Facing Foreclosure at a College Real Estate Class

Last month I was invited to speak to a college real estate class about my real estate investing and facing foreclosure story. The teacher saw my screw-up story in the paper and thought the students can learn from me - what NOT to do. I finally managed to upload this 1 hour video to Google. (YouTube sux for long videos.)

This facing foreclosure video has much more details about my background, early entrepreneurial attempts, going to real estate seminars, a taste of success, buying too many houses with 100% leverage and trying to rehab them all at once, running out of cash, why I started blogging, etc. Here you go:


Why is My Credit Score So High?
Update on Stopping Foreclosure
76 Comments

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Vortex
November 17th, 2006 at 11:04 am

Wow, great video. Provides a lot of details to the story.

Interesting that your wife had a hand in getting you started down this path. Maybe that’ll tone down some of the “hating” on that front. (Not likely because it is too easy a target).

I think the amount of work involved in “hustling” these deals doesn’t really come across in your blogging.

It would be interesting to hear more about the working with the contractors and about the “golden rule of real estate”.

Cheers
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Transcript?
November 17th, 2006 at 11:41 am

Could you please put up a transcript we could read through so we don’t have to stream and watch the whole video every time?
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Casey Serin
November 17th, 2006 at 12:06 pm

I would love to do a transcript but don’t got tha time with my new job and my efforts to get back into doing sweet RE deals so I can pay off my debts and make a come back. Maybe someone can help me.
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Billy Jack
November 17th, 2006 at 12:39 pm

WOW CASEY…ARE YOU GAY????
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Nigel Swaby
November 17th, 2006 at 12:41 pm

I’ll do it if you send people to my website to read it. I’ve already transcribed 45 minutes of our interview, so I’m used to doing it.
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the optimist
November 17th, 2006 at 12:44 pm

Casey, most of what you did was perfectly right. The market just didn’t time with you well. Two years earlier and you’d be in an excellent position.

You’re young, you have time, big deal, these losers that never tried or risked anything are gloating and trying to add salt to the wounds of your losses.

If I was hiring for someone to find me properties and handle some of my investments I would chose you. You’ve already been to the bottom of the mountain.

You were so close, you did the right thing risking it all, if not, you would never have had a chance to see some real profits and growth. You’ll bounce back from this,

all I can add

1) Keep your promises to people, your word is the MOST important thing that you have. In regards to the banks, hey, they took a risk hoping to make a profit, you didn’t make money and neither will they, that’s just business.

2) Don’t a let an ounce of outside negativity in, you seem to already have enough of your own. Most of the negative losers that post are irritated liberals that can’t stand the thought of someone making money at a faster rate than their minimum wage, non-profit, save the whales jobs. I’ve made millions in real estate by leveraging over 20 years, flipping hasn’t worked for me but holding on and managing them well has. Put 20% down, borrow 10 million, when the property value doubles at is has 3 times since 1986 in California, you just made 20 million on your 20% Investment of 2 million. Keep pulling equity out as they appreciate to keep buying. By the way, 10 million is only 10 San Francisco homes.

3) Never lie again on an application, with time banks will extend you millions of dollars in credit. It’s not worth it to have risk out there than can send you to jail. From what I’ve read you didn’t go too far and this will blow over, the statute of limitations is ticking for them, you’ll be in the clear soon.

4) Save your money, save your money, save your money, as much as you can, you’re in the cash world now until you re-establish, could be 5 years, 7 at the most. Your young age will help you alot and 10 years goes by in the blink of an eye anyways.

5) On top of all that, I would have the nerve to create a Foreclosure Kit for just 3 easy payments of $69.99, name it something like “Casey Serins Foreclosure Buster Kit”, written by America’s favorite foreclosee. You can make it just like the rest of the real estate guru’s do, a bunch of definitions of general real estate terms, two chapters on motiviation, two chapters of pre printed forms and negotiation letters, 2 chapters of basic real estate math and finally 2 chapter of the glossary and charts. Be sure to include 7 cd’s with motivational talk and new age music at the start and end. It’s a beautiful concept, people feel so good after finishing the program and they actually believe it’s helped them. Don’t worry about the fact that the only thing in the world that can help someone in foreclosure is cash, be it winning the lotter, inheritance, etc… In all seriousness, this is probably your fastest way to earn cash. ohh yeah, a picture with you and Robert Kiyosaki on the ad would help.
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HungryBear
November 17th, 2006 at 1:12 pm

You mention your first deal how pleased you were to make $30K on your first deal and pay off your credit card debt. But this deal came with strings attached - you had to buy your buyer’s house that had a $1,000/month negative cashflow. I don’t think you were being honest with yourself. You really got the short end of the stick on this first deal. Essentially what you did was like borrowing $30K at 40% interest.

