It's no secret that a lot of mortgage holders who can't make their payments are choosing to simply walk away from the property, basically defaulting and leaving the mess for the bank to clean up. For homeowners who are underwater on their homes, who can't make payments, who don't qualify for modification and who can't ink a short sale, this is tempting. Why not default and force the bank to come and kick you out? The truth is that lots of people who defaulted like this ended up staying in their homes for long periods, as lenders were simply too swamped to foreclose and evict in every case.

This happens at the commercial level as well. To deal with these situations, Citi (C) is launching a new program that allows these people to avoid a formal foreclosure. They are allowed to live in their home for six more months; only then must they surrender the deed. This program doesn't harm the borrowers' credit score as much as a formal foreclosure, notes the AP. But Citi will also pay at least $1,000 in relocation costs and may provide relocation counseling. Fannie Mae operates a similar program. 

For more:
- here's the release
- here's the AP article

Related Articles:
Obama plan and mortgage profits
Who is to blame for the mortgage modification mess?
Citi PR campaign continues