The Professor’s Notes

There’s an entrepreneur making the rounds of talk shows etc. selling an internet product that teaches you how to cheat and steal (legally of course) from your fellow citizens.  Let us reason together as we explore the rationalizations of his chosen hook to fame and fortune.

So apparently, not a few Americans were counting on housing prices to become even more overvalued than they already are.   You know, those “Flip That House” people who buy undervalued properties, hold and/or fix them up, and then resell them for much more than they were really worth.  Or the (here in Dallas, TX) $60k/year maintenance man who purchased a $375,000 home with the full expectation that he would be able to convert his “interest only” loan (for the first five years) into a conventional mortgage by refinancing based on the increase in value . . . oops  (his home is now priced at $290,000 with no offers).

So back to our Robin Hood guy.  He has a web-based service that ” . . . walks you through the steps of how to manage your foreclosure to your advantage!”  Uh-oh.  The premise is that you can stop making your mortgage payments and continue to live in your [sic] home for 9 months to a year (based on the laws in your state).

And nobody gets hurt!  It’s a Win-Win!

As the great philosopher Homer (Simpson) would say: ” . . . Wai-ai-ai-ai-ait A Minute!”

 The rationale is this:  since the market is depressed, the mortgage company wouldn’t be able to sell the home anyway, and by squatting on the property you are actually doing the lien holder a favor; by keeping the property occupied and maintained, you are preserving the inherent value in the home!  Suh-weet!

A rose by any other name . . .