | Consider Becoming a Real Estate Investor | p. 193 |
| | Index | p. 195 |