The days are long and the years are short

I was originally conflicted about buying a short sale property - was I profiting from someone's misfortune? But after I thought about it, I realized that at least in a short sale situation I'm actually helping them. They needed OUT from under the mortgage, and with the short sale while they walk away with pretty much nothing to show for their 3 years of ownership, at least they don't still owe and their credit isn't damaged by it. If I hadn't gone though with the sale, the place was going to be foreclosed on the following Friday.