personal residence with purchase money mortgage there is no deficiency judgement.. commercial loans can go judicial with judgements etc.. as was stated above it can be rare but I have bought sherrif sale properties that were the basis of lenders getting judgements and selling off debtor assets.. plus as a HML in my day we did this.. in dual action states like MS and or TX we would foreclose on the asset then sue on the note..  

Challenge any inaccuracies yourself with both debtors and reporting agencies if you have proof. 3.

Now remember the US is the largest debtor nation in the history of world.  23 trillion in debt, and that doesn't include unfunded liabilities, which some estimate to be north of 200 trillion. 

In an inflationary environment theres a transfer of wealth from creditors (banks) to debtors (real estate investors.) 

Or leave it in as a shareholder contribution to reduce your debt or hold for unexpected expenses, either of which can positively impact your balance sheet showing strength where a lender wants to see it.

Question is will they default the old fashioned way by renegotiating the debt or not paying, or will they default by paying the creditors back with dollars worth less than the dollars the government borrowed?  

Do I wait to pay off the debt or jump into an investment and make it happen?

When I was practicing bankruptcy law, a lot of debtors used the HAMP program to stay in their homes as they modified other debt.

You can choose to maximize the return by leveraging the business with debt or you can purchase for cash and reduce the risk and the return investment (or any level of leverage in the middle). 

Doesn't matter the size of the debt or payment amount.