Saturday, July 28, 2007

Borrowed $3000 to launch a come back

PICT4277

I borrowed $3000 from a friend today. I will use this money to launch a come back.

The realtor on the Dallas closing refused to get paid through escrow. So that’s where the first $650 is going. I overnighted it to him today. He promises to fax me a cancellation as soon as he gets the money (on Monday). This will allow the NYC buyer to close. I should get 2-3K from that deal.

I also need to invest some more money into marketing the Modesto property to sell it with owner financing. I must be wise with the money. Or it will be gone quick!

I also put in an offer on a fixer-upper today. I put down a $1000 deposit. I’m looking to partner up with another investor on it - if my low-ball offer gets accepted.

I have about $500 left in my personal account. That’s enough for another week or two of living expenses. I must act quickly.

The $3000 I borrowed must be used only for business and I must multiply it ten-fold within a short period of time.

[Update: the offer was rejected and I got my 1,000 deposit back.]

95 Comments

  • OMG! I nearly spit my drink all over my monitor. “Launch a comeback?” “Put in an offer on a fixer upper!?!” Excuse me, I have to run to the bathroom before I pee all over myself laughing…..

  • 2. you are crazy!
    October 13th, 2006 at 6:18 pm

    UNBELIEVEABLE. Have you heard anything that people have said to you (following Randy H.–those who can think?)? This boggles the mind. I have been reading your blog for several weeks and seen many hairbrained schemes here, but this really takes the cake. So, I had to post.

    Are you even hearing yourself?!?! After everything, you “borrow” some money (aka scammed someone again) and then sink it into an “investment property”?

    Clearly, you are even less intelligent that anyone of us thought. Oy vey.

  • Casey:

    First of all, multiplying money “ten-fold within a short period of time” is not a realistic goal. It’s possible, but not probable. If it were, word would spread like wildfire and everyone would be doing it.

    Second, “short period of time” in your case appears to be a couple of weeks. That’s even more unrealistic.

    Third, why would you buy a fixer upper? The easy part about a fixer upper is buying it. The hard part is doing the fixing up part. If you have no money, how will you fix it up? And do so in a couple of weeks?

    I suspect you may be addicted to real estate deals — kind of like an addiction to gambling in a way. You might check that out.

  • 4. Time to Finally Come Clean
    October 13th, 2006 at 6:30 pm

    OMFG, you’ve gone mad.

    “I also put in an offer on a fixer upper today. I put down a $1000 deposit”

    You are beyond redemption. Let me get this straight. You are currently over 2 million in debt on several properties which you purchased by fraudulent means. You have over $140,000 in credit card debt. You are in default on all of the loans . You have no job, no money, and no assets.

    And you state that you put in and offer to purchase another property? You did not disclose to the parties involved about your present legal issues I assume? Sounds like more fraud to me.

    Someone needs to stop you from continuing to perpetuate your scams and fraud. I do not mean any physical harm. I mean that someone needs to stop you from scamming again. Frankly, I don’t know how you expect to borrow a dime, even if you lie again like on your prior loans. What new scam have you thought up?

    The fact that (if you are serious about this and it is not just a publicity stunt), shows that what your true moral compass is.

    The local DA needs to step up to the plate here, fast.

  • I’ve been reading your blogs recently and have been trying to figure out if your situation is made-up or real. This blog has convinced me that you’re not real. You’re obviously just trying to provoke more comments (like mine, I suppose).

  • You. Have. Lost. Your. F#$%&^*. Mind.

    I hope to God this site is a hoax.

  • 7. Neo Con Conspiracy
    October 13th, 2006 at 6:59 pm

    Showmanship Casey. You had me wanting more. Every post was like a wicked car wreck. I couldn’t help but look. So fascinating. How could anyone be this dumb??

    Then came this latest post. A “friend” loaned you another $3,000 and you promptly bought a fixer upper. My BS meter finally went off.

    To all the readers of this blog, the joke’s on me. I fell for this, and I feel foolish. Enjoy your laugh.

    In truth though Casey, borrowing money from a friend. Probably not the best thing to do, if you value that friendship.

  • why not buy 5 more? You are already in the whole just put dirt over urself now.

  • Just when I thought Casey was the most clueless person on earth….he was trumped by someone who lent him $3000!!

    Casey, just throw a tent over this sideshow and sell tickets!

  • Somebody call that A&E show “Intervention”, we got a live one here.

  • 11. Disturbed in OC
    October 13th, 2006 at 7:18 pm

    I have worked in the mortgage industry for 20 yrs and unfortunetly have seen the activity in which you acquire properties way too often. Your actions are illegal. You are to disclose all obligations on your mortgage application as well as your correct income and assets, under penalty of purgery. It is printed on the mortgage application if you had taken the time to read it. I have heard you say in a interview, that you didn’t really think how you obtained your properties was illegal, but maybe not morally right (paraphrase). I believe you know yourself that is a lie. You are driving the point home that you are a fraud by obligating yourself on yet another contract for purchase. I only hope your credit score has dropped to the point where no one will lend to you any longer. You are helping to create a market in which law abiding, want-to-be home owners, will have a harder time getting a loan they deserve. You should be ashamed of yourself.

  • Casey, please don’t assume more debt by buying another house!!

    Save this money in case you run into more problems with the other four houses that you need to sell.

  • When I was 24, I was busy working, partying, getting laid and enjoying myself. Oh, and I also studied Italian.

    I managed to have a pretty good living and didn’t rack up 140k in credit debt. In fact, I don’t think I have 140K in cc limits today, when I’m 40.

