I've heard of tiny apartments, but living in a closet?

Perhaps one of the strangest and creepy stories I have come across recently. . .homeless Japanese woman secretly sleeps in man's closet for over a year.

She apparently snuck into his home and just took up residence in his closet. The single man was astonished to learn that he wasn't as alone as he thought. He discovered his "guest" after setting up
security cameras to figure out how food kept disappearing from his kitchen.


CNN has more on this story.

Completely OT, but a must see. . .

From the guy that brought us the Segway Vehicle (See previous posts for info on our Segway Disney Tour) comes an amazing breakthrough, straight out of the Terminator movies. A robotic arm created to help amputee soldiers live a normal life. This arm can pick up grapes, use a cordless drill, basically anything a normal arm can do.

Check out the unbelievable video footage of this arm in action at http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/05/dean-kamens-rob.html.

You're Out. . .

SURPRISE! The home you are renting is being foreclosed next week!

CNN story discusses an increasing issue with all of these foreclosures. . .that many of these properties are occupied by renters that aren't always aware that their landlord hasn't been paying the mortgage. Renters often first find out about the foreclosure from final notices from the bank or from surprise visitors telling them they need to get out.

World Travelers. . .

Big travel week for SMA Consulting, and no I am not referring to Mike, Bob, or Steve heading out of town to present at a seminar. Both Travis (SMA Orlando's Accounting Manager) and Amy (The New Voice of SMA's Front Desk) are off on some big trips.

Travis and family are off to Ireland to explore their heritage. They plan to see most of Ireland over their week long excursion. A recent purchase of a new digital camera will hopefully yield some great pictures of homebuilding in Ireland. . .as long as Travis can figure out how to use it. Keep your fingers crossed.

Amy is off site seeing at Machu Picchu in Peru. I have to admit that I am quite envious as I have always wanted to explore those ancient ruins. Amy has packed her digital camera as well and should have some great pics to share with us upon her return.

Happy and safe travels to both Travis and Amy!

Congratulations Are In Order

Congratulations to Dan Benshoof (full disclosure here, he's my dad) of Benshoof Builders was awarded a 2008 Remodeling Award of Excellence from the York County Builders Association last night. He won for the category of Restoration of between $100,000 and $125,000. And in this bloggers opinion, it's about time he got recognized for his great work.

The job was a barn restoration (a specialty of his) and the customer was quite thrilled to have his remodel chosen for an award.

Update on Housing Relief from Congress

And that status? A partisan tug of war in congress. CNN updates the stalemate.

Fannie Mae Predicts Gloom and Doom

Fannie Mae warned on Tuesday that they are calculating that the worst is still ahead and are predicting posts of even worse losses in 2009. Their forecasts are predicting a 7-9% price decline for the year. Read the rest of their predictions in this CNN Money article.

OT: On a Personal Note. . .

Jennie and I took some engagement photos last week. For anyone not already aware, the wedding will be in November in Orlando.

Check out our photographer's blog for more pictures.

Apparently no one is immune afterall

CNN Money article mentions that the markets that remained unscathed to date are now seeing price reductions.

Sunrise or sunset on economy? Depends who you ask apparently.

According to a recent Bloomberg.com article, we are in the eye of the hurricane and not nearing the end as some optimists are trying to predict for the subprime / housing / credit / economic crisis in the U.S.

According to the author of the article, the only people that are optimists right now are executives whose banks are losing gobs of money. The article isn't flattering unfortunately.

So what constitutes a recession?

I have heard the term recession tossed around lately. . .so what is a recession?

Per Wikipedia (Click link for more analysis):
"In macroeconomics, a recession is a decline in a country's real gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for four or more successive quarters of a year."

Why Buy New?

Came across a short article on Builderonline.com

discussing some potential responses to buyers weighing the choice between new and existing homes. Nothing earth shattering really, but there may be a nugget or two your sales team isn't using currently.

One nugget from the article:

Move-in day is simpler for new-home purchasers than for existing-home buyers, who can be delayed because of clean-up or repair issues, notes Rob Ellerman of the Rob Ellerman Team, who serves as sales manager for Gale Home Builders in Lee’s Summit, Mo. “With a new home, you have possession the same day your loan closes and funds are available,” he says. “This means no worries in the interim, and planning the movers is so much easier.”

Foreclosures still way up. . .no surprise there

More than 155,000 families have lost their homes to foreclosure this year; one out of every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing.

If you live in the Southwest; Nevada, California, and Arizona. . .congrats, you live in the hardest hit areas since they lead the nation in foreclosure filings. Prices ran up due to speculators snapping up everything they could as investments.

OT: UCF Students use homemade gas to power cars

Some University of Central Florida students are fighting rising fuel costs by converting fast food grease to fuel. Definitely not a new concept (I've read similar stories over the years) but always cool to hear about student ingenuity. The cost per gallon? Roughly 80 cents!

Something else interesting in the article-Florida law demands a 29 cents per gallon tax. Still, paying about a $1.10 a gallon sure beats $3-$4+.