Helping a homeowner who wants to walk away

[Laura A.]

Have a homeowner who wants to walk away from a problem property. This is a bit out of my wheelhouse but I said I would help get some info to help them understand their options and connect them with someone if I thought they could help.

Would love input from those of you who are more familiar with navigating these kinds of situations:

It's an empty townhouse in a "C" neighborhood. Needs a good cleaning. They outgrew it, were upside down so instead of selling they made it a rental and took a small loss every month so they could live somewhere that better met their needs. 

They want to unload this former home, but they don't think they can do a regular sale and get out clean. They want to avoid foreclosure/short-sale so their credit doesn't get hit.

They have two mortgages totaling roughly 260k, part of which is in 2nd trust (20k).

Their monthly P+I combined is $2015.

HOA and condo dues: $180.

This place rents for maybe $1600.

Taxes -- TBA (tax assessor site not working)

Is there an investor solution option for them?

Or is this best handled as a deed-in-lieu?

If you need more info to evaluate, what would you need to know?