    Hey buddy, sell what you can, and sign up for Italian

  • I once heard a real estate guru say this, ‘when you’re broke, go buy a house’.

    This outraged me as much as it does those who just read it above, as casey does just that.

    The thing is, let me tell you a little about myself.
    I am an investor, been successful for a number of years, and did indeed NEARLY fail as bad as casey.

    Thanks in large part to another person stealing from me, and, in a larger part, not paying enough attention to catch the theif, before he drive me into near BK.

    I was down to $40 in my bank account, holding several properties.
    Thankfully, they all cashflowed, and supported themselves, and had equity.
    I was however, one or two vacancies away from my house(s) of cards, falling down around me.
    I decided to try to sell some of the houses, to marshal cash, for reserves, and try to get some income to live on………a J.O.B.
    What a joke!
    I’d been ’self employed’ for years now, and my skills were just not on par with the days standards.
    Flipping burgers was looking more and more like the way groceries would be earned.
    Then, I remembered that person, ‘when broke, go buy a house’.
    Being an investor, almost broke admittedly, or, holding on by a thread, I still talked to others in the business.
    I had run into one the other day, who asked if I’d bought anything lately?
    Of course not, I was broke!
    I then told him about my portfolio for sale, fully rented, not needing repairs, turn key etc.
    He was not interested, but said he really wanted a low cash fixxer upper.
    I remembered that, and called him to see what he REALLY wanted, his specific criteria, area, style, size, price range, etc.
    I then took my last few bucks, and used the BUS to get to the center of town, in the lower end rental sections.
    I placed flyers at EVERY door, and wrote down addresses of the vacant boarded up houses etc.

    I found one, that had no mortgage on it, but had code enforcement violation leins, for about $10k, and getting bigger as the house sat.
    The owners lived out of state.
    I sent them a letter, asking if they wanted to sell.
    They said they could not afford to pay the leins, nor the BACK TAXES…….oops, forgot to look for that before sending the letter.
    They agreed to deed me the house, with a quit claim, for $1,000.
    I barrowed that $1,000 from a credit card, HUGE interest, knowing this HAD to work, before the payment was due, cause I did not have it.
    The NEXT day, that investor seeking a junker, bought the house from me, for $35k.
    I had to pay off the CE leins, for $10k, and and the back taxes, another $3k, plus some fees to close etc, but basically walked with just under $20k.

    The thing was, I BANKED that, for reserves to keep my portfolio alive, sold two of my rentals, banked that as well, and never did get a job.
    I kept that wholesale operation going, finding junkers, and either assigning contracts, or working out seller financing with no payments while I fixed them up for resale, or, refi, since my bills came current again.
    We also raised rents on leases that came due, and rectified our monthly cash flow situation, of course coupled with NOT doing things that cost ‘extra money’.
    Lot’s of staying home and inviting friends over for a barbeque, instead of going out.
    Vacations did not happen, etc.

    However, here I am, YEARS later, with that same debt load, even more to be honest, BUT, the equity/cashflow to support it.

    Casey, a JOB is NOT the answer to your BIG problem here, however, getting one would certainly do two things short term.
    Put food on the table, AND give you some time away from the problem, thinking about something else, so when time permits, you can tackle this issue, with vigor.

    The difference between you and I is this, I did not commit fraud, and get liar loans, AND, I did not speculate.
    I did however take some HEAVY LUMPS from my family and friends, who kept repeating, “GET A JOB!”

    Now, they all get money from ME when they need it…….and that’s fine by me.
    I work to have fun now, and fun for me, means sharing with others.

    So, hence the reason I shared with you this story.

    I do suggest you get a JOB, but DO NOT ‘buy’ another house, just find a GREAT deal, and sell it to someone who wants a ‘good deal’.
    In this market, you can certainly find some properties for 50% of TODAYS value, and then sell them for 60%.

    I’d also not be blogging about the issue, but, that’s just me.
    Why not use these web skills of yours as well to make some money.
    Not just ads here, but perhaps building some high traffic sites for businesses, perhaps even real estate related.

    I sincerely hope you do learn from this, as it seems you have not fully understood the consequences of your actions, nor, what those actions REALLY entail.

    I would think that if you can sell all the properties and make the lenders whole, FAST, you might skate.
    But, you also might not, so work out worst case scenario, FIRST, by preparing for it, and then keep working on a solution.

    Are all the loans with the same lender per chance, or at least several with the same lender?
    You may find a paper investor, who will buy them as a small pool, and restructure to make a profit for them.
    Forget making any money yourself on these, just get them GONE, and FAST!

    A fast nickel is not always as pretty as a slow dime, but it sure doesn’t hurt when you are broke.

    My two cents, keep the change……

    Anonymous surfing investor

  • You know, I SO want to buy a house from Casey - after al, he’s so savvy about real estate that he must have done a great job “fixing it up” and everything in it is good and sound, the workmanship is high quality, and I’m sure he’ll include a home warranty when I buy.

    Oh, wait, I’m talking about an actual real estate investor, not self-deluded freako Casey!

  • To multiply that $3000 ten-fold within a short period of time you should either:

    Head up to Reno and play craps or roulette. Buy 3,000 Keno tickets for $1 each.

    You could also go to an off track betting and bet the whole thing on one of those 10-1 odds horses. If your horse wins you will end up with $30K minus the house fee.

    A savy gambler that knows what he is doing could turn that $3,000 into $30,000 and then turn that $30,000 into $300,000. You would be out of this situation in no time at all.

