Why Trump Can Get a Break and You Can't

Desperate to get a principal reduction on your way-too-big mortgage? If only you were a real estate mogul.

Just like homeowners, owners of commercial real estate like office and apartment buildings have been walking away from their mortgages. Dow Jones reveals the latest bombshell: Vornado Realty Trust, one of the biggest real estate investment trusts in the nation, has announced it's planning to stop making payments on two loans worth $235 million. And as you've probably also heard, such "strategic defaults" are understood to be a fair part of the commercial real estate business – when you've got a bad hand, you fold.