Losing your house can be a terrible tragedy.
That said, if I had bought a house (or condo) in 2004 with zero money down and 5% ARM fixed for 4 years, lived there for 4 years, and then defaulted and walked away in 2008 – that would’ve been a great deal.
Yeah, I know, the credit history and all that, but on the other hand I probably saved at least $10-$15K on rent, not to mention the freedom to scratch the floors and knock the walls down.