Quote Originally Posted by flyingimam
as a general rule mortgage paid to fully own the property is always greater than book value of the property, why? there is interest %age involved

but in some cases, property markets boom and make your asset worth more than mortgage+interest paid in full

and in this case, the market is totally ruining any such hopes
What they mean when they say a mortgage is underwater is that they owe more principal than the home is worth. So you have a 200,000 dollar mortgage with an eventual 30,000 in interest. Your home loses 20% of its value...going down to 160,000 while you still owe 180,000 in principal and 25,000 in interest.