Zack, the real estate investor from Land Mark Property Solutions of San Francisco Bay Area gave me some good news yesterday. He has been helping me stop foreclosure by getting a short sale approved on the Burdett Way Sacramento house.
Zack offered 200 but the lender would only go down to 248 on a short sale. That short sale price is not low enough for Zack to want to buy the house from me. However, instead of dropping the ball, Zack has been marketing the house to other investors and retail buyers.
There hasn’t been much activity lately so I began to be concerned. Yesterday, Zack told me they found an investor-buyer at the 248 price. The contract will be assigned to the new buyer for an assignment fee. So that’s good news, well, kind of. The buyer still needs to close. He has 2 weeks to perform.
I’m glad Zack and the Land Mark Property Solutions team is still trying to help me stop foreclosure on this house even with the bank not wanting to budge much on a short sale. They seem like a good group of investors. That’s why I am comfortable to mention them by name in case somebody else needs help to stop foreclosure via a short sale.
Hopefully the buyer is going to close… I’m not holding my breath though.
Larchmont Dr 1st Lender Won’t Go Below 240 on a Short Sale
Flipping Houses in a Down Market?
73 Comments
*
Polls
November 14th, 2006 at 9:40 am
Have you ever thought about having some polls on your site so readers can vote on some of these questions you have? Are they hard to do (maybe some readers have ideas for good programs to run one)? I know you can get some idea of the public’s leanings from the comments but polls are easier for people who may not have time to post a full response. Plus people can debate about the questions and results and spend even more time on the blog! Some ideas for questions:
Is this site a scam? (Would have been fun to track the responses to this over the past two months)
Yes - Casey doesn’t exist and/or he couldn’t possibly have bought all these houses
Yes - This is a front for some marketing campaign that will unveil itself soon and bail Casey out…any minute now…
Yes - I don’t know why, it just _has_ to be made up somehow
No - This guy really did ring up a $2.2MM tab with no way to pay out
Should I file BK?
Yes - Time to cut your losses and start over. You can always ease your conscience by donating your first $2.2MM of post-BK earnings to your former creditors
No - Keep plugging away at the short sales and the plans to raise $2.2MM in a few months, you’ll get there!
No - You probably should but it’ll just get you busted for fraud so why bother
Should I have taken Prlinkbiz’s offer?
Yes - The primary goal should be getting out of your (mostly) impending foreclosures and starting to rebuild my credit. Who cares about making a ton of money from the story when it’s all over?
No - You’re screwed no matter what; why trade any asset you have for real estate help, even if it’s something as speculative as rights to a book/movie for a story that hasn’t even ended yet?
Video blogs
Love them
Hate them
Don’t care
Will I go to jail?
Yes - Case has become to high profile to ignore. It’s just a matter of time before the dogs come barking.
No - Banks/brokers/gurus will never talk. No witnesses = no case
No - Prosecutors can’t be bothered. Have bigger fish to fry
No - What you did wasn’t really _that_ bad…
These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to use as many or as little as you please. And clearly you don’t have to pay any attention whatsoever to the responses (cause you do such a bang-up job listening to your comments already) but it could be educational for you and fun for your readers.
Anyone else agree?
*
Wait a Minute
November 14th, 2006 at 9:49 am
Yesterday you said, “That’s because the After Repair Value of this property is realistically 260 or so. I hear the cash buyers at the auction are paying on average 70-80% of value and that average is going down fast. Seventy percent of 260 is 182. That means if they sell it at 180, the 1st will loose 84 plus costs. The second of course will get nothing and loose the entire 66.
Here is another problem…
Now our 220 buyer is wanting to back out. Another similar property just sold around the corner for 190. The buyers thinks the market is really taking a dive and don’t feel safe at 220 anymore. Amy talked to them and convinced them to hold on and just counter lower. So looks like they might change their offer to 180. We do have another offer at 150. It’s an all-cash offer from an investor. But I doubt the 1st lender is going to want to go that low.”
And now a DAY later, this investor finds some sucker to pay $248,000??? Seen it before. You need to come up with something new buddy.