When you end up getting the short end of the stick you need go back and analyze every aspect of the deal to figure out what you did wrong and why, and make sure you don’t make the same mistake again.
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Mr. Flipper
November 17th, 2006 at 1:20 pm

“The Optomist” wrote:

[to make money…]

“5) On top of all that, I would have the nerve to create a Foreclosure Kit for just 3 easy payments of $69.99, name it something like “Casey Serins Foreclosure Buster Kit”, written by America’s favorite foreclosee…just like the rest of the real estate guru’s; definitions, chapters on motiviation, pre printed forms, negotiation letters, basic real estate math, and a glossary and charts….7 cd’s with motivational talk and new age music…people {would} feel so good after finishing the program and…actually believe it’s helped them….
Oh yeah, a picture with you and Robert Kiyosaki on the ad would help.”

That is hilarious!!!!!!

That’s exacly what most of those gurus sell!

Your post is good reading!
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DMan
November 17th, 2006 at 1:32 pm

For all the people that say Casey did the right thing “the optimist” actually seems to have the most down to earth advice other than the usual “Casey you must keep buying! Buy, buy, buy!”. Casey, if you’re going to listen to any body that’s telling you to keep doing it, listen to him. But I think the most valuable hint of advice he has (besides not lying to lenders) is don’t expect to be a millionaire overnight. It takes time and years. Research your investments, take your time to study what’s going on around the area and know what you’re doing. Don’t just snag a piece of property just because it has a “For sale” sign out front.
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teacher
November 17th, 2006 at 1:48 pm

Casey,
I don’t think community property laws have anything to do with your wife’s credit being affected by mortgages you signed for. Her credit will not be affected by mortgages you signed on and she did not.
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Granite Counter Flop
November 17th, 2006 at 1:55 pm

Where’s the blue shirt? :(
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Treyy
November 17th, 2006 at 1:58 pm

Casey’s quite remarkable. No matter what anyone says, Casey sure puts himself out there. The one thing that will ensure his success is for him to keep trying. I know if I had done what Casey did, I’d be too embarassed, too scared, and feel too stupid to talk to share my story with so many.

Everyone makes mistakes, but few people share them with the world. Casey will be a success and for everyone who insults him, you’d never have the courage to do what he has. And don’t pretend you couldn’t or wouldn’t do something like Casey did. No one’s perfect.

Casey — keep up the positive attitude and continue learning.
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dumbererer and dumberereest
November 17th, 2006 at 2:20 pm

PLEASE DO NOT USE THESE WORDS IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR STORY….NONE OF THESE APPLY TO YOU…

investor
business
flipper
investor
entrepreneurial
success
motivatation
sweet RE deals
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aaron
November 17th, 2006 at 2:22 pm

I believe the optimist is being sarcastic albeit very subtle.
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Blah
November 17th, 2006 at 2:48 pm

@the Optimist
“Casey, most of what you did was perfectly right. The market just didn’t time with you well. Two years earlier and you’d be in an excellent position.”

So if he had been lucky with the market just by jumping in at the right time and not knowing it was the right time, that would be luck, not skill.

Those will skill are successfull through analysis and calculation.

Never confuse luck with skill.

Luck is what you can have when you gamble, or risk big just for the sake of risk.

Skill is when you know all the odds of everything happening, making the bet, and know the risks you are taking.
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Casey Serin
November 17th, 2006 at 2:49 pm

Nigel: if you transcribe it I will be happy to hook you up with a link or two. That applies to all of you. If someone helps me in any way or turns me onto a solution to get me out of this bind I will be glad to mention it to help others who are facing foreclosure as well. Traffic is my only real asset right now (besides my burning desire to be succseful and the network I am building through this blog)
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Mr. Flipper
November 17th, 2006 at 3:02 pm

Casey!

Wow, that foreclosure lecture was very instructive! My confidence level in you just skyrocketed! I mean that. Without seeing any more, I don’t think you really need that much advice on how to assemble a deal. You’ve experienced a steep learning curve of what not to do again, as you’ve stated.

