Yesterday, the Mortgage News Daily ran an article entitled “Stop Paying Your Mortgage and Walk Away?” It talked about a new company called You Walk Away, LLC that assists homeowners with the process of walking away from their homes, more specifically their mortgages. I have to applaud Mortgage News Daily for going against what this company is doing.
Where is our society going? We in the mortgage industry work our butts off putting people into the American Dream, helping them make wise financial decisions and as soon as the industry runs into some issues a company like You Walk Away, LLC comes along and profits from showing people how to ruin their credit by walking away from one of the best financial decisions they could’ve made. Wow!
I believe the recent efforts by the Federal Government to help struggling borrowers is the right thing to do. But to help people walk away from the biggest financial commitment in their lives, like this company is doing, is crazy. What happened to keeping your commitments? It used to be that if you were having trouble with finances and had to “rob Peter to pay Paul”, it was commonplace to float your credit cards for a month or two until you got back on your feet. But you never, ever stopped paying your mortgage.
I know we’re not living in the most ethical times (evidenced again today by the resignation of New York State’s governor) but c’mon, someone actually is showing people how to mail their keys back to their lenders, and it’s legal? It just irks me to think that our business is being undermined like that. It’s like the owners of that company are saying, “Those crooked mortgage people put you into the house so give it back to them and let them deal with their screw-up.” The only problem is that the people who pay the almost $1,000 fee for this service are being put into a much worse off position.
Does anybody else feel the same way about this as I do?
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Paul // Mar 12, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Rich, great topic and I agree that walking away is reckless and irresponsible.
A short sale with full release of liability is meeting the lender halfway.
2 Cully Perlman // Mar 12, 2008 at 5:33 pm
As someone sitting on the sidelines during the explosion of subprime loans, and watching people that could not normally afford to move into their own home buy big houses, I have to say I am a bit torn. While I was shaking my head wondering how these people were going to be able to afford the payments, I did (for a second, anyway), wonder if I was not making a mistake by not pulling the trigger and buying a house. Unlike many who jumped in, I have great credit and money in the bank for a deposit–but I knew I would possibly be cutting it close each month if I actually purchased what I wanted. Unfortunately, I understand why it makes sense to walk away–and I also think it irresponsible. The problem is that buying a home is now becoming harder for many of us who were responsible–and not helping out those who weren’t isn’t really an option–it’s going to cost us more either way.
3 Trace // Mar 13, 2008 at 11:36 am
Unfortunately some people will not know better and will consider this a valid option, after all they are a “real” company doing business…..that muuust mean its ok.
4 Floirda // May 16, 2008 at 9:37 am
Yes, I was stupid and paid this company, You Walk Away, LLC, $1000.00 and they did nothing for me it was such a waste. The contract stated is not statisfied can get a refund for 50% of fee paid and I am still fighting with them to get a refund. They are taking advantage of the situation and should be shut down.
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