Strategically Walking Away From Your Home – Right or Wrong?

Strategic defaults, people who strategically plan to default on their mortgage and sell their property short or walk away from it, are up 31% from 22% last year.

Fair Isaac Corporation, also known as FICO, is helping lenders identify who would be most likely to engage in a strategic default. 

CoreLogic reports that 11.1 million homeowners currently owe more than their home is worth, according to a study released in March.  The states with the highest numbers of homeowners that owe more than their home is worth are:

Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and California in that order. 

What’s interesting is that the people that default strategically on their mortgage because they don’t believe the property will regain it’s value, have been described by Fair Isaacs as savvier about credit than the population at large, with higher FICO scores, lower revolving debt balances, and lower credit card store use.

What do you think about strategic default?  Right or wrong?