What’s fascinating to me about that lecture is that you were able to explain WHY you did things “wrong”. Understanding that is 90% of the learning curve.

Casey, I cannot imagine you not succeeding in this business based on what you’ve shared thus far. Really. You know your weak areas, and strong areas, and hopefully your friends and family are recognizing and appreciating your willingness to take a risk and walk straight into unfamiliar terratory without flinching — learning as you go.

Yep, your learning curve sure seems steep and painful, too, but I have to give it to you for plowing ahead anyway, and sharing openly in the meantime. This takes some kind of humility and courage.

“If something is worth doing, its worth doing poorly.” I think that sums up your approach.

The follow-up on that would be of course that you won’t continue doing the same things poorly. I believe that you’re eventually going to be second to none in your specialty as a professional real estate developer and investor.

We all say, “Katy! Bar the door!” when that happens!
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Vortex
November 17th, 2006 at 3:07 pm

I think you ought to put a link to this post in your “about” box. It would be a good introduction to someone new to the blog.
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john
November 17th, 2006 at 3:14 pm

“My earliest attempted fraud failed when I put the wrong address on the chain letter I mailed when I was 14……..”

Oh Yeah, Mr. Optimist, Casey was only two years off….listen to yourself, please.
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Nigel Swaby
November 17th, 2006 at 3:15 pm

Deal!
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dumbererer and dumberereest
November 17th, 2006 at 3:29 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11.....9nati.html

The Signs of a Cooling Market in California
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BT98
November 17th, 2006 at 3:30 pm

Wao! another great video. You really have talent, but not in finance. Your finance situation is worse than you think. And the gurus you’ve been listen to suck. Their advise and your greed and luck of common sense on both you and your wife is what get you in trouble. That’s right your wife is not completely innocent in this mess. And unless you can monetize this website or market your story somehow, you can’t get out this mess.

I would recommend you to watch the movie “The Boost”, there are many similarities between you and the main character. He have drug problem and over spending life style while you may not have drug problem but you guys live way beyond your means. You have to make radical changes and scrafices in order to live within your means.

Get rid of your properties, declare BK. Then find a good high paying job (>50K) with 401k and stay there for at least five years. Save 20% a month. Forget about Real Estate. You suck at it. Know yourself, both of you suck at finance and real estate. I am not kidding. Make one is bad enough, making eight and still want to keep going?

One more thing. You should probably ask to get your 30K education fee back. Clearly, they didn’t work if not outright harmful to the public. You should call them up or write and report them to BBB (Better Biz Buera, that will get their attension) Get your 30K back, I am dead serious, that’s easiest money you ever make.

Finally, it’s obvious to me, you are not learning from your mistakes as well as the ones reading your blog. So let me summarize what I learned for you. Stay the hell out of real estate. Money are much easier earned else where. Like a 9 to 5 job and even playing stocks have better chance of making money and require far less work and you can get out with a click of button. But for you my friend don’t play stocks, just stick with a job. Maybe when you older and wiser and some money in the bank you may reassess your situation.

All this get rich quick fever is like a drug and have strong hold on you, so fight it you must. Last bit of advice, don’t play a game you are not good at, you became easy prey for those who are good. That’s why I am yelling on the top my lung “get out, get out before you sink even further”
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Cara
November 17th, 2006 at 3:34 pm

I repeat: GET TREATMENT FOR THE ADD. You’ll be amazed at how much better you can contain your ridiculous impulses and concentrate on reality.

“Network”. Good god.
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Free advice
November 17th, 2006 at 3:34 pm

Blah (and all the others):

Although you may wish for a Calvinist world that only rewards hard work and skill, don’t hold your breath.

There are plenty of people who have luck. What the hell is wrong with that?

Luck is a whole lot more fun than work. And the money is just as green.
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Dman
November 17th, 2006 at 4:05 pm

Yeah after reading through number 5 better I noticed that there was sarcasm there.

Anywho if he had to take it seriously I think he’s got the better advice out there.
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Rafer Hoxworth
November 17th, 2006 at 5:13 pm

Hey look: Whitney Houston is in foreclosure too!

