Some readers still flipping out about buyers who flip houses

I know it's a new year, and that means we should leave all of the trouble and discord from 2009 in the past.

But I can't resist revisiting one of the most contentious issues I wrote about last year.

Back in the fall, I shared an e-mail from a reader named Aaron, who was angry with people who were "flipping" houses during the real estate bubble in an attempt to make big money. Aaron complained that they looked at their homes as investments instead of living spaces and that he was happy when their greed caught up with them. "I hope ALL of them end up penniless, starving and living under an overpass," he wrote.

Not surprisingly, Aaron's comments drew a strong, immediate reaction from people who both agreed and disagreed. But even as weeks and months have passed, the comments have kept coming, so I'm going to share a few more.

A reader named Bill, who identified himself as a Realtor, wrote in an e-mail that he could understand Aaron's frustration with flippers, but that he placed more blame with banks and mortgage companies that made "unwise, foolish and … greedy loans" to people who could not afford them.

"The unbelievable thing to me and most of my fellow Realtors is that when we now try and negotiate these banks away from the stupid loans by using the short-sale process, they continue to lose money by dragging their feet when we have willing and able buyers," Bill wrote.

He also included a word of warning that the housing problems may not be over yet, despite signs of economic recovery.

"There is a whole group of homeowners in our nationwide market that have sat on the fence up until now waiting to see if they want to continue paying their mortgages …," Bill wrote.

"These are people who had little or no money down payment when they bought their homes and are waiting to see if there is anything that could trigger a new round of lower prices. These people have lost 20-50 percent of the equity in their home, and if they sense additional loss or have no hope in the near future of modest appreciation, then many of them could walk away."

That's a scary thought, Bill, and I hope it's a prediction that does not come true in 2010.

Another reader, Ron, sent an e-mail to say he has no problem with people buying homes, then trying to sell them for a profit, because that's capitalism.