Out of house and home ...

By The Daily Progress

Published: October 31, 2008

It’s a good Samaritan story for our times.

In a real estate bust, there are losers … and winners. The winners are the ones who have saved their cash and are now able to buy foreclosed homes at bargain prices.

But think these provident buyers are greedy villains?

Think again.

In Texas, Marilyn Mock attended a foreclosure auction to help her son buy property. She struck up a conversation with a sobbing Tracy Orr, who was watching her home be sold away from her.

On the spur of the moment, Ms. Mock bid successfully on the house and turned the mortgage back over to Ms. Orr.

“She needed help. That was it,” Ms. Mock said. “I just happened to be there, and anybody else would have done the same thing.”

Anybody else? Well, probably not.

“She didn’t even know if I had a job or was a nut case,” Ms. Orr told the Dallas Morning News. “She didn’t even see a picture of the house.”

The story isn’t quite over yet, though. The two women were waiting final approval for the loan that will allow Ms. Mock to complete the deal.

And the lender?

The now infamous mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

What a way to go

Davy Jones’ locker used to be a fearsome place.

Now people are, ah, dying to go there.

A Georgia company is marketing a plan to take cremated ashes and mix them into concrete to make reef balls — allowing the dead to become a part of habitat restoration.

Reef balls are manmade domes that provide habitat and hiding places for sea creatures. They are placed in locations all over the world, including the Chesapeake Bay.

Eight memorial reef balls have already been placed in the bay.

But you don’t have to wait to die to help nourish the Chesapeake. Some people purchase them as an eco-friendly way to honor other family events, such as births or anniversaries.

Death, however, offers still other opportunities: You don’t have to be cremated or become part of a reef ball to choose a watery final resting place or to use your remains to help the environment. A company in Miami “buries” cremated remains in an underwater garden that is a destination for divers. A Swedish company is investigating a freeze-dry process that turns the body into powder. And several companies provide cardboard caskets that quickly decompose.

Something to consider … if you’re looking that far ahead.