I do not support not paying - a contract is a contract. However, as long as a mortgagee is paying, they will never negotiate. The only way to bring them to the table is to stop paying. Then, they will gladly negotiate. After 90 days they have to book the paper as delinquent and the bank regulators see it...after 180 they see it in a different (and worse) bucket...and so on. The more delinquent the bucket, the more incentive to negotiate.
Under CA law the contract stipulates that if the mortgage defaults, the banks only recourse is to take the property. That's a risk the bank takes. If they really can't make the payments, they can't make the payments. It happens. More and more under Obama.