  • It’s like crack cocaine isn’t it. The rush you get when entering a deal. Sadly you are going to learn that it’s your worst enemy as an investor in a particularly spectacular way. Far better to do it by buying a few hundred or thousand bucks worth of options than levering your bet 100 times with something that can cause real problems.
    Casey,
    Go back and recall how you felt a few weeks ago, and try to imagine how much worse it would be if it’s your friend you owe rather than a faceless banking corporation.

  • Casey,

    This is super insanity. I cannot think of any superlatives to describe your action in investing in a fixer upper. I believe you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. I guess you don’t have health insurance. Please seek help for your mental health.
    Good luck.

  • Can you e-mail me the lender who finances you when you close on your new deal? If it is true that the majority of your loans are delinquent, like you say, and you are able to find financing, please let me know. I assume it’s hard money with that kind of credit?? Also, for those of you who are a little skeptical about this being a hoax. I checked title on the Modesto property and to my surprise, Casey’s name is on title. I guess it is true!!

  • You have officially been nominated the biggest idiot on this planet! Either that, or you are a total LIAR!

    This whole get rich quick with NO WORK mentality is what got you in this mess in the first place and now you want to go back to the well - ITS DRY.

    The hole you dig gets deeper and deeper everyday. You have reached the point of no return. See counseling now!

  • 21. Laughing@UintheBronx
    October 13th, 2006 at 8:45 pm

    Casey. You magnificent bastard!

    Just when I thought your sorry tale had dribbled to a halt and there would be little left to amuse me you pull this off. You, sir, are a priceless act.

    I can just put myself in the place of your lenders, who doubtless also read this blog daily, and can only imagine how super duper mega pissed they are going to be when they find out you have three thousand dollars cashy money at your disposal and you intend to spend it on a fixer upper instead of sending it to them. Also, how in the hell do you expect anyone to give you financing for said fixer upper?

    I can’t wait for the next batch of insanity. BTW, there is no hope of you turning 3000 into 30000 in a short period of time.

  • you have hit the big time, pal……you and your site are mentioned in tomorrows New York Times business section, the online version is at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10.....nline.html

    here is the blurb…

    A FOOL AND HIS MONEY Casey Serin says he took some real estate investing courses, lied on some loan applications, bought some properties and promptly went broke. Now about $2 million in debt, the Sacramento resident has done what any blue-blooded young American would do in such a situation — he started a blog.

    Iamfacingforclosure.com details Mr. Serin’s travails, and it attracts a lot of sympathetic comments from readers.

    Less than sympathetic was Seth Jayson of Motley Fool (fool.com), whose excoriation of Mr. Serin (“greed makes you stupid”) was copied wholesale onto the young man’s blog, in keeping with his philosophy of way too much disclosure.

  • Just when you think this story can’t get any better, Casey finds a new way to entertain us.

    Ok, you obviously don’t get what people are telling you. The message just doesn’t get through. Let me try this:
    Muzhik, ti ebnulsa okonchatelno na huy?? Ti ved’ blyad ohuel sovsem! Blyad’, odno delo brat’ loan u banka, drugoe - u druzey. Chto ti im blyad’ skazhesh, kogda proebesh’ eti dengi tozhe? “Ne shmogla?”

  • The only wise thing you have said in this post is that you are using the $650 to help seal the deal on the pending property. I encourage you to get back up once you fall, but you are still falling. Casey, you need to deal with your current issues and not add to the list. Call up and withdraw your offer now! Use that money to help clear your inventory.

  • This whole thing has to be a joke - no one can really be this stupid, can they?

  • sfbear-

    Hey, watch it with the Russki mat’!

  • Casey:

    Don’t beleive these bitter renting Bubble Bloggers. Things ALWAYS slow down a little this time of year and we should have an extra stong Spring (20% appreciation is inthe bag) so just hang in there and if possible buy a couple more homes.

  • If you can get your hands on about $5-7K you can buy a house in Cincinnati, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Buffalo etc for cash, then sell it on Ebay for $15k…. just a thought….. or do what I used to do in college, “flip” a car. I used to buy old cars from international students who (a) kept the cars filthy and (b) would sell them for $300-1000 cash when they had to go back home at the end of the semester. I’d clean them up, fix the broken stuff, and sell for $2000-3000. Just an idea.

    If you’re enough of a man to get your hands dirty once in a while, you can always make a buck.

  • Casey,

    If your story turn out to be legit, I’m nominating you for the Darwin awards. You really deserve to win it.

  • Casey,

    Take the properties with the most equity and short sell them. Apply the profit towards any payments in arrears on the remaining property. This will buy you some time with the lender and potentially get thru the winter season.
    I would not recommend buying another property at this time. You’re overwhelmed with digging a deeper hole and should be consolidating instead.

    Hold the remaining properties, if you can, and concentrate on creating a rental income position (paying down the mortgages so that rental income is possible). After 18 months, buy one property and slowly build. 1 property every 14 months for 3 yrs. And do the math! Don’t get into a property that doesn’t have 20% equity within a year (usually a fixer-upper). This requires research, knowledge of construction, patience and KNOWING the market your property is in. All real estate markets are not the same. What’s true for TX is not necessarily true for CA.

    Be prepared for banks to call the loans if fraud is involved, however, an up-to-date loan might get you the opportunity to refinance under more honest loan terms.

    You’ll come to know that ‘the deal’ is not a key to success, smart and well-researched purchase decisions IS.

    -scottish

  • The other investor provides the money/clean credit record and you’ll provide… what exactly? Workboots and elbow grease? I remain skeptical. What makes you think you know how to pick fixer-uppers? How will you convince the investor you know anything about this?

