I know a couple of folks who have walked because, essentially, they had to. Job(s) lost, couldn’t make the payments, had to do it.

I don’t know of anyone who could afford to make their mortgage payments and simply chose to walk away, although clearly there’s a lot of these folks out there.

My personal opinion on this is that if you can’t afford to make your payments (job loss or whatever), then you should ditch it and hit the bricks with few regrets. (That’s what companies do when they CAN’T service their debts – they declare bankruptcy and either liquidate or restructure.)

However… if someone can afford to make their payments and simply doesn’t like the decision they made… well, that person should stick it out, in my view. I realize that it’s popular to say, “Well, it’s a BUSINESS decision – businesses do it all the time, so it’s o.k.” That’s true, but… as I noted above, 99% of the time when a BUSINESS, in effect, “walks away” (re: doesn’t pay its debt), it’s because it CAN’T make the payments, not because it woke up and said, “Pesky bankers and bondholders… I think I want a better deal so I just won’t pay them.” So, this “it’s just a business decision” meme – while technically true – doesn’t translate well when looking at the issue vis-a-vis each party’s ABILITY to pay (as opposed to its WILLINGNESS to pay).

Whether you’re a business or an individual and you just decide that you don’t want to pay your debts because you don’t feel like it, well, you’re a dirtbag. Much like a renter who decides to stop paying rent (even though he’s capable of paying it) because he knows that the eviction process (re: the law) takes months and just decides to milk the situation because, well, he can. (“Hey, the law says the landlord can kick me out, so good luck with that Mr. Landlord!”)

I know a couple of folks who have walked because, essentially, they had to. Job(s) lost, couldn’t make the payments, had to do it.

I don’t know of anyone who could afford to make their mortgage payments and simply chose to walk away, although clearly there’s a lot of these folks out there.

My personal opinion on this is that if you can’t afford to make your payments (job loss or whatever), then you should ditch it and hit the bricks with few regrets. (That’s what companies do when they CAN’T service their debts – they declare bankruptcy and either liquidate or restructure.)

However… if someone can afford to make their payments and simply doesn’t like the decision they made… well, that person should stick it out, in my view. I realize that it’s popular to say, “Well, it’s a BUSINESS decision – businesses do it all the time, so it’s o.k.” That’s true, but… as I noted above, 99% of the time when a BUSINESS, in effect, “walks away” (re: doesn’t pay its debt), it’s because it CAN’T make the payments, not because it woke up and said, “Pesky bankers and bondholders… I think I want a better deal so I just won’t pay them.” So, this “it’s just a business decision” meme – while technically true – doesn’t translate well when looking at the issue vis-a-vis each party’s ABILITY to pay (as opposed to its WILLINGNESS to pay).

Whether you’re a business or an individual and you just decide that you don’t want to pay your debts because you don’t feel like it, well, you’re a dirtbag. Much like a renter who decides to stop paying rent (even though he’s capable of paying it) because he knows that the eviction process (re: the law) takes months and just decides to milk the situation because, well, he can. (“Hey, the law says the landlord can kick me out, so good luck with that Mr. Landlord!”)

I know a couple of folks who have walked because, essentially, they had to. Job(s) lost, couldn’t make the payments, had to do it.

I don’t know of anyone who could afford to make their mortgage payments and simply chose to walk away, although clearly there’s a lot of these folks out there.

My personal opinion on this is that if you can’t afford to make your payments (job loss or whatever), then you should ditch it and hit the bricks with few regrets. (That’s what companies do when they CAN’T service their debts – they declare bankruptcy and either liquidate or restructure.)

However… if someone can afford to make their payments and simply doesn’t like the decision they made… well, that person should stick it out, in my view. I realize that it’s popular to say, “Well, it’s a BUSINESS decision – businesses do it all the time, so it’s o.k.” That’s true, but… as I noted above, 99% of the time when a BUSINESS, in effect, “walks away” (re: doesn’t pay its debt), it’s because it CAN’T make the payments, not because it woke up and said, “Pesky bankers and bondholders… I think I want a better deal so I just won’t pay them.” So, this “it’s just a business decision” meme – while technically true – doesn’t translate well when looking at the issue vis-a-vis each party’s ABILITY to pay (as opposed to its WILLINGNESS to pay).

