Consultant says walking away from mortgage not an ethical dilemma

As home values drop, and homeowners consider their options, some experts are suggesting they take ethics out of the equation.

“I don’t think it’s unethical,” says Howard Bono, founder of the Financial Revival Group. “The bank set the terms, and the bank also set the provisions for what happens if somebody does stop paying.”

Bono says the agreement explains clearly what happens when the homeowner stops making payments.

“What that contract actually says is, number one, ‘If I the homeowner continue to make my payments, you the bank will leave me alone.’ It also has provisions in there that say, ‘If I the homeowner don’t make the payments, you the bank have recourse.’ That recourse is you get to take the house.”

Bono simplified the issue for 97.3 KIRO FM Dori Monson Show listeners, comparing a mortgage contract to a two-year cell phone agreement. If another company came along with a cheaper deal, it might be financially worth it to break contract, pay the penalties, and take advantage of a new plan.

Bono says homeowners should forget about moral feelings.

“It’s just a contract. You didn’t sit across the table from your banker and look him in the eye and he said, ‘You’re going to pay me right?” You didn’t do that.”

While the issue might not be an ethical concern, Bono says there could be a few other issues.

“Your credit is going to be damaged. We don’t believe going forward that’s going to be an issue because the banks are going to have 15 million houses when this is over. They’re going to be willing to sell them to anybody that can buy them or wants to buy them,” says Bono.

Bono says you’ll also have issues with the IRS.

“The IRS believes if the bank takes a loss, the IRS looks at it as a gift. So they want their tax money on whatever money the banks take a loss on,” Bono says.