    I’ve been cash flow crunches. I think I understand the cash flow implications a little better than some of your readers.

    But:
    * Do you know where the food bank is?
    * Do you have marketable skills someone else is willing to buy from you (rather than your continued pursuit of indepedent business)? I raise a big yellow flag if you have a perception of your own value that the labor market does not corroborate in some fashion.

    I remember the frustrating feeling knowing my expenses were x, and my income was x/2. But that was better than nothing, and times change. If you’re envisioning tenfold tricks, you aren’t thinking realistically about risk/reward.

  • When stuck in a hole, the first thing to do is STOP DIGGING! Casey, you are about to dig yourself 6 feet deeper!

  • Last comment from me.

    EVERYBODY STOP PLAYING HIS GAME.

    He is in financial trouble, but he is lying as well. Why? Because he wants to generate media hype and somehow cash in.

    STOP POSTING, STOP ANSWERING, JUST STOP.

    He is an idiot, and he thinks all of us are bigger idiots.

    JUST STOP PLAYING HIS GAME.

  • I want my 30 seconds back that I spent reading this stupid idea.

  • Hey everybody, Casey may be getting off in blowing our minds.

  • I would take that $3,000 and buy a pound of ganja.

    Split that pound into 16 ounces and then split those ounces into 8 eighths.

    Sell the weed for $50 an eighth.

    So that’s:
    $50 x 8 = $400 per ounce
    $400 x 16 = $6400 per pound

    Thus you have more than doubled your money!

    You may also want to consider buying some grow lights and hydroponic equipment so that you can grow and sell your own weed!

    With cocaine you can do even better.

    For about $3,000 you can buy around 250 grams of cocaine
    which can bring an even bigger profit with your money.

    Each 1/2 gram of cocaine is worth $20, so thus

    $20 x 2 = $40 per gram
    $40 X 250 = $10,000

    Wow, what a huge profit! This is something for you to seriously consider.

  • Casey:

    As I wrote a few days ago, you are in fact following the Martingale betting system. This ‘purchase’ is desperation mixed with perhaps a latent gambling addiction. I’m not sure whether you should spend the rest of the $3,000 for a lawyer or a psychologist.

    By the way, about a year ago I predicted that all-or-nothing gambling would become a pattern among desperate homeowners as the market cooled down.

    I now feel, for the first time, that you SHOULD go to jail for fraud on the prior fraudulent buys. Nothing else will stop the self destruction. Nothing else will stop these absurd market distortions that have 1) caused average people to buy just one house that’s way too expensive, and 2) locked responsible buyers–who refuse to buy above their incomes–out of the market.

    Your name will be forever linked with this ridiculous housing market. The Case of Casey will be recounted for decades to come. Just as the dotcoms will be remembered by the Pets.com flameout and nutty million dollar SuperBowl ads.

  • Sac Realtor
    October 13th, 2006 at 9:20 pm Casey:

    Don’t beleive these bitter renting Bubble Bloggers. Things ALWAYS slow down a little this time of year and we should have an extra stong Spring (20% appreciation is inthe bag) so just hang in there and if possible buy a couple more homes.
    ________________________________________

    Nevermind - Sac realtor you are the bigger idiot if you believe that load of crap!

  • Casey, have I got a moneymaking opportunity for you!

    Where do millions of people go every morning!? To their jobs you say, but how must they travel to get there? Well they cross a big brown bridge here in New York. OK OK, now get THIS, if you set up a toll station on the bridge you can collect tolls from LITERALLY THOUSANDS of cars!!! I happen to own several shares in this bridge and you can become part owner too! Which entitles you to a share of the TOLLS!

    Unfortuantely I do not have the share certificates on hand, as I am in Africa currently. I have been imprisoned by Mr. Mugabe in his excellency’s Zimbabwe. BUT if you were to wire me the $3000, I could bail myself out and would give you my certificates in the bridge that I am part owner of!
    I would be very greatful, so please consider this PROFIT making opportunity.
    Signing off,
    Steven, exiled king of New York via an African prison cell.

  • Hey Casey, I’d lie i I said that your decisions were not the best ones you’ve made. But what I will say is that I’m glad you’re honest about your shortcomings. People are quick to rip other people apart just in order to overlook their own weaknesses. Keep up the honesty regardless if others keep up their accusations and share none of their own shortcomings.

  • Hey, why didn’t you just use the John Beck Free and Clear Real Estate Investing System? With $1000, you could have gotten 2-4 properties free and clear of any mortgages! These are homes valued at $100,000 and more!

    You can check out the Free and Clear kit here (www.johnbeck.net) at just fractions of the price of those “other” seminars. Start now!

  • You’re buying another house?

    Let’s forget about your predicament for a moment and think about this. With the housing market currently there isn’t much that’s certain right now, and you’ll get a different story from everyone.

    Historically, the nominal value of housing has appreciated more slowly than inflation. That means that typically housing depreciates in real terms. This makes sense, buildings age and fall apart, much like cars. Unless there were a serious shortage of materials to build them with, there would be no reason for them to appreciate. The land itself is the only thing that stands any chance of rising in value, but it may also fall. This happens all the time. I’ve seen nice neighborhoods turn into total rental property ghettos in just ten short years.

    So how do we make money with real estate then? The answer is with the two old standby’s:

    1. Buying something that will have positive cashflow after you factor in expenses.
    2. Buying something no one else will touch in a neighborhood where you can say with certainty that what you’ll get for it will offset your carrying and repair costs.

    What you’re talking about doing is option two. Because of market uncertainty this is a pretty bad choice for anyone, especially for someone who is just getting started and has little experience with contractors.

