When Gavin and Kara Long met at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, little did they know that one day they would own a promotional marketing company, the type of business that applies company logos to everything from Frisbees to leather jackets. They didn't realize that they would grow the business, named Tugboat, into an industry leader recognized among 17,000 other promotional marketing companies nationwide.

From The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- While many would-be homebuyers have been scared off by dire housing market predictions, Debbie Harris has taken out mortgages on five homes in the past 18 months. She's among a growing number of fledgling real estate investors around the country using equity earned in overheated housing markets to stake their claims to rental property in more affordable areas.