[Porsche-O-Phile]

Cancelling escrow on ours (about a month ago) was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. We'd cleared underwriting and could have closed, but I just thought things were too uncertain in CA and there's simply too much unknown with respect to how far the job markets are going to crash here and how long they're going to stay down. Our payment was about 1:1 with our current rent payment, but in the end I figured it was much smarter to not be weighed down with a mortgage and a house in CA if I need to make a move somewhere else for a job (looking more and more likely with each passing day, so I guess it was a smart decision).

If you are VERY sure you have no risk of losing your job and you are VERY sure that if you do, you can get another one in your area, then go for it - rates are low and pretty soon inflation is going to explode. Prices aren't too bad either, but likely will fall at least another 10%-20% before any sort of bottom is reached (something to consider).

Don't waste your time with short sales - go with REO only. That's what I did and we had very good results and didn't have to screw around for three months waiting for some bank asset manager to get his head out of his ass and make a decision. It was a pretty quick offer acceptance (under 2 days).