    Option one is mostly impossible to do where you live. It is still possible in a few east coast/midwestern markets, but renting properties where you can’t drive by and check them out every so often is asking for trouble.

    So how should you invest your money? Find something that’s worth a lot more than it’s selling for. Right now that’s not housing. You’ll have to adapt and figure out what that is.

    Some more thoughts for you:

    1. Do not invest what you can’t afford to lose. Do not risk putting your family in a bad position with risky investments. Putting two thousand every month into a savings account will make you a millionaire, eventually.

    2. Before you invest in anything, you need to get out of debt and straighten up your differences with your lenders. This means getting a job, and probably declaring bankruptcy.

    3. Do not waste money on experts or seminars. These people already got rich, they couldn’t care less if you do. They make their money selling you the dream of being rich now, not selling real estate. And Realtors, you sort of have to deal with them, but never trust what they say. And if you decide to invest in the stock market or something like that instead, the same holds true for Wall Street analysts. They have other agendas all the time. Do your own research, and be thorough.

    4. Get rich quick schemes are always either scams or gambling. In your case, it’s gambling. Gambling is high risk/high reward, but because of the flawed way in which are primitive minds operate we typically see only the huge reward and ignore the risks. We treat the “what if” as if it were literal certainty. This is why casinos are so profitable.
    5. As an investor, you must be completely emotionless. If you feel excited or anxious about a deal, then you are in a bad space to be rational about it. Some people also enjoy the feeling of risk too much to ever be good investors. It should make you feel uneasy, if anything.

    6. Occasionally major risk takers succeed in a huge way. But for every one that succeeds, there are probably about a hundred more sitting in homeless shelters. And it wasn’t because they weren’t driven or skilled enough to succeed. It was all chance and luck, because what they were doing wasn’t investing: it was gambling.

    That’s all I can think to tell you. I think you’ve been doing some incredibly stupid things with money, but you have the power to stop at any point. Good luck dude!

  • I hate sounding so cruel, but I have so little respect for real estate speculators that, if what you have said is true, I hope you end up in prison. It’s people like you that have made the housing market what it is today — out of the reach of the average, middle class American. Spending a little time as someone’s cell puppy will certainly fix that lesson firmly into your head.

  • I’d take the advice of scottish with a grain of salt considering that he doesn’t realize there’s not going to be any profit if you short sell a house.

    BTW, love watching the train wreck. This site makes my day.

  • Well, all I can say Casy’s lesson has not been learned. Borrowing money, new granite counters in another place to try to flip….

    Interest rates will go up again beginning after the first of the year, the truth and the fact is - when qualifing for a loan, home prices should be 1.5 times ones salary,(a true buyer) not 10 times ones salary…. good luck trying to sell your overpriced SFH to a family, because unconventional loans have met with sudden death due to the re-awaking of strict bank lending standards.

    Casey, find an occupation that is recession-proof, that wont be outsourced, it’s a better way than doing what you are doing now.

  • Hey, Casey:

    Drove by the Modesto property of yours yesterday w/a friend of mine who knows the area and the (realistic) prices you can get therein. Your Modesto property is in a [bad] neighborhood (even a non-local can see that easily by driving by,) and there’s no way in hell you’re going to get what you’re asking for an obviously dingy, dirty house in a crappy neighborhood.

    I agree w/the previous poster about nominating you for the Darwin awards; I second their motion.

  • Fun stuffs better comedy everyday! I think Sac Realtor is a very interesting character.

    :O)

  • This is a very entertaining blog, and I almost spit my soft drink all over the keyboard when I read, “I also put in an offer on a fixer-upper today.”

    Casey, I can appreciate that you want to be creative to fix this nightmare, but borrowing to flip another property in a market skidding down while facing foreclosure on five homes is not the way.

    As entertaining as I and several others find the blog, it would be better for you to shut down the blog, get a web development or programming job, accept the repayment plans that the banks offer you after foreclosure (even if they take a really long time to pay off - fine - let inflation help you), and hopefully you can stay out of jail.

  • 49. BelowTheCrowd
    October 14th, 2006 at 12:39 pm

    >> Hey Casey, I’d lie i I said that your decisions were not the best ones you’ve made. But what I will say is that I’m glad you’re honest about your shortcomings.

  • Casey, I was driving home from work yesterday and heard your story on the John and Ken show. This morning I sat down and read pages and pages of comments. Some replys were entertaining and some gave good sound advice. My two cents…. get a job, get your $1000 back (if you can)
    File for Bk and start over. Really, I mean REALLY!
    The only upside to this endeavor is your young and you can recover.

    Good luck.

  • I credit Susan for finnally coming over to the side of reason and admonishing Casey for his stubborn ignorance.

    Sac Realtor?

    Don’t beleive these bitter renting Bubble Bloggers. Things ALWAYS slow down a little this time of year and we should have an extra stong Spring (20% appreciation is inthe bag) so just hang in there and if possible buy a couple more homes.

    You have to be kidding me, right? Do realtors know what “year-on-year” means? You do know that inventory is *higher* and prices are *lower* in most areas than they were this time last year, right? Of course you do.

    Just keep saying “bubblehead bitter jealous renters” over and over whilst sticking your fingers in your ears. That should work. Meanwhile, those of us smart enough to realize our bubble gains have that money safely parked in positive return producing investments, while we wait to buy one of your homes for 50% of last month’s fantasy price.

    For the record, I haven’t rented in nearly 15 years, but I’m into year 2 now. I’ve already beaten housing by about 12% by not owning a house. And as a bonus prize I’ll be in a lot nicer house after all the smoke clears.

