I worked the other side of this thing, as a debtors' bankruptcy attorney. Sometimes I could save the house but usually it wasn't in the cards: The income wasn't there and the bankruptcy laws were skewed by GWB. Fortunately there were many times when - if a house wasn't an issue - the debtor was much better off without an albatross around his neck. Overall it was a rewarding occupation - not monetarily, the rules kept debtor's attorneys on a very short leash - but morally.