Comments on: Short Sale vs. Foreclosure – Ethical Considerations

By: Lee Ginsburg

Lee Ginsburg — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:13:09 +0000

Kathy,
I somewhat agree but on the other hand some ethical peole lost jobs and are paying their mortgage by using their retirement funds. They contacted their bank to modify the loan and the bank point blank tells them as long as you are making payments we will not do anything.
I am not sure what is the right thing.
Yes these people made an obligation to pay but we are not in normal times and both sides need to compromise and not expect either side to take the entire loss.

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:49:42 +0000

Those banks are counting on people feeling guilty about walking away. They tell the buyer it would be the morally wrong thing to do and then refuse to work to modify the loan. I’ve met several people who desperately tried to renegotiate with the bank but to no avail. These are the same institutions that have no problems walking away from their responsibilities because it makes more business sense to stop making payments on their outstanding debt. The banks can’t have it both ways. They claim that in a capitalist society they have to make the best business decisions for their shareholders. Fair enough, but then banks should not be surprised when people make the best financial decisions for themselves & their families. In addition, when handing out the loans to anyone with a pulse and a paper route lenders took calculated risks that are now not paying off. While I’m not a big fan of someone walking away lightly, is it really up to the homeowner to bare the brunt of the housing fallout?

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:27:01 +0000

Kathy your story reminds me of the people you hear about running up the credit card before claiming bankruptcy. I know people get angry when they are overwhelmed, but don’t they realize that someone will have to pay the extra debt. Not all investors are big corporations… mom and dad’s retirement account is out there too…

Mark

By: Larry Franzella

Larry Franzella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:15:52 +0000

Times have changed and it is a difficult decision to have to make.

Larry

By: Brian Boisson

Brian Boisson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:16:19 +0000

Kathy,

Thanks for taking the time to comment on the subject.

Brian