Laser Wrinkle Removal Procedures - Know Your Options
Is Your House Underwater? To Walk Away or Not To Walk Away?
1. What should you do if you are underwater on your house?
Or on several houses? The answer is not as simple as it
may seem. There is no one solution. A lot of people think
that the only reason for a person to default would be if
they could no longer afford the payments. There was a
time when that was true. Not anymore.
2. A new breed of defaults are occurring across the country
know as strategic defaults. A strategic default occurs when
a person has to make a decision on whether or not to
default. On a regular default that person has no decision
to make, they simply cannot afford to make the payments.
A strategic default is a business decision. If you owe
$300,000 on a house that is only now worth $180,000, Do
you really want to spend your retirement paying this
house off. Now what if you have ten or twenty of these?
That makes the decision a little easier.
3. I understand that we were taught if we borrow money it
would be unethical to not pay it back. I agree. However,
we have to remember that this was a business decision for
the bank as well. They loaned you the money with
expectations of profit in exchange for a certain amount of
risk. You borrowed the money with expectations of profit
while taking a certain amount of risk. This is strictly a
business decision. Most people will say that if you walk
away that you are a dead beat. Those people haven't been
where you are and making the decisions that you are
making. If they have, they may sing a different tune.
4. What kind of consequences will you face if you walk
away? Well, not all states are the same but you will
definitely be hit with bad credit. You will not be buying
another house conventionally anytime soon. You will have
to deal with embarrassing letters and phone calls from
collectors. Your name will likely appear in the newspaper
in the foreclosure section. In some circumstances you may
even get hit with a 1099 for the loss the bank took.
5. The good news is credit scores are rebounding quicker
than ever and once the process is complete you can start
rebuilding your life and your nest egg. I understand that
continuing to pay your mortgage is the responsible thing
to do and that is why so many americans are struggling
with making this decision. I have consulted dozens of
investors who were struggling with this decision and some
chose to keep paying and some walked away. As for the
ones who walked away, the biggest regret across the
board was, "I wish had done this sooner!"