Maybe it’s not so bad after all?

http://www.breitbart.com/news/.....2TK00.html
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Joseph
November 17th, 2006 at 5:47 pm

Casey,

You need to buy more and more dude. What is holding you up on the flips?
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john
November 17th, 2006 at 6:30 pm

Go after the gurus???????? Casey already admitted that he violated just about every rule they taught him……..(buy close to home, no fixer-uppers, one-at-a-time, etc.,etc.,etc.)
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I Have A Brain
November 17th, 2006 at 6:33 pm

NFW am I (and my other aliases) going to waste 1 hour of my (our?) life watching a 1 hour video of you. Transcript? Maybe…

We’re getting bored with the self-promotion…
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Nigel Swaby
November 17th, 2006 at 6:43 pm

Mr. Flipper,

I haven’t listened to this video yet, but even reading Casey’s original posts it struck me that he knew a lot about real estate. He was talking about wrap around contracts and lease options and all sorts of stuff that took me a while to learn. I executed a wrap last year and there was only one person in the rather large title company that even knew what it was.

I got a pretty good feel for Casey when I talked to him for our interview and he is pretty bright even though the situation he’s in could have been avoided. He’s got a natural talent for dealing with the media that is enviable. Most people are not as clear, concise or composed.

When I interviewed him, he knew exactly what he did wrong and what he would do differently in the future. I certainly would have handled certain things differently if I were in his shoes, but I’m not. He has a much better picture of where he is than me or anyone posting on this blog.

I also agree with you that he’s got a bright future. I got a lot of hate mail for writing my series on him from his perspective, but this little episode in his life is going to be a springboard to much success.
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GC
November 17th, 2006 at 6:57 pm

This is a joke, right? Right? C’mon….really? Absolutley brilliant. Have long wondered when the ultimate 20-something blog parody would be created. This is it.

The vanity! The shamelessness! The straight-faced wallowing in one’s own glorious idiocy. The inability to self-censor. The comments are priceless, too. Do you have a myspace page? PLEASE?!?!?!

Where will you take it next - pimp the wife on-line? (all true internet successes need a porn factor!).

You should certainly try hitting the bottle for a while. The sympathy you garner from greed (these comments are truly amazing) is NOTHING compared to the donations you can gather from life-long recovery. Remember - people get ‘out’ of bankruptcy, but once an addict, always an addict! The ad-market for rehab centers in recession-proof, baby! Come to think of it - people in bankruptcy can’t afford to pay mentors, anyway. Yep - rehab inspiration is the way to cash in.

Seriously - I went through a nearly identical experience a few years ago - waaaaaaay over-leveraged due to easy lending criteria. Have since bounced back, and now worth over 2.5 million bucks. I got greedy, but I came out of it wiser, and richer, than ever before.

I lost a wife (to divorce) along the way, but have since upgraded on that front, too. Happy to share what I learned…..but it does take a little money to make money. So, send me whatefever little money you have and I’ll tell you the secret.
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Lou Minatti
November 17th, 2006 at 7:45 pm

Casey, you are very good at this. You look and sound like a (newly) honest young man trying to come clean after attempting to pull some shady deals.

There will be many seminar companies selling programs about the foreclosures. Avoiding foreclosures, salvaging credit, rebuilding your life after bankruptcy, etc. It will be a growth industry over the next 5-10 years. Provided that you can somehow work your way out of the dire predicament you find yourself in right now, I think you could have a very bright future being a seminar pitch man. They make big bucks.
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the optimist
November 17th, 2006 at 8:17 pm

In answer to what Blah wrote about Casey getting in the market two years earlier, I stand by what I said, mainly that had Casey bought all of his properties in 2003, he would have realized a reasonable profit on all of them. Had he been less reckless, he could have bought these properties and managed to hold on to them by renting them out and refinancing to take cash out as they appreciate. This would have prevented him from getting into too much trouble and since the homes would be rented, he wouldn’t have as much strain since rents would be coming in. And yes, it is possible to buy homes that you can rent out and cover all of your costs while earning a VERY small profit. It’s not the profit that will make you rich, it’s the appreciation over time that has made I’d guess 70% of all the millionaires in this country. He performed very well in an impressive manner to wheel and deal all those banks to finance him. That’s the definition of a go getter. NOBODY can time the market, that’s why you have to take a slower more careful approach. I think we all can agree he’s doing that.

Guys, stop telling Casey to stop blogging and go to work. If you look up the Alexa rating for this blog, Casey is at 48,000 for the week it takes about $300,000.00 in advertising to get a website to that level. Funny as it sounds, this blog is the most valuable thing he has right now. Many of my investment and entrepreneur friends read his blog and discuss it regularly, IT HAS BECOME THE FIRST REALITY SOAP OPERA BLOG ON FINANCING AND FLIPPING HOMES. None of us though can figure out how to make real money with it, at Alexa 72000 for the day like it is now, he’s probably only getting about $800.00 a month from adsense so lay off with the ‘He’s trying to make money on this’ talk also.

