> That's not a true equivalency. Unless your loan has language or provisions for "mailing back the keys", doing so is an act of default and regardless of how well (or poorly) the lender(s) has/have hedged against the default you are breaking the agreement.
It depends on what you mean by "breaking the agreement." The state of default, its triggers, and its consequences are part of the agreement. You are acting within the scope of the agreement by triggering that state.
If you write a program like this:
if (foo) { doX(); } else { doY(); }
does foo being false "break" the if statement? In a mortgage, it is (vastly simplified):
if (youKeepPaying) {
youGetToLiveInTheHouse();
} else if (youSendUsTheKeys) {
exit();
} else {
weWillSendTheSheriff();
}
If anything, the last condition is the exceptional one. The contract doesn't generally contemplate what happens if you stop paying but also refuse to leave the dwelling.
It depends on what you mean by "breaking the agreement." The state of default, its triggers, and its consequences are part of the agreement. You are acting within the scope of the agreement by triggering that state.
If you write a program like this:
does foo being false "break" the if statement? In a mortgage, it is (vastly simplified): If anything, the last condition is the exceptional one. The contract doesn't generally contemplate what happens if you stop paying but also refuse to leave the dwelling.