If you believe in karma, what are your thoughts on acquiring a house or a vehicle, as examples, that have been repossessed/foreclosed?

I would still buy it. You did not take away the house from them, so karma is not involved. The house, has been taken away, regardless of whether you buy it or not. It might sound cold hearted, but if you look at the situation objectively, you know that you aren’t to blame for anything. When a house is repossessed, it’s meant to be sold, the people who had to leave the house know that. I think things would be different if you were good friends with the previous owners. That would make things awkward. But if that isn’t the case, and the deal is good and the house looks like a good investment, i say go for it !

If we, as the middle class don’t do it, the super rich will buy up everything and we will only be renters. It is already happening.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/30/real_estate/vulture_investors_take_flight/index.htm?postversion=2008070507

it is not your karma that would be involved. unless you were the lender and designed it so that you could foreclose.

Karma is great as an overarching guiding moral principle: our willful actions, good and bad, will have consequences. We can’t knowingly cause suffering and remain forever unharmed by it. But that’s about as far as our understanding will ever go. How karma plays out in all of its complex interweavings in any given case is beyond all of us. All we can ever do is resolve to cause as little suffering as possible.

I don’t think any reasonable person would see your buying a repossessed house as being the cause of whatever suffering the former owner experiences. Seeing karma as a force attached to an object is, I think, a misunderstanding of karma and smacks of magical thinking.

People buy and sell all the time without taking into account hardship. Someone may have to sell a home to pay medical bills. In that case, the buyer is helping the seller. Forcing someone into foreclosure despite mitigating circumstances might be one thing, but buying a house on the market? I see no issue here.

I don’t think buying a house that is forclosed on would be bad karma. You may be helping the seller. However! I do not think it is a good idea to purchase a repossessed, because if they haven’t been making car payments you can pretty much assume that they haven’t spent money to maintain the vehicle.

These are all great responses, thanks flutherites. I also just thought of an additional source, houses/cars seized by the government/police – any further thoughts on those?

I would say the karma has already played out on the perpetrators whose property was seized. The property would carry no karma.

Karma is something you make yourself… the previous owner lost their house not you.

Even though I am a Christian and believe that God drops everything into our lives at the exact right time… (whether it be good or bad) I still do believe in the Hinduism phrase of karma: that your actions will affect your destiny…

Profiting, or in this case, getting a bargain because of somebody elses misfortune or bad luck, is a recipe for some bad Karma…... Not a lot, but some. I would not do it. But I’m a big believer in karma. I guess it would be worse if you stood in the driveway while a Marshall or sherriff wheeled an 80 year old woman out the front door.