Is there by chance a cash back at closing like your deal for $50,000? How much are you making from this transaction?
Something smells rotten here.
*
Chris
November 14th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Ha ha ha… if you had bothered to rent out these properties you wouldn’t need to worry. It’s only as the vultures come than you’re goaded into action…
Say hi to your new cellmate Bubba for me!
*
Joe
November 14th, 2006 at 9:51 am
With all due respect, I do not agree with the way you are trying to work through this; but remember that everything happens for a reason.
When things are great, don’t get too high. When things are bad, don’t get too low.
*
Vortex
November 14th, 2006 at 10:17 am
Good news, but 2 weeks seems kind of fast. Do you have everything lined up to go that fast?
I like the idea of a poll.
> Yes - Case has become to high profile to ignore. It’s just a matter of time before the dogs come barking.
Too, I would like you to remember that “to” and “too” are two different words.
When does the new job start?
*
Unbelievable
November 14th, 2006 at 10:19 am
Wait a minute “Wait A Minute”
This is a different property than the one discussed the other day.
*
Casey Serin
November 14th, 2006 at 10:19 am
@Wait a Minute: You have this one confused with the other sacramento house. Last post was about the Larchmont Drive house in North Highlands. North Highlands is a suburb of Sacramento. Today’s post is about the Burdett Way house. Maybe I didn’t make it very clear. Sorry for the confusion.
*
Sold already
November 14th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Good thinking on the poll. It would be a more efficient way of interacting. However, given the tone of some of the comments here, I doubt the results would be useful. Many people would reflexively pick the worst option every time, just to be nasty.
In fact, the general level of nastiness around here is pretty high. Some people feel frustrated that Casey continues to make in impulsive decisions. Well, he’s depressed, and depressed people act impulsively, regardless of whether or not they acted this way before. In fact, when facing very difficult times, most people become a little manic, now and then: wild optimism seems to be the way they keep going. Trying to depress him more is hardly the smartest way to get him to think rationally.
Well, there is some good news here, Casey. About time, no?
*
Casey Serin
November 14th, 2006 at 10:31 am
The poll idea is a good one… I will look into it. This may encourage everybody to respond. I have a feeling that the negative people are the outspoken ones. There ARE many positive people on this blog that do not leave comments but email me encouraging emails instead.
@Sold Already: I’m not holding my breath, the buyer is supposed to open escrow today, we’ll see if they will come through. I really hope so.
@Joe: What do you disgree with?
Renting properties: Many people still are thinking I can just rent the properties out and all my problems will be solved. I need to do a post about this soon.
*
Casey Serin
November 14th, 2006 at 10:35 am
@Vortex: 2 weeks is fast. That’s not the time frame I chose though. Zack, the Bay Area investor, is the one controlling the contract and negotiating his own thing with the end buyer. Zack feels the buyer should be able to close in 2 weeks no problem even though it’s a conventional loan. The buyer told Zack he can do it. If that doesn’t happen Zack does have a mortgage broker that CAN close the buyer in 2 weeks. So that’s the story I’m hearing… we’ll see.
*
Nigel Swaby
November 14th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Casey,
Congratulations on this news. Hopefully your buyer will pull through.
If you like the poll idea, here’s a link to one I just used. It was very easy to setup - http://nupolls.com/
Keep your head up. Sometimes success comes to those who are just too stuborn to accept failure.
Nigel
*
Joseph
November 14th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Regarding the negative posts:
I have read a good amount of the posts here and I noticed that at the very beginning, there were lots of good positive posts, helpful posts.
With time, I also noticed that these same well wishers became “negative”. I think that the negativity was due to Casey requesting help and when help arrived, he pretty much took a crap on them.
I am not saying that Casey has to follow every advice, but when someone says to Casey, please dont JUMP off that cliff and Casey JUMPS off that cliff and breaks a leg, people get frustrated.
The biggest frustration I see here is not the “I Told You So”, but rather, Casey instigating us by saying “I FELL, I BROKE MY LEGS, WHY O WHY?”
Honest people will go “Negative” while others will simply laugh and lever respond.
