Legal column dismisses alternative opinions
To the Editor,
The June 28 Legal Ease column suggested that people with a mortgage should do the math and “unless the house is really a winner, hand the keys back to the bank and be done with it.”
From the perspective of this column, what matters is that the mortgage owner can save money by failing to abide by their contractual obligations. No mention is made of any other alternatives, such as refinancing to reduce the interest rate, or lengthen the term, selling the home with the mortgage, reducing other spending, getting roommates or anything else that actually requires someone to keep their promise to repay the loan. It is a poor example to set for the younger generation, that someone’s promise to repay a loan can be broken by simply “handing the keys back,” and that the important issue is how much money it might save, rather than fulfilling your obligations.
In cases of serious illness or job loss when there are no savings or any other possible alternative, foreclosure may not be avoidable. This column’s sole focus on crunching the numbers after a mortgage is obtained, and not before being obtained, is advising the readers based solely on self-interest.
Brian Callahan
Indianapolis
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