Whether you’re a business or an individual and you just decide that you don’t want to pay your debts because you don’t feel like it, well, you’re a dirtbag. Much like a renter who decides to stop paying rent (even though he’s capable of paying it) because he knows that the eviction process (re: the law) takes months and just decides to milk the situation because, well, he can. (“Hey, the law says the landlord can kick me out, so good luck with that Mr. Landlord!”)

davelj,

What do you think of Doug Wilson the downtown real estate developer?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/housing/article_8053572d-173a-58c3-aef4-a307567c3be8.html

How about landlords who collect rent but don’t pay? Should the tenants pay the rent to those landlords?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/survival/article_50f3efba-4f04-11df-a3ba-001cc4c002e0.html

I believe that, in the end, everybody wants to save his skin and come out with some money in his pocket.

davelj,

What do you think of Doug Wilson the downtown real estate developer?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/housing/article_8053572d-173a-58c3-aef4-a307567c3be8.html

How about landlords who collect rent but don’t pay? Should the tenants pay the rent to those landlords?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/survival/article_50f3efba-4f04-11df-a3ba-001cc4c002e0.html

I believe that, in the end, everybody wants to save his skin and come out with some money in his pocket.

[quote=briansd1]davelj,

What do you think of Doug Wilson the downtown real estate developer?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/housing/article_8053572d-173a-58c3-aef4-a307567c3be8.html
[/quote]

I think he’s a douchebag and a dirtbag. Not so much because a few of his projects defaulted on their loans (although that doesn’t help his case for non-douchebaggery), but rather because, here he is AFTER the crisis saying shit like, “I’m not that smart. I don’t know where prices are going. Alan Greenspan got it wrong too, right? It’s Lehman’s fault!” When we KNOW that’s ALL complete BULLSHIT. When he was getting financing for these projects I GUARANTEE you this asshat was saying, “I’m really smart. I know this cycle has legs. Etc, etc.” And paying himself accordingly. THAT’s the reason he’s a dirtbag, not so much because he had a couple of projects go south. I just wish the banks who financed this shit had gotten personal guarantees from him so that he would personally be BK.

[quote=briansd1]
How about landlords who collect rent but don’t pay? Should the tenants pay the rent to those landlords?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/survival/article_50f3efba-4f04-11df-a3ba-001cc4c002e0.html
[/quote]

Dirtbags. The tenants should pay the rent into an escrow account and pay the banks after they foreclose on the property.

[quote=briansd1]
I believe that, in the end, everybody wants to save his skin and come out with some money in his pocket.[/quote]

I believe you’re exactly right. Which is the root of the problem.

[quote=briansd1]davelj,

What do you think of Doug Wilson the downtown real estate developer?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/housing/article_8053572d-173a-58c3-aef4-a307567c3be8.html
[/quote]

I think he’s a douchebag and a dirtbag. Not so much because a few of his projects defaulted on their loans (although that doesn’t help his case for non-douchebaggery), but rather because, here he is AFTER the crisis saying shit like, “I’m not that smart. I don’t know where prices are going. Alan Greenspan got it wrong too, right? It’s Lehman’s fault!” When we KNOW that’s ALL complete BULLSHIT. When he was getting financing for these projects I GUARANTEE you this asshat was saying, “I’m really smart. I know this cycle has legs. Etc, etc.” And paying himself accordingly. THAT’s the reason he’s a dirtbag, not so much because he had a couple of projects go south. I just wish the banks who financed this shit had gotten personal guarantees from him so that he would personally be BK.

[quote=briansd1]
How about landlords who collect rent but don’t pay? Should the tenants pay the rent to those landlords?
http://voiceofsandiego.org/survival/article_50f3efba-4f04-11df-a3ba-001cc4c002e0.html
[/quote]

Dirtbags. The tenants should pay the rent into an escrow account and pay the banks after they foreclose on the property.

[quote=briansd1]
I believe that, in the end, everybody wants to save his skin and come out with some money in his pocket.[/quote]

I believe you’re exactly right. Which is the root of the problem.