Oppenheim and WSJ Today: South Florida Real Estate Dilema = Pay + Stay or Strategic Default
Thu Dec 17, 2009 by RoyOppenheim on Florida Law News & Florida Real Estate
It was 4:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving eve at my office, and I was enjoying a moment of quiet phones as I cleared my desk and my mind. The one call that did come was from The Wall Street Journal Real Estate reporter James (Bob) R. Hagarty. He was working on a story about homeowners who are creating their own bailouts, the coined name “strategic defaults.” Bob asked my thoughts on what a homeowner should know before they stop paying the mortgage: a tough decision and one that I help my clients make each day.
It just so happens one of my clients, Steven Olson, was also a phone call away, ready and willing to talk to Hagarty about how he came to his conclusion to stop paying and walk away.
This is a toxic time for homeowners in the real estate market. In good times, it would be unthinkable to stop paying the mortgage, but today it is the right option for some. Read the full story Debtor’s Dilemma: Pay the Mortgage or Walk Away on the Oppenheim Law News Room or in today’s Wall Street Journal on page A22.
