Even more so considering that there is real risk in that holding period, real skill needed to manage it and real risk that it goes up, real loss of any appreciation beyond the RTO price as well as still being able to lose if you bought in an already appreciated market that could fall which is the reason RTO is becoming more populor (higher price to LTV in many markets). 

Sometimes scary events like a job loss become opportunities when we look back on them.  

Because if it were passive, I was wondering if I could use our carryover passive activity loss from our real estate rentals (we do active participation but cannot use the PAL against regular income due to income limit). 

(The bank is not going to just sell it at a loss to the first person who talked to the seller - they want it exposed to the market to get maximum value out of the sale).That being said, both of the above options are a real pain to deal with, and the odds are extremely long that the bank will sell to you at a significant discount.Here in Florida (even after #2 is complete), the short sale addendum to our contract allows the bank up to 90 days to review an offer.So, what typically happens is:1.

If you are frugal, however, the long term health costs of eating a instant Ramen rich diet, which includes both long term medical costs and quality of life considerations, make them potentially very expensive.

Investors often show losses on paper, while actually making money through cash flow.

"Washington Mutual could face $26 billion in losses, with $21 billion from mortgages, a report from Lehman Brothers said on Monday.

Loss Mitigation and a Legal Department.

Most claims aren't total losses, so if the house is in a depresssed market and sells for say $40k and has a fire in the kitchen...could easily be $20k in (retail) repairs and they're getting premiums on $40k, the math doesn't work like it normally would. 

Now I've been told that I can write off many of my expenses, but since I have not generated income yet would those be considered a loss I assume?