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Originally Posted by ektorp

thank you all for your responses. the main response i am hearing has to do with morals and ethics and legal obligations. i get that. i get all that...i really do. the message i am getting is that we live in an ideal world where everything works exactly the way it is suppose to, which is far from true. our country's current economic status is a clear indication of this. as i previously stated, until recently i've always been a very financially responsible person meeting all of my financial obligations. i never had a late payment in over 10 years, with the exception of my recent mortgage.

So you don't care about morals, the world's not fair - so why not screw someone else over?, and you didn't make a late payment for 10 years, so you've earned a free $20k. Is that what you're saying?

yes, technically i bought a home i could not realistically afford...but since i technically could not afford it, the lender never should have given me the loan in the first place. millions of other americans are in this position, not just me. the banks should not have given out these loans but now it's too late and its something we all need to deal with. the government is bailing out these banks costing billions of dollars. when times get tough, you adapt. you put set aside your normal conventions and do what you have to do in order to make the best decisions for yourself.

It's just as much the bank's fault as mine (even though it's not really), so I'm allowed to screw them out of 20k. Everyone else is doing it, so why not me? the banks are gonna get theirs anyways, so why can't I get mine?

i am interested in settling my debt because it simply makes the most financial sense for me. one thing worth mentioning is that when i bought my property, i put 80k as a down payment. that is now gone. the 25k i have in savings is all i have. if i use that to pay of credit card debt i am left with nothing else. yes, i should meet my financial and legal obligations, especially when i have the means to. i get that. but like i said...when times get tough, you adapt. you assess all of your options and see what makes the most sense. i already lost 80k in my home and have no interest in losing 25k more. settling a debt with a financial institution is very different from settling a debt from another person. debt settlement is a legal option and a great option for many people. my credit is already shot. i have accepted that. paying off my debt will not help it...very little if at all. and again, i have no need for credit in the near future. so settling my debt for a fraction of what i owe seems to make the most sense to me.

More and more reasons why you're going to settle regardless of the moral/ethical implications of doing so.

(fyi - you don't have to pay the entire debt right now. You can pay over time and still fulfill your obligations. -ie. pay 8k this month, and 350/month until it's gone. The choice isn't between, lose everything you have in the bank or settle.)

the question i have is this...if someone were to offer you 25k in cash and the only cost to you would be that it would significantly reduce your credit score for about 3 years when you have no need for credit...would you take it? that's pretty much the way i see it.

I already know you're going to settle. I can tell from your post.

I feel debt settlement has a place in our system for those who need debt relief. And you are not one of those people - you have the means to repay. (I don't argue against your short sale, because at that time you were in need of debt relief)

But what you're doing now is in my view, very selfish.

So I've said what I wanted to say, you know where I stand. Good luck to you.