So Bless those here who are “Negative” because they have not given up on you, yet… Worry when there is silence.
*
Mak
November 14th, 2006 at 10:50 am
If the buyer will pay $248K maximum, and the bank wants $248K minimum for the short sale, who pays:
seller closing costs
assignment fee
Zach’s fee
payoff of listing agent, I presume this property is listed and that guy won’t let the listing go with no compensation to himself just because you found your own buyer
*
Jason
November 14th, 2006 at 11:11 am
Good Luck Casey…. We’re behind you 100%
*
Amanda
November 14th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Casey,
Did you check with Land Mark Company Solutions to make sure they are okay with being publicized through your blog? I hope you find other such generous people to help you out with your troubles.
Best of Luck!
*
The Man
November 14th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I wouldn’t hold me breath either. With the way things have been going so far, I doubt this will end up closing. Let’s see!
*
cLuStEr_fK
November 14th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Having read a bit here, it seems you and Prlinkbiz are both working hard at “how to make money without lifting a finger.” She doesn’t have anything to offer you, and you don’t have anything to offer her. Hate to say it, but that’s the truth. You may want to string all this out as long as possible for PR and *some other way to make money in your underwear* but I don’t think it will work. It’s an entertaining object lesson to my kids about why *if it looks too good to be true, it probably is*
Good luck!
*
Sprezzatura
November 14th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Burdett Way has 2 mortgages; you’ve posted that the first mortgage holder apporved a short sale, but what about that I/O 2nd mortgage?
Also, who pays all the other transaction costs?
*
StingyFinance
November 14th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Casey,
Have you looked into declaring bankruptcy? If you were to declare BK, would this affect your wifes credit? If not, this may be an option that you should seriously look into.
Joe
http://www.StingyFinance.com
*
Chris Johnson
November 14th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
Good news! I’d just say PLEASE have an expert review the terms of the sales contract and escrow–perhaps “Rich Dad” can give some of that mentoring time, as it shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes of his time. You just want to know how people are expecting to get paid, and what will happen if the deal falls through.
RE: the Larchmont property, wow! Sounds like a foreclosure to me. You could certainly water the grass to make it look a bit more attractive, but not $150k more attractive. I’m hoping you’re picking up some of the better advice here, like running the numbers before you buy a property so you’ll have a solid business plan and exit strategy. One other business rule: the costs will be more than you expect and your profit will be less than you expect, so you’ll need a good-sized margin in your plan. Then again, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about and should be selling my legal services from a mall cart.
*
HungryBear
November 14th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
I am confused as to why you care whether the short sale gets approved or not. What’s in it for you? Maybe in the best case you can negotiate that the lender reports “paid as agreed” on your credit report? But your credit is already burned regardless. I just don’t see how much difference this will make and why you should care one way or another.
Regarding renting your house out, you complain that the rent would not cover the mortgage (Well duh - why do think we have a housing bubble?). But why do you care since you are not going to pay the mortgage anyway? If you just rented the house below market on a month-month basis, you could make a bit of extra cash while you wait for the inevitable foreclosure. $800/month may not seem like much compared to the score you made getting $50K cash back at closing - but hey, its better than working at Taco Bell.
You would also get some valuable real experience at landlording which would be a better education for you than $30K worth of bogus guru seminars.
*
Brooklynite
November 14th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Have you acquired the rights to “iamfacingjailtime.com” yet?
*
Roger
November 14th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
That’s good news Casey. I’m hoping this will go through for you.
*
um ur dumb
November 14th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Remember the NYC buyer? backed out…
Remember PRinkblink or whoever she is…got free publicity and some sort of contract outta our man casey…
Remember “Landmark Property Solutions”
oh yeah that other company got free publicity for offering to help Spacy Casey…
This blog’s a scam i think, otherwise if He really was facing the inevitable, he would take $$$$ from Golden Palace or www.***.com a long time ago.
*
walt526
November 14th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
“Have you looked into declaring bankruptcy? If you were to declare BK, would this affect your wifes credit? If not, this may be an option that you should seriously look into.”