From my many years experience in real estate investing, only 5% of people really have it in them to go far. Casey’s not one of them (too shifty and impulsive for my money), but, he is in the second 5% that have the ability to learn and the first 5% that actually take action, and they do pretty good too.

All I can say is Don’t Give Up. Looking back I’m amazed at how easy it was making my fortune in real estate. You put down a fifth of the purchase price of a property and keep 100% of the appreciation. Appreciation happens while you sleep, luck is important too, California homes have doubled in value many times over the past 2 decades, however, there are places in Nevada, Oregon, other states that have had abysmal appreciation. The more properties you have the more money the banks want to give you. Sad thing is though, the best part of being rich is getting there, you see, there’s no where to go once you get to the top of the mountain and the view doesn’t change much.
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Harry
November 17th, 2006 at 8:54 pm

Too bad you couldn’t buy a course on planning.
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Les Webster
November 17th, 2006 at 9:27 pm

Did you learn anything from watching your video?

You made bad decisions throughout the process.

You need to see a therapist and get a good referral to a psychiatrist. You are manic - which is a disease. When in a manic state, you suffer from poor judgement and find yourself jumping from one bad situation to another.

That is how you found yourself in this mess.

Do some research on mania and bipolar disorder - you’ll find that some amazingly successful people. Check this list at http://www.mentaljokes.com/famous_manic.html or this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....r_disorder or try this one http://www.geocities.com/cover.....ssion.html

This disease can be treated and you can over come it with professional help and the correct medication.
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Jerry
November 17th, 2006 at 9:49 pm

Gurus like Casey are in hot demand!

http://sfgate.com/columnists/lloyd/
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CAT
November 17th, 2006 at 10:42 pm

HEY NIGEL,

STFU ALREADY!

TOOL.
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Take Some Responsibilty
November 17th, 2006 at 11:03 pm

@Casey
“doing sweet RE deals”
“YouTube sux”

Where did you learn your English as a Second Language from?
Watching Beavis and Butthead?
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Editor
November 17th, 2006 at 11:28 pm

Casey dreams “get back into doing sweet RE deals so I can pay off my debts and make a come back”

I mean really - ROTFLMAO. Best laugh I’ve had in months!

Thank you for great performance art!!!

No rationale human being could possibly be so deluded.
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Wayne
November 18th, 2006 at 1:25 am

“He performed very well in an impressive manner to wheel and deal all those banks to finance him. That’s the definition of a go getter.”

He lied to get the banks to finance him. That’s the definition of something other than a go getter.

“NOBODY can time the market, that’s why you have to take a slower more careful approach. I think we all can agree he’s doing that.”

Yes, I can agree to that. Most people do slow down when they are strangled.

“Guys, stop telling Casey to stop blogging and go to work….
Funny as it sounds, this blog is the most valuable thing he has right now….he’s probably only getting about $800.00 a month from adsense so lay off with the ‘He’s trying to make money on this’ talk also.”

???

He hasn’t learned anything. He took out a loan at 14 % for his last purchase.

He might be able to make a few dollars as a sheister speaker and writer, but he’ll blow that eventually.

I read this blog like I watch TV or read an article in a magazine at the Dr’s office, if it cost a nickel I’d be gone.
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Big Cheese
November 18th, 2006 at 1:41 am

Casey,

You speak very well- confident, articulate although a bit verbose. What was the feedback you got from the class?

I think you have some real potential here.

Big Cheese.
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Sure
November 18th, 2006 at 1:43 am

Ugh, I can’t be bothered to sit through an hour…

Billy Jack, can you tell me which point to fast-forward to so I can see the GAY?
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Michael Cooke
November 18th, 2006 at 1:45 am

Great video Casey. You are an excellent public speaker. I could never do as good a job as you. Really. Perfect Speech.
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Michael Cooke
November 18th, 2006 at 2:17 am

I was looking forward to the questions. Was there alot more? Is their a second part to the video?
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fijirobe
November 18th, 2006 at 7:35 am

Sweet real estate deals, you really are a tool. Casey you obviously have no luck or skill
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Bring the Cash Flow
November 18th, 2006 at 9:24 am

Reader Question #1…

…
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Steven
November 18th, 2006 at 11:08 am

Did you see this one Casey? Guy on the run for mortgage fraud, as the FBI closes in.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/arti.....MFMJ01.DTL
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Jonny Jon
November 18th, 2006 at 11:23 am

Casey, glad to see that you didn’t use any script or notes in your presentation. Much like your desire to be some sort of RE success story, you didn’t plan for much of a presentation. But the good news is that you didn’t forget the video cam.