  • I thought you had learned your lesson. It turns out you haven’t.

    How were you raised that getting a job is so unappealing for you? Work is good for you - making wealth without work destroys your soul.

    You had a chance to redeem yourself but I am afraid you’ve blown it. The definition of mental illness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

  • I don’t know if you’ve all noticed this, but it seems like a simple case of gambling addiction to me. Maybe therapy would help? It does help a lot of people with similar compulsions. GOod luck guy!!

  • 54. Boffa deasnuts
    October 14th, 2006 at 4:09 pm

    TWO WORDS
    “BEANIE BABIES”

  • 55. BelowTheCrowd
    October 14th, 2006 at 5:46 pm

    It looks like my comments have been getting cut off by some quirk in this blogging software.

    So let me finish what got cut off above:

    >> I’d lie i I said that your decisions were not the best ones you’ve made. But what I will say is that I’m glad you’re honest about your shortcomings.

    Jonathan,

    The problem is he hasn’t been honest.

    * He hasn’t honestly dealt with the fact that he’s not very good at picking or valuing properties. That’s why he owns all these properties that he got for “below market” but which he can’t sell at breakeven, let alone for a profit. The market hasn’t fallen so hard that a real bargain would still be killing you.

    * He hasn’t honestly dealt with the fact that he has no knowledge of how to profitably renovate and remodel, and that as a result he can’t turn things over at a profit regardless.

    * He hasn’t dealt with the fact that doing this is going to take an awful lot of work, on site, doing the dirty work and getting to know the turf. You don’t do that in a course or on your computer. It’s part of the reason you always need to start local.

    * He hasn’t dealt with the fact that he’s been sold a bill of goods by guys who make most of their money selling bills of goods, and always selectively pointing out those people who were successful, without ever pointing out failure. (My own standard for learning about business is that the teacher better be able to tell me about failures and hardships every day, because that’s where the lessons come from.

    * He hasn’t been honest about the fact that he’s got a gambling problem, which is what this is really all about. Like every addict, he’ll tell you he has a problem, tell you how he’s got to fix it, then go out and do the same thing over again claiming that he’s learned enough to “handle it.”

    -btc

  • To: Anonymous Success Story,

    You offer great advice! I’ve witnessed the routine you’ve outlined many times over the years. That’s probably the best example of someone pulling themselves out of a hole I’ve read in a while.

    Having success buying right in the past helps, I’m sure, but searching out low-end investment property is an excellent place to turn a “quick” buck. There are many ways to get quick cash if one isn’t skiddish about farming at “catfish” level.

    Cash investors that don’t have the time/inclination to search out those bargains will be happy to take them off ones’ hands and are willing to pay one something for the opportunity.

    I would encourage anyone who wants to learn the trade to farm the crappy neighborhoods, find success first, and work up. These are low risk, high reward places to really learn the trade.

    I started on the rung just above the bottom, and wished that I had started at the bottom. I would have had less risk, made much more money — faster.

    While I was trying to master the “art” of the finance, fix, and flip routine — just flipping without the financing and fixing part would have been a much better approach now that I look back.

    In Casey’s situation, I believe that just getting a job would put him back a few notches. Nothing educates one faster than desperation!!! Trust me on this. But “ya gotta do, what ya gotta do!”

    In the meantime, I recommend “Anonymous Success Story’s” bottom feeding/flipping for any newbie investor for these at least these reasons:

    1) You get to know who the players with money are;
    2) You learn what the professionals look for;
    3) Your apt to find good sources for private money in the process;
    4) You make money while you’re learning and doing.
    5) You create a profound understanding of what a good deal is;
    6) Your self-confidence skyrockets!

    Great advice, “Anonymous”!

  • If you now know how to reliably turn $3,000 into 10x as much, why didn’t you use this same vehicle instead of buying 8 properties at the top of a flagging market, when all the sensible pundits were tipping a property market slowdown or crash? Where are you now going to put this $3,000 in a hurry, given that you didn’t sound out the RE market when you embarked on the first odyssey?

    P.S. Optimistic extroverts have been found not to learn from negative experiences, they continue to repeat the same mistakes even when they have been earlier punished for them.

  • Casey,

    I see one positive in this deal. You have the knack for finding a lender. As a RE investor wannabe, I want to learn how to find financing “legally”. I want to start investing in 2008 when all the noise of housing bubble settles down. I have a considerable amount of equity in my house that I bought in 1989 but I should have bought an investment homes long time ago but I was too busy maxing out my 401K contribution and I have no money left for RE investing. I plan to start on 2008 - 2009 timeframe.

  • Casey,

    Have you thought of finding a job at YouTube, Google, Yahoo and Ask.com? These companies are looking for someone who can create web traffic. Forget real estate, go for YouTube since your talent is in web design and internet traffic hits. Can you forward me your resume ?

  • Well to all the “lovers” who encouraged Casey here with his endeavors and told him to keep going..that the greatest success comes right after your biggest failure yadda yadda yadda…I hope you relalize that you are partly responsible for his new acquisition. you people are called enablers…

  • Jay P

    While I was trying to master the “art” of the finance, fix, and flip routine — just flipping without the financing and fixing part would have been a much better approach now that I look back.

    In Casey’s situation, I believe that just getting a job would put him back a few notches. Nothing educates one faster than desperation!!! Trust me on this. But “ya gotta do, what ya gotta do!”

    One question. Do you obtain every cent of your financing legally? Even if so now, did you get where are now by committing fraud? Even just at the beginning?

