As house prices diminish and with interest-only mortgages on the decline, more homeowners actually owe more on their mortgages than what their house is worth. It doubtlessly has occurred to many homeowners that this makes sense, as many are defaulting on mortgage payments as we speak.

Here’s a quick breakdown to explain the situation. You purchase a house for $400,000 that is now worth only $300,000. Thanks to an interest-only mortgage, you still owe $400,000. If you wiped this off of your balance sheet, your net worth will increase by $100,000. You’d still need a place to live, but from this point you could purchase a more affordable house or rent for a bit of time.

However there is one large drawback to abandoning your house. If you do, you will trash your credit rating, making it difficult or even impossible to rent an apartment, get a new mortgage, and even a job. There is a huge drawback to abandoning your responsibilities. If you walk away, you will destroy your credit rating, making it more difficult or impossible to rent an apartment, qualify for a new mortgage, and perhaps get a job.

New legislation has been released to help families facing foreclosure, which will try to educate people to pick options other than abandonment.

Mallory Megan is employed bya debt collection company.