A few things I’d like to hear more about, based on your lecture to these guys. Rather than using a standardized contract, whether it was a CAR form or some other form, you wrote your own contract. I’d love to see a copy of that contract.

What about your timeshare purchase in Tahoe? And then moving to Tahoe for 5 to 6 months, thinking you could do some web design(?) and your real estate business from there. I’d love to live in Tahoe too, but that is one expensive place and there’s really not much paying work to do there.

Also, you tried to explain your first ’successful’ flip with the individual that you helped out by ‘trading’ houses. You felt it was not the best situation for you, yet you proceeded. Your gut was right and you ignored it.

Finally, you talked about posting all this stuff on a blog so that hopefully people could learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. Success leaves clues. One of those clues is to follow the steps that successful people used. Not the opposite, which is not to do what unsuccessful people did. It’s a seemingly small difference, but actually huge.

I too missed not having the Q&A at the end. All in all though Casey, I enjoyed the video. I wish you weren’t in your situation though it’s very obvious from your postings and your video that you were going to end up no where else. This was/is not a ‘timing’ problem. This was/is someone speculating and not having any idea of what is needed to make a good decision.
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Josh
November 18th, 2006 at 12:12 pm

E-mail me next time you need a long video hosted (wont be autoplay in flash like google or youtube)

I got lots of bandwidth to waste out, should be useful to you.
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Learning From Other People’s Mistake « John Chow dot Com
November 18th, 2006 at 12:41 pm

[…] Last month Casey was invited to speak to a college real estate class about his real estate investing and facing foreclosure story. The teacher saw his screw-up story in the paper and thought the students can learn what NOT to do from him. Here’s the video of that presentation. […]
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Analysis Guy
November 18th, 2006 at 12:56 pm

Take a look at my market history report for Bakersfield and Los Angeles at

http://homepricehistory.blogspot.com/
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walt526
November 18th, 2006 at 1:10 pm

I assume that this won’t be the last time you speak in front of a classroom audience. Having had some experience as both a student and instructor, here are a couple of (what I hope you’ll find) construction criticisms:

1) The first few minutes of a presentation are vital, basically because that’s when your audience decides whether or not you’re worth paying attention to. On that note, you spent way too much time talking about your pre-foreclosure life. Especially the immigration stuff. I understand why you feel that it is relevant background, but if I’m sitting in a classroom, I’m not really interested in that aspect. You can touch on it in an intro, but it needs to be a lot tighter. You spent the first 5 or 6 minutes on that to the exclusion of more interesting topics, IMHO.

2) Don’t ask the class questions unless you’re going to do something with the info. On several occasions you ask the audience a question for seemingly no reason (ie, you don’t shape your comments after based on that reaction).

3) Have a plan. Before you speak, you need some sort of structure or else you spend time on tangents that aren’t of interest to your audience (or even yourself). You don’t need to script every line, but you should have some idea of what you want to cover and roughly how much time you want to spend discussing it. At times your lecture was very unfocused and you conveyed the impression that you hadn’t spent much, if any, time preparing to speak. Whether it was your intent or not, students (and all audiences, really) tend to react to an unprepared speaker by discounting much of what they have to say.

4) Keep in mind why you’re there. You’re in front of the class to talk about your misadventures in real estate investing, not how you got into blogging. Towards the end of your presentation you start talking about this website, how you chose the name, etc. That’s of minimum interest to someone taking a real estate course.
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StingyFinance
November 18th, 2006 at 3:03 pm

Casey,

Great presentation. It takes guts to stand in front of a bunch of people and talk about your mistakes.

Joe
http://www.StingyFinance.com
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Max D
November 18th, 2006 at 3:16 pm

I say again; GAAAAAAAAAY. “Sweet RE deals”???? That is one of the gayest statements ever written.
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Lost
November 18th, 2006 at 3:53 pm

I am waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come out and you

“YOU GOT PUNKED!!”
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Manaolana
November 18th, 2006 at 5:41 pm

Hey Casey,
Circumstances are temporary, experience is forever. Keep your focus on your goal, not the circumstances and you will succeed.
From this, you will learn that money is just a game. People don’t realize how phony money is because they refuse to learn. The gov’t can drop the value of money to nothing, but they can not do that with assets. Important to remember.
Again, stay focused. I am excited to hear your success story.
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Michael Cooke
November 18th, 2006 at 5:58 pm

Steven:

I dont think that persons situation has anything in common with inflating your income on a stated income loan. It was much more serious.

