At the height of the new vampire craze in popular culture, why not talk about the fangs that Fannie Mae is growing when it comes to collecting deficiency judgments!

With Fannie Mae on board during the TARP bail-out and with their tacit approval of sub-prime mortgages via their purchase of the same, you’d think they would be more forgiving to home-owners who default on their mortgages.  Instead, Fannie Mae is getting ready to sink their teeth into former real estate owners who walk away from their homes in a strategic default.

For another article about Fannie Mae’s lead in showing banks how to go for deficiency judgments, click here.

Of course, the case can be made for personal responsibility - that the homeowners knew when the made the purchase that the future value of the property could not be guaranteed - so they need to stand by their fiduciary promise to pay the note.  However, it’s just not fair to ordinary folks when the fat cats get away with the same thing and all is forgiven, according to Virginia Broker Lenn Harley,

IF THE AMERICAN HOME OWNER IS IN A POSITION OF NEGATIVE EQUITY, WHY CANNOT THEY CLAIM A FINANCIAL LOSS FOR TAX PURPOSES AND “WRITE IT OFF” as a corporation can do when they lose money on investments or P&L???? Why is the American home owner the entity that many would FORCE to have to HOLD THE PROPERTY WITH NO MARKET VALUE, LIVE IN IT AND CONTINUE TO PAY FOR IT WHEN IT NO LONGER MAKES ANY FINANCIAL SENSE.

The corporation USES THE TAX LAWS TO MITIGATE THEIR LOSSES.

Only the American home owner is forced to live in and continue to pay for their financial loss even when they didn’t make the decisions that caused the loss.

While I disagree with her political finger-pointing because both sides of the aisle deserve equal blame, her points are valid.  Would you ever do a strategic default?