What Happens When Economics and Emotions Collide?

Just spoke with two more REALTOR(R) friends today who are personally considering short sales, and are in emotional angst over it having come to this.

I asked them both: how would you advise a client who was in the same situation? For all of us, when it's yourself on the line, our thinking tends to become muddled and laced with emotion.

There's one common denominator with every short sale seller I've consulted-- the first thing they all bring up is the moral dilemma of missing a payment and not honoring their original contract. But most of them are up against a wall financially and have run out of options. They've tried working with bank, they've pulled money out of savings, they've pounded the pavement looking for a new job, but the end of the road has finally come.

What I find amazing is the huge difference between the way human beings and a financial institutions evaluate basically the same scenario. The person thinks first and foremost of values and morals, and the financial institution bases their decision on whether their assets are toxic or performing.

Go figure.