[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Wasn't sure where to put this, but I read it this AM.

I recall people walking away from mortgages in the 80's, but I didn't realize it was without recourse.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...sing-1.3430867

Alberta is the only Canadian province to broadly offer non-recourse residential mortgages. Those loans with at least a 20 per cent down payment and thus are not insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

If you walk away, you lose your home, but otherwise have no personal liability. Elsewhere in Canada, your lender can take you to court and seize other assets, such as RRSPs, vehicles, and even garnish your wages.

Is that true?

Yup!

What the article points out which wasn't the case back then however, is this:

The one main difference between now and the 1980s is that now credit bureaus have access to mortgage information. If you make a strategic default, it will follow you.

"You're going to have a big black mark on your credit bureau for the next six to seven years" said Dan Heon, a broker with the Canadian Mortgage Team. "So just handing the keys back and saying, 'I'm going to move to Saskatchewan where the jobs are,' and think that you're going to start you life up again and borrow money, it isn't going to happen."