A Hard Question...

Today, I sat with a couple regarding a secured credit card. They expressed how excited they were to build credit. They wanted to give $2,000 toward the secured credit card to obtain a line of equal value. The wife is a famous Latin American singer and brings in about $80,000 per year. The husband is self employed and earns close to the same amount. Money obviously was not a problem here.
As we talked about the credit card and how to establish credit quickly and effectively, the "hard question" was raised; "How will foreclosure affect the interest rate of my credit cards?" asked the husband. I explained the new bankruptcy laws. Should he default on one loan, the other creditors would have the right to adjust their interest rates to compensate for the risk. He explained that he had always paid his other credit cards on time, hoping this would make a difference. When I told him that it did not, he was upset and confused. Again, I tried to explain that it is risk based pricing and that he would pose a higher risk to all the lenders that had outstanding debt with him.
Seeing how upset the man had become, I tried to get a little more information about the situation. I asked him why he was so concerned about this. He told me that he was, in fact, losing his home. At first, I was concerned, but as he went on, I was disturbed by his response. With his 13 year old daughter and 9 year old son sitting at my desk with him, he expressed his opinions to me. "It's not fair! It's not fair that I bought this house for $400,000 and I could get little more than half that if I sold it today". I was shocked. This wasn't about an adjustable rate mortgage. This wasn't about bait-and-switch sales tactics. This was about what was fair? I couldn't believe what he was telling me. I wonder how many others out there are thinking the exact same thing. How unfair it is that they have to carry a debt that could have been less if they had only waited. Wow, what if we all thought that way. I bought milk yesterday. Today it's on sale. Should I go back to the store and demand that they take it back and give me the sale price?
What's worse than this thought process is the fact that they are teaching their children that this is acceptable behavior. The children looked to me while he expressed that his situation was "not fair", almost like they needed confirmation that this was acceptable. I tried to focus on their father, but I didn't know what to say. I could have lit into him about how unreasonable he was. I could have told him that this was a "hard question" and that the choice was theirs to make. I didn't even get a chance to respond before they told me that they would be buying another home before they foreclosed on this one. Wow! With attitudes like this being passed down from one generation to the next, real estate as an asset class is sure to decline in value. Is this the attitude to keep? Buy a home! If you make money, Great! But if you lose money, just leave your debt. Only accept the responsibility if it turns out well for you.