    I want everyone to think very carefully about the “working is for chumps” crowd. Their argument is akin to saying: if you steal $50,000 from a bank, but then use that to finance a “real” business later, then there is nothing unethical or wrong with it all. Worse, those who refuse to steal their first $ are “chumps”.

    And think real hard about *who* pays for these charlatans to rip off the banks. PMI insurance, rate spreads, inflated home prices…where do you think all that marginal pricing comes from? That’s right.

  • After the “I also put in an offer on a fixer-upper today” comment I have to wonder if this isn’t just another lonelygirl situation?

    Has everyone with the ability looked up the titles on those properties for sale to see if his name is on them?

  • You know, when I read that you might have a buyer for another one of your properites, I thought that you might possibly have a chance of pulling yourself out of this pit you’re in.

    Then this post.

    *sigh*

    You need help. Psychological help, not financial (although you need that too).

    Sadly, I don’t think you’re going to get it until you’ve hit bottom, and you’re not quite there yet. Maybe when your friend wants his 3 grand back - and the tenfold interest - you’ll start to learn.

    I hope for your sake that the friend you borrowed the money from is really a friend, and not some branch of the mob. They’re not as nice as US banks about getting their money back.

  • This is all bullsh**. You have all been had by some sort of new viral adertising scheme. This guy is a fabrication. Please leave the website now.

  • Casey-you is the man! If you gonna fail, fail big, so the banks got to work with you. LikeTrump when he gone into financial problems with a casino.

    Caveat: always keep your money working for you. Invest heavily; leaverage is a good thing cuz you make it work for you.

    Get you ready for prison.

  • ive realized we are all suckers,
    and the bigger pile of cash belongs to

    the guy whos really getting paid to do this now

    or

    the guy whos really doing this now and will be getting paid

  • You’ve got it:

    Owe the bank $2.0 mil, and that’s your problem.

    Owe the bank $2.0 bil, and that’s the bank’s problem.

    The jails are full of scam artists. I suspect you’ll be joining them soon.

    Now what kind of *friend* are you to borrow $3k from a “friend,” considering your situation?

    You need psychological help, not financial help.

  • I, too, wonder if this is some kind of a virual marketing scheme like lonelygirl.

    But if it isn’t, I can see why Casey is doing what he’s doing. He is so screwed already, why not take on more risks to try to break even? There is very little difference between owing 2 million and 20 million. He’s not going to be able to pay it back anyway, especially if he goes to work as a PHP programmer. It’s not like we have a debtor’s prison in this country, so what’s the downside?

    What’s the saying about if you owe the bank a thousand bucks it’s your problem, but if you owe the bank a miliion it’s the banks problem…

  • To Jerry (above),

    No we don’t have debtor prisons. Being in debt is not a crime. However, what Casey has committed is FRAUD. Fraud is criminal. Casey lied to his lenders - made fraudulent statements to them.

    Casey doesn’t have to worry about going into debt, as long as he was honest with his lender(s) when they approved him for credit.

  • That comment was quite a traffic driver. I see the direction and I have to say it is brilliant. Good luck you would have been a natural for the DotCom days.

  • 71. SellerInDallas
    October 17th, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    Casey, have I got a deal for you!

    Buy my Dallas duplex….good cash flow at $1900/month. Long term tenants…great neighborhood and excellent schools. I’ll sell for only $210K or finance for you for say, uhmmmm, $3000/month - provided you don’t run out of friends.

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=.....6&om=1

  • I don’t know who’s going to lend you money to buy this property with your credit rating. I mean, who lends to someone with a 300 credit score, 2.2mil in debt, facing 5(?) foreclosures, and NO income?

    You’re not going to stop this insanity until you’re arrested.

  • Simply brilliant! Too bad the adsense revenue doesn’t pay for the reral traffic. I am sure the revenue is paying the bills though. This reminds me a lot of Fuckedcompany.com. As you find additional ways to monetize the traffic you should be very successful.

  • You have just proven to me that you deserve every bad thing that happens to you. Your stupidity is monumental–it’s like watching Natural Selection in realtime.

  • I think you can do it. So go on a show all the nae sayers that ther are wrong!!

  • market, and what I hear is that some of the restaurants, etc, are already suffering. This one post & comments at Calculated Risk will give you more insight into the credit situation than all the Fed speeches of the next two years. In the meantime, Casey Serin borrowed $3,000 from a friend and promptly put down $1,000 of it on a wonderfully good deal on a fixer-upper. Because hey, when you have gotten underwater by 4 or 5 hundred thousand dollars flipping houses bought with fraudulent loans, the only thing to do is flip one

  • Hey … I just wanted to say … I live off of $600 after tax or less a month. I just got a raise though — 10 cents an hour. I’m working 40 a week for 7.90 an hour. I survive.

    How is $500 only a week or two of living expenses?
    Cancel cable, internet, turn off the AC and start taking the bus!
    You’ve got to learn to cut expenses
    Currently, it seems all you are doing is taking more risks!
    Risks have gotten you nowhere …
    So
    Spend the money to close old deals
    Sell all the houses you need to get rid of
    DON’T INVEST IN MORE!
    Obviously, and no offense, you are not the best at making investments. Sure, it’s possible that it was just a bad market turn, but … you’ve got to get cash money. No more houses — no more expenses — sell the Benz and buy an 88 Honda — etc etc etc

    If you really want to live that life, give it up until you are situated, and then you can start making deals again …

    Honestly. Get a job. Any job. Fast food. Work overnights at McD’s, do your business in the afternoon, and get your stuff straight.

  • OK, Randy H.,

    You asked, “One question. Do you obtain every cent of your financing legally?” Yes.

