Reply #39: That whole "moral imperative" thing just doesn't work for me. I agree with Mr. White [View All]

[laughingliberal]

I've been willing to walk away from our mortgage for over a year. We haven't because my husband has an emotional attachment to owning the home and, frankly, in our area we won't save that much monthly by renting.

We have spent huge amounts of money making sure the guys at the top stay on top and diddly (comparatively) trying to help individuals caught in this crisis whose lives are going down the drain. When millions more mortgages are down the drain, I believe we will see more than "voluntary" programs for mortgage holders to modify the loans.

Depending on property values where you live, the threat of walking away can motivate the lender. In my area, home values have lost huge value and most are not worth what is owed. We are managing to get the mortgage paid in time to forestall any foreclosure procedures so far. I called once when there were 2 payments due and told them I could make 1 payment. I got some really nasty collector on the phone who said they sent me a demand letter and they needed the full 2 payments that day to prevent foreclosure. I said they could send anything they wanted but I still had only one payment and, if they're taking the house anyway, I wouldn't be making that one, either. She tried to get snotty again and I ended the call. It was not 10 minutes til a very nice young lady called me and apologized all over herself about the "misunderstanding." I told her that I knew they could not start foreclosure procedures unless we go 90 days past and these aggressive collection techniques almost cost them the payment I was making that day, that I was more than willing to hold that payment 3 more weeks if they f'd with me and that if I heard from them ever again without my initiating the call I would drop the keys off at the nearest office and let them have the damn house. No more phone calls from them and, when I call, you couldn't ask for a nicer bunch of people. My concern is for those out there in dire circumstances, as we are, who don't know. They prey on these people and I can see some poor woman facing the same dishonest collector I had that day driving herself crazy trying to scrape another payment.