Earlier this week I caught a story that National Public Radio (NPR) ran on a California family that had a dream of buying a house. Up until now, it had always been out of reach financially. However, with four bedroom properties close to $200,000 in some of the areas where they were looking, their dream was now within reach.

But the problem they were facing is that they were being outbid by local real estate investors. Interestingly, NPR was referring to them as “vulture investors”. They seemed to take issue with real estate investors buying the properties to renovate and resell for a profit.

So help me understand this. NPR has a problem with investors going in and buying properties that the banks clearly want to sell – and fixing them up? What would they prefer – these properties sit vacant until they rot away to the foundation?

It occurs to me that many of these properties are likely so run down that no one other than a real estate investors who specializes in rehab will buy the property. Also, owner occupants get all sorts of bidding advantages on, for example, foreclosed FHA homes. They usually get 2 weeks or so to bid on properties until the bidding opens for investors.

Oh, and let me mention that as the reporter covering the story pointed out, the family did end up find a house for the good price they were looking to get.

It just makes you wonder if some do-gooder in Washington isn’t dreaming up some type of special government program to punish “vulture” investors for trying to make a profit. Perhaps a 100% tax on profits which could be redistributed to some housing subsidy program. Don’t thinks it out of the question…stranger things have come out of Washington lately.