They had to sell something

We've all heard and read stories about how bad the housing market is right now. We've been told about the struggles people have with sub-prime mortgages and financing. And all of this just a short time after the "It's not a bubble" housing bubble from a couple of years ago.

Enter Richard Werner and Heather Mezzenga of New Rochelle, NY. The two, who are both mortgage brokers, saw firsthand just what the housing slump can do. After attempting to sell and then rent a second property, they took the only measures that they could conceive of to get their money back.

They turned the residence into a brothel.

While this is a little disturbing, especially for other people in the neighborhood, the ingenuity of Werner and Mezzenga is at least a little laudable. After all, when other people are losing their homes, the brokers decided that they would enter into a side business, albeit an illegal one, as a way to keep their investment. And the red ribbon to denote that the brothel was accepting customers is both a historic nod to the red light districts, and a nice little piece of decorating flair.

Still, if Werner and Mezzenga learn nothing else out of their experience, we hope that they will take away this tip. When turning your house into a brothel, consider a more secretive parking spot for your clientele. And at least try and keep up appearances that people are using the house for more than just illicit sexual encounters.

But, man, do we just love that red ribbon thing.