Here is somthing even better. Lots of videos here about a “company” in San Diego that was a fraud. The news reporter investigating gets attacked. Scroll down. You will probably need to copy paste this for it to load.

http://www.fox6.com/news/unit6/default.aspx
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Joseph
November 18th, 2006 at 7:27 pm

Folks,

Anybody noticed how Casey videos himself with the camera at a much lower position?

The audience is always low, Casey sits up high - like a king.

I took a film class and learned how Hitler always made propaganda videos with the camera sitting almost at the ground to make Hitler appear bigger than life.

Casey, with the FRAUD you committed and the illogical reasoning WHY you committed them and the other trades I notice in your video, you are one scary demented dude.
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whatever you do, forget RE, sweetie
November 19th, 2006 at 3:15 am

Casey, you’re not smart with either money or real estate. But you have a certain tenacity shown by your commitment to your blog. A career may develop through your blogging/web/programming skills but you have to make it happen. Do what you enjoy rather than what you think will make you rich. Just because you think you should be rich doesn’t make it so. You’re 24, man. This is the time of life to be idealistic not greedy. Not that there’s ever a time to be greedy. Find something useful and productive to do that’s not all about making money, but maybe even helpful to others. What a wacky thought.
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Frank In SF
November 19th, 2006 at 7:27 am

Most guys I know with real wealth made it from real estate. These guys did it the old fashioned way. Buy, hold, manage, watch it grow.

Most people I know who don’t have two nickles to rub together (or have credit card debt up to their eyeballs) have attended or bought education from the “no money down gurus.” Think about it. The easy way to making somehow has the opposite effect.

Optimist is right…you can get rich in Real Estate but you’d better be prepared to do it the right way…Skill will always outpace luck. Some people have no luck or worse, a loaded gun pointed at their financial head. Does anyone come to mind?
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moom
November 19th, 2006 at 7:27 am

I second all of Walt’s comments (I’m an economics professor). Helpful for learning how to give better presentations. Though here I think Casey’s story is pretty compelling and he doesn’t need to make a big effort to present it.
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Dman
November 19th, 2006 at 7:30 am

He probably didn’t have a tripod for it so just propped it up on a student desk in front of him. I wouldn’t read too much in to that.
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Emilio
November 19th, 2006 at 9:24 am

I’m curious, Casey, have you become naturalized as a U.S. Citizen? I hope you have, because if you run in trouble with the law (as fraud charges seem closer and closer), you may face deportation at the end if you’re not a citizen.

You’re a great self-promoter and speaker. Your future doesn’t lie in real estate but in peddling courses and such. I can’t tell whether your cofidence belies a huckster or a truly naïve person. That quality is great for a salesman.
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Sam in Dallas
November 19th, 2006 at 3:20 pm

Rather than spending $15,000 on RE seminars, why dont you take classes at your community college and read real estate books. Also, join your local RE club and listen to real speakers. To get into this game you dont need to spend this kind of money to learn.

To be successfull in RE you need to be able to recognize scam artists, whether they be speakers, or so called investors.
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nobody
November 19th, 2006 at 6:24 pm

Walt missed the issue.

He criticized your beginning, with the “I’m an immigrant to this great country” drama.

It’s the only part of your presentation that is really cohesive.

Why?

Because that’s the part you have been practicing in your pitch to the lenders - and that’s the part you have have been practicing to use in your upcoming litigation.

“Have pity! I’m an immigrant! I didn’t know, and all of these slick big money types took advantage of me.”

The rest of your presentation is an attempt to mask your absolute lack of personal integrity, with a facade of charm.

Won’t work.
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Michael Cooke
November 19th, 2006 at 7:32 pm

I need someone help make me a video presentation for my website. I need to look professional (dressed up, haircut ect) and shoot on location. I’ve already memorized the script. Does anyone know anyone that does this sort of thing? How much does it cost?
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Free advice
November 20th, 2006 at 8:34 am

Casey:

I thought your presentation was great. I thought it demonstrated that you do indeed have a measure of personal integrity — and most importantly, an understanding of how not to screw up in the future.

