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I am absolutely not responsible for anything I do or did

By Anita S. Crum

Real Estate Agent with Rose and Womble Realty Company

February 02, 2010 05:06 PM

I read yet another article today about homeowners wanting to just walk away from their homes and their mortgages... even if they had the money to continue making the payments. They just want to get away from the negative equity. The story said that when the value of the home drops below 75% of the amount owed more homeowners start to seriously think about walking away.

What?

I'm sorry but this is a mentality I just can't understand. So what if the current value of the home is less than what you owe (hey it's now just like a car loan). If you can still make the mortgage payments, if your financial situation hasn't changed (no job loss, no divorce, major medical bills, etc.) than what makes you think it's okay to just decide you don't want to pay anymore? It's one thing to be in a financial strait and not be able to make your payments but it's a totally different thing to go "oh gee, I paid way too much for this house 3 years ago, silly me, I'm just going to go rent something else and not pay this mortgage cause my house isn't worth it".

"walk away from mortgage", "Anita Crum"

When did we become a nation of irresponsible, self-indulgent, slackers? What happened to taking personal responsibility for yourself and your actions? What makes it okay to sue a fast food corporation because they didn't warn you that a) the coffee would be hot and b) you shouldn't put a hot beverage in your lap while driving a vehicle?

Don't get me wrong, I know that there are a lot of people out there who are having a difficult time right now due to a variety of reasons, legitimate ones. But there are also a lot of unscrupulous people who are using the current situation to just walk away from another mess that they created and don't want to have to deal with.

If you found this post offensive, well all I have to say is...

I am absolutely not responsible for anything I do or did or said.

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Douglas Lovitt

Washington Management Company, Inc. - Mill Creek, WA

Funny Anita. But you are right. a much larger portion of our poulation has become very unaccountable for their actions. Very frustrating.

Feb 02, 2010 05:16 PM

John Phillips

Vision Construction Company - Ventura, CA

Anita,

I agree.

I owe $480,000 on a home I bought during the 'bubble" .

It is now worth about $235,000. My payments are $3,800.00 a month plus insurance and taxes make it about $5,000.00 a month.

i could easily walk away and rent a home for less than half that. I won't.

Why? I am a responsible kind of guy.

Feb 02, 2010 05:18 PM

Darren Revell

Keller Williams Realty Temecula Valley - Temecula, CA

thank you for the post.. it is going to be interesting when this type of thinking sneaks up and bites them. What goes around comes around and a society that operates like this cannot grow and prosper.

Feb 02, 2010 05:20 PM

Cezary Doda

Better Homes and Gardens FH Realty - Forest Hills, NY

Anita, I believe you're 100% right. That ancient word HONOR and it's almost forgotten meaning seems to be waaaaay too expensive for many or simply hard to understand. In my opinion RESPOSIBILITY and HONOR are very close to each other and it's hard to believe that the country based on such principals has to cope with a crisis created by low level of human values. It seems that for many of those irresponsible homeowners the only value left is a dollar value. In comparison to this kind of poverty, most of the survivors in Haiti should be cosidered multi-millioners ; )

Feb 02, 2010 05:42 PM

Rob Thomas

Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN

Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

Anita....I saw the same thing happen in the car business years ago...It got to where it was nothing for someone to let their car go back because they could go right out and buy another one. Have a great day!

Feb 02, 2010 09:36 PM

Wallace S. Gibson, CPM

Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA

LandlordWhisperer

Yes * they want to walk AWAY and into a rental where they have no tax deductions, freedom to decorate NOR do they bother to lower their dependents at work so that they will be hit with a HUGE tax bill when they give up their homeowner tax deductions!!!

Feb 02, 2010 09:53 PM

Will Nesbitt

Nesbitt Realty at Condo Alexandria - Alexandria, VA

Nesbitt Realty is a family-run brokerage.

It's an outrage that we are rewarding bad behavior. When we reward bad behavior, we get more bad behavior.

