I stopped paying my up-side-down mortage 6 months ago. Starting in Oct, all the credit card companies that I do business with have decided to simultanously lower my credit lines to about 10% of what they used to be, dispite the fact that I have never ever missed a payment, and have generated TONS of business over the year. Some of these relationships have dated back to 1995. By all of them lowering my credit lines together, I am all of a sudden appear to be maxed out on my credit lines, which may further lower my credit score. Before this happened, I usually use only 5% of my credit lines and pay them off each month.

I am fully prepared to not rely on my credit/credit cards for a while. It is however very sad to see how these credit card companies make their decisions. I called one of them to explain that it is my mortgage that I am walking away. I was told that if I default on one creditor, I am most likely to default on all of them – a very unsophisticated conclusion.

So be prepared for a long winter.

Strategic Default