Pizza,

You might want to read through this.... http://www.mortgagefraud.org/

http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/

It's a dumb idea...

Shame on you for considering doing this. If you have money enough to buy a new house then you have money enough to make your house payment. My wife and I were tempted to "buy and bail" but chose to stick with our committment. Have you considered loan modification? Short sale? These are options that are more honorable than simply running away for the problem.

If you have cash to pay for your new home, I suggest you continue to make your mortgage payments and don't allow your home to go into foreclosure. Regardless of whether it is fraud or not, you should have enough pride to keep your commitment to that lender who put their trust and money in your hands on the belief that you would do the right thing and repay your debt. It's this kind of thinking that has caused a big part of the current housing trouble. Have a little pride and don't take the "easy" road out.

It is sad that people are out there even considering this. It is fraud, which is a felony. If people who do this can sleep at night ... they should likely also secure a good defense attorney.

This is a very interesting question and obviously involves fraud. I'm not sure if they would take your home, but they might come after you for the deficiency on the difference of what they get for the home and what you owe. I would think you would be better off doing a short sale and handling it properly. I know the banks are coming after people that deface the home and destroy it and they might just do the same with this type of situation. I would talk to an attorney before you do anything like this.
Lorrie http://www.azrealtygroup.com