Feb 02, 2010 10:28 PM

Cindy Jones

Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA

Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

I have a different take on who is in the wrong in some of these situations. I don't want to generalize that everyone who is walking away is doing so for the wrong reasons. In some cases the lenders just don't get it. Active duty military families who attempt to do a loan modification-turned down because they have retirement funds or make to much money. Same family doesn't qualify for a short sale even when the have PCS orders and the spouse will lose their job with the move becuase they have retirement funds. But that same lender will let a family who financed a 100% loan and may have been less than honest on their mortgage application walk away without any penalty.

Hmmmm does something seem broken with the system?

Feb 02, 2010 10:47 PM

Tom Boos

Sine & Monaghan Realtors, Real Living - Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

Providing the very best of service to Sellers and

The current real estate value catastrophe is really testing the "moral fiber" of many Americans. It's sad to see so many choosing to avoid their legitimate financial obligations.

Feb 03, 2010 12:28 AM

Anita S. Crum

Rose and Womble Realty Company - Newport News, VA

Hampton Roads Real Estate (757) 692-6438

Alix - yeah it really stinks that does of us who do pay our bills are going to have to keep paying to bail out those who choose not to.

Douglas - Thanks. Believe me I find it extremely frustrating that people won't take responsibility for their own actions, or inactions.

John - Wow! That has got to hurt. I can't even begin to imagine making that kind of mortgage payment. I'm so glad you're a responsible kind of guy.

Darren - you're welcome. J And you're right. As we can clearly see our society definitely is not growing and prospering of late.

Cezary - Thank you. It seems that "honor" is something we only get to see in movies now days. We applaud the self-sacrificing hero outwardly but privately (or sometimes not so privately) think he's a sap. We place too much importance on the dollar and less on morality, ethics and integrity.

Feb 03, 2010 02:07 AM

Anita S. Crum

Rose and Womble Realty Company - Newport News, VA

Hampton Roads Real Estate (757) 692-6438

Rob - the sad thing is that in a few years all those people who walked away will be able to buy another house, just like they were able to buy another car.

Wallace - I guess they see it in terms of saving a little now versus saving a little later. If they reduce their monthly housing bill by even a couple hundred dollars, I guess they see that balancing out any tax benefits.

Will - unfortunately we continue to reward that bad behavior, or at least if not rewarded, there doesn't seem to be a strong enough negative consequence.

Cindy - please note that I did not say everyone who walks away is an irresponsible jerk. I know that there are many people who have tried their best to somehow salvage their situation but have not had the support they needed from the lenders and Uncle Sam. Yes the system is definitely not working like it should and unfortunately there are people who are taking advantage of it.

Tom - Ah if only we could get "moral fiber" from a supplement or out of a cereal box. Maybe we should have a chat with those Kashi people.... Seriously though, it is very hard for me to write those checks to pay my bills every month when I see so many others file bankruptcy or "just walk away". Once upon a time your word was your bond. If you broke your word you were a "bad" person. Now if you break your word, you're just a "victim" of circumstances.

Feb 03, 2010 02:24 AM

Krista Abshure

Fathom Realty - Fuquay Varina, NC

I agree 100%! There are too many people out there who just walk away from their obligations. It is even more sad to me that because of these irresponsiblepeople we are more likely to disbelieve someone who truly needs help. I hope that the true victims of the market are able to overcome it, yet I really hope those irresponsible owners get slapped with Deficiency Judgments that stay on the their credit forever... or until paid off!

Jul 18, 2010 01:30 PM

Lee & Pamela St. Peter

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices YSU Realty: (919) 645-2522 - Raleigh, NC

Making Connections to Success in Real Estate

❧ Hi Anita, it's so good to see you back! And I'll echo the other comments received, it's a sad day when we think we don't take our commitments seriously... Sadder still some of these folks that did walk away will look to buy again "when the market gets better"...

P.S. - Don't stay away so long!!!