Jason William Keith’s Blog

This NY Times article makes a case that people who owe significantly more on their mortgage than their home is worth might be better off to walk away, even if they can afford the payments.  The Wall Street Journal ran a similar article a few weeks ago.

The idea is that many people who bought homes with little or no down payment during the market’s peak could walk away and rent a similar home for a fraction of the price.  The additional savings could significantly increase their financial well-being by sacrificing their credit.

John Courson, the president of the Mortgage Bankers Association disagrees and questions what kind of “message” homeowners who voluntarily walk away will send to family, kids, and friends.   He  correctly cites that foreclosures futher depress surrounding home prices.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 11:36 pm and is filed under Economics, Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.