Best way to get away from homes that are underwater ?

[Joe Gilroy]

My friend has 2 homes, the first is his primary residence, and has a current market value of 370k, and he owes about 360k on the mortgage.

The second home is his vacation home, that is vacant, and has a current market value of 250k, and he owes about 320k on the mortgage.

Each property is costing him about $3,000 each month for PITI.

He wants to unload both properties, and go back to renting for the time being, as that would improve his cash flow quite a bit.

He is current on both mortgages, never been late with any payments, and has good credit, also.

Can he list the properties as a Short Sale, and then stop paying, and move out ?

What would be the best way to him to handle this ?