    “Even if so now, did you get where are now by committing fraud?” No.

    “Even just at the beginning?” No.

    I borrowed down payments from private sources on properties that were juicy deals, and I used seller financing 80% of the time. I never filled out a bank loan application in the beginning, and I never had my credit checked. It took me a while to figure out what was a really juicy deal. It meant making really crappy decisions at first in order to find that out.

    I was practically broke for a long while. However, the lesson I learned was that I could always attract money easily if the deals were juicy. And the opposite was also true.

    What’s really sad about Casey’s situation is that “honest” financing is SO EASY to get when the deal is “fat”. The challenge then comes not in finding money, as any seasoned investor knows, but in finding the juicy deals in the first place.

    Frankly, every bank and mortgage broker offered Casey the chance to say whatever he “wanted” to say to “justify” making those loans. Why would any bank offer “stated income loans” without verifying the information? HMMMMM? Because the one’s approving the loans wanted their MONEY.

    Casey didn’t twist any lender’s arms, but you can bet they twisted his with all sorts of easy qualifying. There aren’t ANY innocent parties here!!! Everyone is in on the “secret” — from the mortgage broker to the appraiser.

    Randy, what’s interesting — because the mortgage companies now are having such a hard time finding new loans to make, they are LOOSENING the standards EVEN MORE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

    If you think that “stated income” loans were fraudulently taken out over the last three years, just wait and see what happens to these lenders and borrowers by the Fall of 2009 — or sooner!!!

    Unfortunately in Casey’s situation, he “thought” he needed to “fatten up” his profile to get money for his deals. But what Casey really needed was “fatter” deals.

    Frankly, finding “fatter” deals will be the solution to all of Casey’s financial problems, if he wisely decides to learn from these circumstances.

    Finally, if we can all make distinctions in the future between being “shrewd” in our dealings, as opposed to being “dishonest” in them, we’ll all come out smelling as rich, colorful roses.

  • ahhh a fool and is his money is easily parted . This guy is playing us for traffic..but thats fine cause if he makes any money..the banks are going to take it for his ripped off investors …i have an absolute hatred of these types of so called enterprenuers- their nothing more than dreaming losers with followers….

  • Has anyone on this thread heard of Donald Trump? Let’s face it…Casey is an investor. No matter how many nay-sayers he gets, he lives by the gun and will die by the gun. Let him.

    Everyone makes mistakes, even the gurus write about theirs..if you choose to believe them.

    The point is - Casey is not going to “9 to 5″ his way out of this problem. He got that first 30k payout and it fed his ego. No matter how many times life smacks him in the face, he is going to try to get back to that 30k. I’ll give two examples to illustrate my point:
    1. ever play golf? remember when you sucked and you hacked at the ball and it only went 20-30 yards, but once a round you swung your 7-iron and launched the bugger about 170 yards? remember that feeling?

    2. ever smoke crack? I haven’t, but every documentary on tv that profiles crack smokers say that their first high is the best and they continue to smoke until they and reach that same feeling…but they never do (laws of diminshing returns).

    So is Cacey Tiger Woods or a crackhead? a lot of you have made your choice.

    Applying $3000 to his debt is like spitting on a forest fire at this point. The best use of that money is finding a new RE deal. He knows what “not” to do (we hope). So if he can find the right motivated seller and the buy at the right price and not do all these magical swindles…he may get a 30k or higher payout…or just 5k.

    Keep doing your thing Casey. I’m not a hater or a lover, but I enjoy the hustle.

    When you are millions in the hole, you can’t save your way out of debt…you have to spend. This is what top companies do when they are in trouble…at least the good ones.

  • I hate to hear of someone as ambitious as you failing so miserably. Anyone who says luck isn’t a factor is lying. Your lessons learned are good points, but the biggest one that you missed is not to jump on a bandwagon. I’ve been saying for years now that it was time to get out of real estate because the fundamentals no longer made sense. People saw that I had made a lot of money in it but over the course of 10 years. It was not speculation, it was recognizing a buying opportunity in 1995, and recognizing a selling point in 2004. In real estate especially, the buying and selling points are crystal clear to someone who doesn’t make emotional decisions on investments. A house’s only valuation to an investor is one that has a clear income stream, matched with a desired ROI. If it is not the case, it is not worth buying. I can’t get over people who buy rentals that have a negative cash flow. I want to slap those people around. They are subsidizing renters housing which is comical because landlords look down their noses at renters. People are renting 400K houses for $1500 per month. That is a joke.
    I told people until I was blue in the face, that the window had passed. Many did listen, but others just couldn’t wait to go running off a very high cliff. People like you made me rich, so there is a little bit of sympathy here, but my advice is to stop trying to make a quick buck, and find a way to add value in society. Try to arrange a short sale, or an auction with the lenders. Too bad you didn’t have non recourse loans, then you wouldn’t have to pay the difference. You’re a slick negotiator (obviously) so either deal with this problem and come up with a solution everyone can live with, or run away from it. Let the dust settle, and then go with chapter 7. Good luck, and for God sakes stop with the schemes.

  • Casey,

    Please tell us, if you don’t have money to pay your debts, were are you getting cash to pay for a car, rent, etc?

    The debtor’s you owe money to are very curious I am sure.

    Come on, tell us.

  • Any follow ups on this?

  • I am Facing Foreclosure .com » Borrowed $3000 to launch a come back [yahoo google ] Casey Serin, a 24 yr old Real Estate Investor blogs on getting Over-Extended Flipping 8 Houses … “Launch a comeback?” “Put in an offer on a fixer upper! …

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