You must be new to this blog. Check out any number of old threads on the advantages and disadvantages to bankruptcy. General consensus seems to be that its only a matter of time.
Also, Casey’s wife was on the house that got foreclosed on in Dallas, so her credit is already toast along with his.
*
walt526
November 14th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
For those thinking that Casey should try to rent: it would be pretty hard to find a renter for a property that only a month or so from foreclosure. You also take the risk that the guy might trash the place more than his security deposit, which would be costly and would also make showing the house more difficult.
Finally, there’s a chance that something major will break while the tenant is occupying the residence. If the house is vacant, that’s not really any money out of Casey’s pocket because the house will sell/be foreclosed upon “as is” regardless. Casey can’t afford to pay for any emergency repairs and certainly doesn’t have a clue how to do much himself. Another reasons why someone would have to be retarded to consider renting from Casey right now.
*
Anomalous Blowhard
November 14th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Question for those of you who seem to know about RE: If Casey rents a property out and it’s foreclosed upon, what happens to the tenants? Can they be immediately evicted, or is the new owner bound by the terms of the lease (if any)?
If the tenants can be immediately evicted by the new owner, it would seem unethical to rent the property out without disclosing the impending foreclosure to the tenant.
*
Robert Coté
November 14th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
” The contract will be assigned to the new buyer for an assignment fee.”
And?… You don’t see the problem(s)?
*
Free advice
November 14th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
RENTING:
Casey promises to talk about renting soon. But I’m going to chime in.
Some may feel Casey is to lazy to rent, and perhaps that’s true.
But when you’re upside down on a mortgage, you have to make a quick decision as to whether you can afford to rent-and-hold or sell-the-thing-quick.
Doing both at the same time sounds good, but putting a tenant in a house makes it more difficult to sell.
First, arranging a viewing is inconvenient.
Second, a good chunk of the market doesn’t WANT a house with a tenant. Even an investor would probably want to ditch the tenant to fix the house up.
Third, if you’re completely honest with a tenant (and most of you seem to want Casey to be honest), you need to explain that the tenancy could be short term with only the legally minimum notice of the need to move out.
Finding a tenant is a hard enough. Finding a tenant that doesn’t mind living in a house that may be foreclosed must be exceedingly difficult.
If you look back with hindsight, of course tenants in these houses would have been a good deal.
But whether Casey’s been realistic in his asking prices or not, his incentive always seems to have been to get rid of these houses as quickly as possible.
*
Tim
November 14th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Nearly $700 a day is Casey’s debt servicing cost. He told us a while back that his monthly debt service is $20,000. (This may be with minimum amounts paid on the credit cards, so the actual debt service is higher, as the CC balance is compounding at a likely very high rate.)
And yet Casey has wasted time chasing down gurus in Phoenix, a mirage-like $3000 deal that caused his Dallas place to go into foreclosure, and leaves his properties empty and unrented and, it appears, unmaintained.
I’ve been reading this blog since early October, when the SF Gate/SF Chronicle articles appeared. In this month alone, Casey’s _debt_ has increased by $20K, just from what he told us is monthly debt load ($140K credit card debt, presumably larger now, and mortages which were once $2.2 million but are presumably less now, due to one sale and one foreclosure, though money is still owed on the foreclosure property, of course).
Meanwhile, we’ve seen Casey “chase” a possible $3000 piece of small change from “the New York investor” and thus blow far, far more by letting his Dallas property get foreclosed on.
Someone needs to urgently tell Casey to stop taking his eye off the big things.
Every month that he dawdles, or blogs, or tries to borrow a few thousand from friends, his debt load increases by twenty thousand bucks.
(And this is real money, owed by him and his wife. He may think it’s just a paper number, but unless these debts are somehow discharged, which is not as easy as simply “filing for bankruptcy,” he will be paying these debts off for many years to come.)
Oh, and I’m not even counting the declining values of some (all?) of these properties.
My point is not to dump on Casey just for the sake of dumping on him. Rather, it’s to hit him over the head with a clue stick: get rid of these properties as quickly as possible, at whatever price it takes to clear them, and slow the debt hemorrhaging at least a little bit.
