Strategic default....sounds good until your character is questioned.

I overheard an interesting conversation in the office yesterday. Apparently, an agent showed a rental property that was listed by another agent in the office. Of course, the listing agent asked about feedback and the showing agent excitedly mentioned that his clients were interested in the property. Their conversation quickly changed to the reasons why the prospective tenants are now choosing to rent and he mentioned that they were doing a strategic default on their home.....WHAT????

Do you mean to tell me..... that the individuals who are now breaking a contractual obligation just based upon a "strategy" has now decided to enter into a contract with my client????

A strategic default sounds good in theory...and I understand that it all boils down to a business decision. However, there are ramifications involved and if your client doesn't have to worry about their character being questioned, then it's fine. There are so many other options available to homeowners today besides a strategic default. There are many short sale options available as well. Yes, there's a lot of time and effort involved, but it gives the impression that the homeowner made an attempt to mitigate the loss to themselves and to their lender. Shoot, even a deed-in-lieu sounds better on paper than a flat-out strategic default.

People really should begin to think past the "here-and-now" because there really are after-affects.