CRACKING DOWN ON strategic mortgage default. “A strategic default is a valuable piece of information. It tells the bank about your attitude towards credit, and whether or not you are willing to make strenuous efforts to repay your loans. People who will make heroic efforts to repay loans at great personal cost to themselves are, in fact, better credit risks than people who act as if credit is nothing more than an exotic option, which you can repay if advantageous, or walk away if not.”