But, I predict, Casey will blog for at least another month about possible deals with “investors” and will have at least one more foreclosure…and another $20K or more in debt added to the balance sheet.
His wife _must_ know by now at least what _we_ know….how can she be an accounting student with aspirations of becoming a CPA and NOT know just how bad the financial situation is?
Urgent steps are needed.
–Tim
*
Trojan Horse
November 14th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Thanks for posting a good reference for Zack. He sounds like a great guy to work with! I can see it now:
“hey Zack, do you have any distressed properties that an investor like me might want to buy?”
“Yeah, I have this POS house that I wouldn’t touch for a hair over 200K, but for YOU I think you should pay $248K for it so that I at least get my dealer fee out of it. Yeah, you are getting shafted, but hey, I’m trying to make a deal here!”
*
Michael
November 14th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
Casey,
I just looked up the house on Guadalajara in Rio Rancho, NM .. and I wonder why it is you paid $497,000 for a house that was listed for sale at $489,900? These decisions that you have made are the ones that have come home to roost and NOW you think this house should be listed for sale at $509,900?
Come on man … this is a game your playing and its not a very good game at that.
Get off your butt and get these things done. A lot of people are going to pay for your mistakes in the form of higher interest, harder qualifying and you laugh all this time.
It is starting to become disgusting. But I will tell you I think if you go to jail so should the lenders and the Realtors who helped you in these transactions. THEY ALL knew it was not a good idea for you and yet they did it anyway so they could make their money.
I blame you, but you’re certainly not in it alone and you haven’t written anything about that. So whats the deal?
Aren’t you upset that these PROFESSIONALS led you down this path?
*
Blah
November 14th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
When doing any business deal, I’ve always heard that you should:
-Double your expected expenses
-Halve your expected return
If it still seems like a good idea, go for it.
*
Tim
November 14th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Did you start on that new job you talked about last week?
This one:
“The good thing is that I’ve been talking to a local real estate company about a job of some kind that may meet the above criteria. We’ve been talking on and off for a few weeks. I wasn’t ready to move forward before. But this week I decided to stop messing around and get serious about it. I picked up the negotiations back up. I’m hoping to have the job secured later this week and hopefully start on Monday.”
–Tim
*
Nigel Swaby
November 14th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
Blowhard- You asked -
“Question for those of you who seem to know about RE: If Casey rents a property out and it’s foreclosed upon, what happens to the tenants? Can they be immediately evicted, or is the new owner bound by the terms of the lease (if any)?
If the tenants can be immediately evicted by the new owner, it would seem unethical to rent the property out without disclosing the impending foreclosure to the tenant.”
In the case of a foreclosure, the tenants do get evicted. Their usual recourse is their security deposit which an insolvent landlord is unlikely to have.
This is a big reason Casey hasn’t rented the homes. If he had tried about three months ago, it might be a different story. I also like the idea of a “month-to-month” lease with discounted rent some of you have suggested.
Absolutely it would be unethical to rent one of these properties without full disclosure.
Hope that helps.
*
Rafer Hoxworth
November 14th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
Anybody Google this guy? Go to Google Groups and put his name in. The second reference is a pyramid scheme with a thread started by “AlekseySerin” (Hmmmm), and name #5 on the list of who to send money to is [drum roll please] Casey Serin of Pheonix Ave Fair Oaks CA (a suburb in the Sac area).
Granted it was posted in 1997, but maybe some things never change?
PS, wasn’t that about the same time the “women hurting women” pyramid started?
*
Anomalous Blowhard
November 14th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Nigel Swaby:
“In the case of a foreclosure, the tenants do get evicted. Their usual recourse is their security deposit which an insolvent landlord is unlikely to have.”
Ah, I hadn’t thought about that aspect. Anyone renting Casey’s properties risks not only having to find a new home in a hurry, but also losing their deposit.
I can’t blame Casey for not renting. I can’t imagine that anyone except the least desirable tenants would be willing to rent under those conditions.
*
TC
November 14th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
Casey,
I just came across your website as a link from another blog I read from time to time and want to point something out to you.
