I know. The nerve of some people to suggest a totally impossible scenario.

Is he unemployed and/or incapable of paying the mortgage he has on the property?

I used to think it was unethical. Not so sure anymore.

- Peter.

Regarding walking away from the mortgage.

It has absolutely nothing to do with honor or ethics. If you don't have the money to pay the mortgage, the mortgage is not going to get paid. It is as simple as that.

There are consequences of course (stained credit, etc.), but it has absolutely nothing to do with ethics.

Well, what's the take on "Mr. Ft. Meyers" that apparently can vacation in FL in a house he no longer pays for? Ethical or not?

AFAIK, he's employed in sales. He is probably incapable of paying the mtge, according to a client of mine who is, err, was a partner of his in another (sour) venture.:rolleyes:

edit: As I said, sooner or later he will pay the piper, and likely have forgiveness of debt tax problems, along with the aforementioned stained credit, etc. But I suspect he's channeling his resources into trying to save the (marginally, imo) better venture .

You picked up on one of Buffett's wonderful quotes. I remember reading it years ago. If you follow his advice (as I have) over the years, in my estimation you have a better shot at growing your net worth exponentially. Especially if you are a younger person, since time is your friend in investing.

Some of the remnants of Enron were bought by Berkshire-Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy division after the Enron debacle. When Ken Lay bought Northern Natural Gas company in Omaha, he stated it would stay in Omaha. Lay lied, he moved it to Houston, Texas. Northern Natural Gas is now back in Omaha. Not that it helps any of the former retired millionaires in Omaha that risked-it-all by foolishly leaving all their retirement dollars in Enron stock.

listen mr. "glass half full", again, don't confuse luck with genius. if or when things go bad for you, you will understand, and perhaps have empathy.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get."

-Samuel Goldwyn

sadly, the anecdotal does not trump the empirical. :rolleyes:

I'm not so sure, most "lucky" people I know are in the habit of making good decisions. Conversly, people who live on the edge are always at more risk from external forces. The individual who buys a house he can't really afford in an area with an inflated real estate market shouldn't be shocked when he ends up in trouble. Bad stuff happens, the "lucky" people are the ones with options.

Weird. I seem to encounter that quite a bit. Not that every time it works out but quite often. OTOH, when I just "go thru the motions", it fails more often than not. Not sure why. Maybe it is just luck. That is it. :rolleyes:

If it is true luck, I don't think anyone can be lucky enough to succeed in life. Even if it is pure luck that you find a $100 bill on the road, you still have to get off the couch and walk out and pick it up.

Yup, that's the point. I don't believe in luck over the long term. Someone may be lucky enough to have an opportunity, he/she has to act on it.

For my self I operate on the idea that the harder I work and think the luckier I will be.

However, I know lots of folks who work plenty hard but still are not fortunate financially or in other ways.

Being lucky in marriage goes a long way in life.....how does anyone know? I married my wife after knowing her less than six months and it has been wonderful, but I consider myself very very lucky in that respect. (I wasn't so lucky the first marriage!)

I don't advise anybody to rely on luck but in my own case I feel very lucky for what I have and what I have been given through no effort of my own.