Bank of America just gave ME attitude!!

There are dozens of good reasons not to default on your mortgage, but "morality" isn't one of them.

Oh really? Since when is stiffing a creditor not immoral? What you are advocating is mortgage fraud, plain and simple.

It's one thing for someone to lose a house because of legitimate financial reasons (medical issues, loss of income, etc.). It's a whole other issue if someone loses a house when they have the capacity to pay but simply refuse to do so - regardless of the reason behind such actions.

The argument that the property was devalued due to market conditions doesn't hold any water. Cars depreciate. Boats depreciate. So does a steak and potatoes dinner at a restaurant. So do houses. It doesn't matter - That's the risk you take anytime you purchase any product of any kind.

"Here are the keys, Ford Motor Credit. The car ain't worth much, anymore, so I am just walking away." That's called defrauding a creditor.

Secondly, if you make the argument that defrauding your creditors is acceptable, then where does it end? Is it okay to stiff your local barber? How about your local restaurant? Your phone company? Wal-Mart? Home Depot? Your Aunt Susie?

Thirdly, there is a massive difference between a corporation making a real estate investment - and a homeowner that personally guarantees a loan for the purchase of a single family owner-occupied home. Corporations can file bankruptcy, and - unless fraud was involved - the officers of the corporation will generally have little if any personal repercussions except for the loss of income, and the loss of any ownership interest (stock).

On the other hand, individuals that walk away from their mortgage, can damage their credit, lose their residence, be pursued by collection agents and attorneys, ruin their reputation, ruin their job prospects, and wreak utter havoc with the property values of their neighbors.

Fourthly, just because someone else commits mortgage fraud, does that mean it's okay for others to do so as well? Is it okay to commit other criminal behavior if I can show you examples of criminality? Huh? Does this make any sense? Where is the honor in that? The respectability? The moral fortitude?

And yes, this is a moral issue. If you truly believe that stiffing your creditors and defrauding your bank is acceptable, then you need to do some serious thinking about your moral values. Frankly, it's disgustingly sick - and criminal.

You need to check out this lawsuit and see if it applies to you in any way. you also need to have a good real estate lawyer look at the loan docs to see if countrywide did any thing illegal on the documents or the loan.

Attorneys? Good grief. Not a bad idea, if you suspect that the loan documentation was fraudulent. However, if it's a plain vanilla normal mortgage, you still owe the money. It would be an even better idea if you had the attorney with you at closing so he could have made sure it was a legitimate transaction in the first place. Now there's a concept.