The tune of Jingle Bells is probably still stuck in your mind in the days after Christmas. But around this time a decade ago it was “jingle mail” that was starting to get attention in the US.
Jingle mail is the term for home owners who simply hand the keys to their house back over to the bank when they can’t afford their mortgage repayments.
It’s an especially attractive option if property prices are falling and the borrower is in negative equity (where they owe more than their home is worth).
The main reason many Americans can do this and Australians can’t is the existence of non-recourse home loans in the US.
A non-recourse loan means the ba…
Read the full article at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-27/full-recourse-loans-lower-defaults-but-may-increase-risky-loans/9276602