The question on the application asks “Do you INTEND to occupy the property as your primary residence?”
From what I have read on your blog it sounds like you purchased the properties and never moved in tenants. Is this correct?
If so, the argument can be made regarding your intent at the time you signed your final application. A home is really “Non-owner” when you move in tenants.
*
mejustme
November 14th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
I vote yes on the polls. And I like the way Polls wrote them. S/he should get the job!
Casey, nobody’s saying renting the houses out will solve all your problems, but it will help stanch the outflow of money.
Will having a renter in the home reduce your chance of selling? Perhaps, but occupied houses are sold every day. And they’ve been unoccupied WITHOUT selling long enough to prove that being vacant is not doing much to help sell the home.
These are not pristine homes; having a renter will actually help your situation by keeping the house in good repair.
Let’s do some simple math. Say the mortgage is $2,000.
Without renting, you have to pay $2,000. Even if you’re not paying it, you’re on the hook for it sooner or later, and the late fees only compound your worries.
With renting at full price, you could get — I don’t even know how many BRs and what the going rate is, but let’s just say — $1,200.
But you have to fix it up even to get it rented, and the renter will inevitably have maintenance issues, so you have two choices that work out about the same.
One, hire a property manager. Their rates vary, but let’s say for 10 percent of the rent, they will get the property ready, find a renter, check their credit, get the lease signed, keep up with maintenance, etc., etc. Stuff you don’t want to do.
Property managers also hold real estate licenses in California, perhaps in NM and wherever else you have property left. That means she will be able to market your property. That means she has even more incentive to keep the property looking tip-top with a good renter in it.
I know PMs have an awful rep with “real estate investors” such as yourself (cough, cough), but that’s because they prefer to do all that work themselves. You don’t. You also have far-flung properties that don’t allow you to do much hands-on even if you wanted to.
The second option is to find someone on your own, maybe a friend, who will do their own maintenance and painting and stuff in exchange for reduced rent. It will probably work out to the same as hiring the PM and they have less incentive to keep doing it, not to mention that you’d have to find them and do all the work getting a lease drawn up that stipulates what they should be doing. And then you have to be in their face telling them what to do, when, etc.
OK, so you have $1,200 minus $120 and we can round down to $1,000 per month coming in. Still behind by $1,000, but every second month you can make a full payment. Let’s hope having it fixed up and marketed gets it sold within a decent number of months.
Actually, if you have two homes set up that way, you take the $1,000 from each and pay the mortgage of one of them. Boom, no late fees that month on that one. The next month, you do it for the other one.
We all know you’re still behind. It’s just you’ll be LESS behind.
*
star
November 14th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
I am amazed that so many have said they think this blog is fake.
If I had any question, I would do a quick search of public records, which is exactly what I did in regards to Caseys properties. Just to make sure although Caseys story isn’t that impossible. I’ve heard stories in the stock market that’d overshadow his 100 times over. Nothing surprises me when money is involved.
Anyone who thinks Casey and his saga is fake should take the 5-10 minutes to do a search themselves before they continue to perpetuate false info of their own.
*
Max D
November 14th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
You will do nothing. You will blog… and then you will do nothing some more. Maybe you could land some endorsements. How’s this:
Casey: :”I think I will buy a bunch of overpriced houses, take cash out at closing and then sell them for a profit.”
Stunned observer: “Wow, you must really know alot about real estate.”
Casey: “Not a damned thing…But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.”
I think there might be some other possibilities; maybe Energizer- this blog keeps going…etc. The “Head On” folks are pretty annoying- they could probably work you in.
Aflac is a possiblity considering someone will most likely break your knees before all this is over.
But most likely you will continue blue ballin’ it. Leaving only to interview occasionally about your thoughts on real estate investing (which is about the equivilent of someone asking me to discuss brain surgery).
*
star
November 14th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
I also think renting the properties would be stupid at this point. Who would want to rent a house knowing it’s nearing forclosure?
I guess some would keep that a secret and that’s not ethical.
