Going through a forclosure doesn't mean you have to file BK. I see shit like this all the time at work. We had a guy come in to lease a new car. Had all of his old shit (CC's, his own home, cars) paid perfectly and didn't have a ton of CC debt. The guy had not one, but two forclosures in mid to late 2010 on rental properties. One had a total of 11 late payments, the other only had 6 before it went back to the bank. Because he already had other things in his name to bring his score back up, his worst score is just below 700. I refinanced my house in 2010 @ 4.25% with my score being a 660 (much higher now, was still fixing the screw ups of being 19 with credit cards). The guy leased a brand new car without any issues. That's the problem with the whole situation. If executed with someone who knows what they're doing, there is little to no penalty for just handing the keys to your house. Not to mention the banks are still willing to give the guy loans!
Edit: Not saying the guy could go out and get a mortgage right away but if you have an avenue to get the house you want through someone else or already have it before you kill your old house, your conscience will be the only thing you'll have to deal with.