>> deaner: right now, about $142,000. >> safer: that's a big drop. >> deaner: big drop-- over 43%. >>aner and his house were, as they say, "underwater." with a mortgage of about a quarter of a million dollars on a home worth less than $150,000, he has one very expensive lemon. he says he tried to talk his bank into renegotiating his mortgage, but because he earns enough to keep paying, the bank said no deal. >> deaner: they refused to. they said it was going to affect my credit and they were going to take my house. and i pretty much said, "go for it." >> safer: but you could afford to stay here, correct? >> deaner: i could, yeah. >> safer: but he chose not to. he is walking away. that lemon of a house is now the bank's problem. >> deaner: it's almost like the in thing to do right now, it seems like. >> safer: and because deaner, like many americans, only made a 10% down payment on his home, taking a hike is a lot easier. by law in arizona and nine other states, the bank cannot go after any of his other assets. but his credit rating will suffer. aren't you fearful that you're... you're