Strategic default
A strategic default is the decision by a borrower to stop making payments (i.e., to default) on a debt, despite having the financial ability to make the payments. This is particularly associated with residential and commercial mortgages, in which case it usually occurs after a substantial drop in the house's price such that the debt owed is (considerably) greater than the value of the property—the property has negative equity or is underwater—and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future, such as following the bursting of a real estate bubble.