Its about time.
The corps get off scott free and with bonuses for the assholes who did this to us and the little guy gets screwed for life?
Yeah!! Those people were forced to sign mortgage papers!! Evil dirty corporations.....
Zander, I suspect that we are going to see some deflation for the next few years as the economy continues to collapse. If my guess is right (and it is a guess as there are too many variables to know anything with certainty in this modern world of ours), those housing prices will fall a lot lower. I have an adopted son (one of many) who bought a condo with his new wife right after they were married. Like most property in San Diego, it has fallen tremendously in value and is worth about half of what he owes. He is paying $3000 a month on the mortgage, yet he could buy another similar condo and only pay 1500 a month.
Now, tell me with a straight face that you would tell him to continue paying that $3000 a month for the next twenty years when for the same money he could buy a full sized house. It is a business decision just like any other. He had no way of knowing that housing values would tank so seriously in San Diego. I tried to warn him before he bought, but that is water over the dam, now.
Fact remains that if treated like any other business decision,
he should walk away. The bank took a risk in financing the loan. It was a business decision for them, too. they have made fifty thousand in interest, so up to now it has been very lucrative to them. It is time for them to take some of the loss, too.
A lot of other people feel the same way I do.
It is not a question of morals or ethics, but just business. IF the banks were stupid enough to put too much of their money in real estate, then they did not diversify enough. Shame on them.