Just because a homeowner can easily afford his mortgage payment doesn’t always mean that making the mortgage payment is the best thing for the homeowner to do. There can be numerous issues that make a once attractive house no longer desirable to a homeowner. And when that is the case, the homeowner may decide that his best option is to default on the mortgage and bear whatever consequences arise from his breach of the contract so that he can rid himself of a house he no longer desires to own.

But to tell people to walk away even if they can afford their mortgage payments is … absurd to say the least. If you can afford the payment and can keep a roof over your head, that’s a good thing. The market is down today, up at some point in the future. Why willingly put yourself in a position of financial distress when it’s not necessary?

Perhaps the equation differs in states that prohibit deficiency judgments, but in New York a mortgagee can continue to collect when the sale price falls short of the balance due. In such a situation, a defaulting borrower may be backing into a future bankruptcy when one might otherwise be unnecessary.