Why homeowners stop making payments they can afford

By Monica Hatcher McClatchyDC.com Sunday, October 25, 2009 Andres Duque thought he got a real steal when he paid $125,000 for his Little Haiti condo. But four years later, similar units are selling for $35,000 and even less. And so, faced with the prospect of being underwater on his mortgage — owing more than the unit is worth — for the next 20 years, Duque, 33, made what seemed to him like a rational choice: to cut and run. He stopped paying the mortgage, basically forcing the le