More than one in three Americans think it's okay to walk away from their mortgage, either to trigger lender assistance or because they don't think it's worth it to hold onto a home with a value that is less than the mortgage balance.

Along with those Pew Research Center findings about "strategic defaults" -- walking away from a mortgage you can afford to pay -- others take a calculated risk that homeownership can be possible soon after foreclosure.

Indeed, a recent FICO study may have inadvertently created a blueprint for strategic defaulters to game the system.

The study revealed the financial status of strategic defaulters, and the financial strategies they used before they defaulted, could put them in a position to weather a foreclosure and buy anew sooner than expected.

The study found that strategic defaulters may not pay their mortgage, but they keep current on other credit so it is available to see them through the foreclosure. Keeping current on other credit also helps them regain a high credit score sooner than others who go into foreclosure and wreck all their credit.

That means strategic defaulters tend to go into foreclosure with a higher credit score than those who enter foreclosure because they can't pay the mortgage.

A higher credit score can put strategic defaulters ahead of the credit-score-rebuilding game that comes after foreclosure.

"Your credit score gets a boost, in part, based on the number of positive accounts in your credit report. The more you have, within reason, the faster your credit score rises, even after losing a home," says Robert Aldana, a Silicon Valley real estate agent and publisher of LetsTalkRealEstate.com.

"Others will tell you seven to 10 years must pass before you can buy again. At that time, uninformed people say, you'll have to buy at high interest rates. That's not always true," says Aldana.

Aldana doesn't advocate strategic defaults, but suggests those in foreclosure not give up hope of buying anew sooner than expected.

While you may be able to quickly rebuild your credit report after a foreclosure and buy sooner than expected, with some financial preparations, the strategic default approach to foreclosure doesn't eliminate the immediate impact on your financial status.

If you can afford to pay your mortgage, you'll have to determine if it's worth the risk not to.

Here's what to expect in a strategic default.

• A foreclosure remains on your credit report for seven years and your credit score can plunge by as much as 150 points. Only bankruptcy will affect your credit score more adversely than foreclosure. Bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 10 years.

• Last year, Fannie Mae began prohibiting strategic defaulters from obtaining Fannie Mae-backed mortgages for seven years after a strategic default-triggered foreclosure. That reduces the number of home loans available to you after a strategic default.

• During the time the black mark remains on your credit report, securing other credit at reasonable terms and rates won't be easy, if possible at all.

• You could also face problems shopping for insurance or applying for a rental home or a job in some industries where you are expected to have a financially fit character.

• In some cases, the debt the foreclosure "erases" could be recorded as income, against which you'll have to pay taxes.

"Some may see strategic default as a way to get out of paying a bad debt," says Charles Chung Experian's president of Decision Analytics.

"But its associated costs like a lower credit score, higher interest rates and less ability to secure future credit, can wipe out the financial benefit of no longer having a mortgage payment," Chung added.

Published: December 1, 2011

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.