If there’s one screwup that seems to resonate clearly, it’s measuring your business performance based on “more deals” in the pipeline.

That’s a lot like owning a retail store and facing a lack of traffic to your store by buying more inventory(!)

But I won’t dwell on the point. I think you get it now.
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speechless
November 20th, 2006 at 1:07 pm

Casey - I’ve spent a lot of this past weekend on your site, which I’ve just discovered. You could say I got somewhat addicted to the Casey Serin Story. Luckily, I only wasted 8 hours of my life, and that will probably be it for me. You wasted about 1 year of your life, your credit, your longterm financial health, possibly your freedom (if you go to jail), and eventually your marriage on your addiction: gambling in real estate.

I get the distinct feeling that you are hoping for someone to swoop in and bail you out. You want a sugar daddy to come and make it all better. I sincerely hope, for your own good, for your own character development, that noone will bail you out, because you would not learn anything.

You may not learn anything even if you have to deal with your own mess. You may stumble into other schemes and “loose” even more money.

You are one of the extreme examples of a new generation that feels an automatic entitlement to all the affluence that their parents worked hard to achieve.

You are also a great example of what’s wrong with American consumer culture. Spend on your little plastic card. No need to restrict yourself to taking the bus, surely you and your wife deserve to have a car each! Cell phones, computer, high speed internet, web hosting, digital camera - of course you should have all of those. It’s your God-given right. And working 40 hours a week for $3,000 a month is a nice concession on your part. You shouldn’t really have to work that much for so little.

This is why our “developed” world is no longer sustainable. Wake up people. We are all living on credit to some degree, and so are large corporations. The government is in billions of debt. The banks do not have even 10% of the funds in hard cash that they operate with. The big crash is coming. Maybe as soon as 2010 or 2012. Maybe not until 2020. But this economy is a house of cards and will fall down.
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dimwit
November 21st, 2006 at 2:35 pm

by your very body reactions in that video you can tell you are a conniving SOB. you are quite ’shifty’ with your eyes and body motions. tell tale signs of a rookie con artist.
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Casey is fooling himself
November 21st, 2006 at 5:15 pm

The Optimist cracks me up. Why do you assume that anybody critiquing Casey is a “liberal!” Wow…you folks who automatically assume somebody is a con or lib is an idiot.

Sorry dude, your advice to Casey is clueless at best.
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Casey is fooling himself
November 21st, 2006 at 5:17 pm

Speechless is the most brilliant poster to EVER post here. Good post man. I agree 100%. This generation truly thinks they don’t have to work hard to succeed. Even a small business like the one Casey THOUGHT he was starting needs to have a plan, capital and whatnot. THAT takes work.
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Casey is fooling himself
November 21st, 2006 at 5:20 pm

Wayne: Add to that it looks as if our boy Casey took out a $5000 Cash Call loan.

Look at his statement and you will see the payment. They don’t loan money to people in small amounts (I know this because a friend used them). You wind up paying almost 80% interest if you only make the minimum payments.

LOL Casey. Using guys like Cash Call is desperation at it’s worst :(
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Transcript?
November 21st, 2006 at 5:27 pm

Whatever happened to the transcript?
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Ethical Realtor in DC
November 22nd, 2006 at 6:18 am

Did you get paid for this appearance? If not, then you should have spent your time doing a job that paid rather than wasting your time on this. Also, consider finding yourself an agent and doing this as a professional speaker with a well structures “what I learned” message. I used to pull in $5,000/speech on the professional public speaking circuit - but DON’T waste $$ on classes etc. and DON’T spend any time on it until you are at least far enough out of your mess that people will feel that you have lessons to learn from, rather than simply being a car accident that people slow down to look at.
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John
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:54 am

Well, welcome to America - let’s put aside the fact that you committed fraud - let’s assume you were young naive and from a country where that may have been the modis operandi of the times - the reality is you’re passion is the life blood of America - my advice - get out of Real Estate and find a way to contribute to society with all that creative energy - and THEN in 10yrs or so when NO ONE is buying property - think JAPAN - that’s when you start your investing and holding to sell at a time when EVERYONE wants to buy property.

It might even be a better idea to take your knowledge and experience and invest in your old country - Eastern Europe should be a great investment in the future.
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I Will Teach You To Be Rich: Meet the 24-year old with $2.2 million in debt
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:33 pm

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