*
Cow_tipping
November 14th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Renters want a decent place to live. renters aren’t into home improvements. The places are simply put, trashed. BTW If I get kicked out because the owner got foreclosed upon, trust me, I’d pull all the cabinets, counters, appliances, fixtures, wires, plumbing dry wall out before I leave. Oh yea I’d dump water into all the insulation, fry the HVAC remove all the doors … yup. BTW no kidding, I have seen a house that was like that 4 years ago. That told me no more foreclosures. BTW someone paying 248K, Yea aint gonna happen or … Some serious fraud is involved there. Appraisal needs to be 275 or so, and with a 190 down the street, you’re not getting 275, unless of course you use the same appraiser that appraised it at 330 when you bought it.
BTW casey pays more than listing price for houses because he walks away from the deal with cash in his pocket and the rest of his life down the tubes.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.
*
ROKIT88
November 14th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
After reading the comments by Polls and Tim I have to say I would be interested in a running ticker that shows your debt as it accumulates. At 700$ a day 29$ an hour? More traffic as people watcht he ticker spin.
I’d also be interested in a line graph with three lines:
CS Assets
CS Liabilities
CS Net Worth
as always, cut and run!
*
Jos
November 14th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
and yet Casy still wants to do more RE!
*
Frank
November 14th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
Casey - is there any way you can save just 1 of the houses you have left? Rather than lose them all in foreclosure at this point do you have any cash at all to bring one of them current and just forgo the others? I’d like to see you walk out of this with at least one of the properties - obviously keeping the one that makes the most financial sense. In order to do this though you would need to get a job at least in the interim. I would like to see you get back on your feet, put food on the table, and if at all possible keep 1 of these homes. Good luck to you!
*
UncleC
November 14th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
So how much “assignment fee” is Zack trying to get? 5k, maybe 10k? What a laugh! $100 would be more like it, if this buyer is for real.
*
Reality Bites
November 14th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Casey, you said about 2.5 months ago in your first post:
“I may have to get back to a full-time job so I can pay basic bills.”
Did you start the new job this week?
*
Reality Bites
November 14th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
Casey,
You said in this thread “Many people still are thinking I can just rent the properties out and all my problems will be solved.”
Once again you’re not really listening - SOME people think/thought that renting your properties would HELP solve your problem. You view things as black or white and seem to think that ONE magic thing WILL solve your problems - in fact, MANY LITTLE things MAY solve your problems.
*
Reality Bites
November 14th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Casey,
Can you PLEASE explain the “ring around the toilet”? Are you allergic to cleaning your properties? Just astounding.
*
Joey
November 14th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
It really sucks to be you, Casey!
But if by some miracle you pull it off, avoid jail, and get back in ‘the game’ and become a success, you’ll be able to parlay it into some big seminar cash.
You can be the next Robert Kiyosaki, Carlton Sheets, or even Tony Robbins. You can pump the positive thinking stuff, and get really rich.
I hope you can pull it off, but frankly, I doubt it. Nothing personal against you, but you are facing odds the common person would crack under.
But what do I know… I work a 35 hour a week corporate job. I chose security over the risk. I’m only comfortable, not rich.
And you’re still young enough to take these chances. There are many people who have fallen further than you probably ever will (holocaust survivors, rape victims, former drug addicts, homeless vietnam veterans, etc.) and have risen to the top.
It would be good to see you do it, though… so don’t give up. I’m checking your blog, cheering you on, kid!
*
UncleC
November 14th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I’s like to add to my previous question (about the size of Zack’s “assignment fee”), the question of how much did he pay Casey to get this option? And how long does it run for?
*
UncleC
November 14th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Above, Casey says about Landmark Properties: “They seem like a good group of investors. That’s why I am comfortable to mention them by name in case somebody else needs help to stop foreclosure via a short sale.”
I’ve just toured their site and found it riddled with spelling and gramatical errors. Why am I not surprised?
*
Negativity
November 15th, 2006 at 1:53 am
Nastiness and negativity - I’ve tried to post an explanation for why people might seem so nasty and negative, but I seem to have been moderated out. But, trust me, folks aren’t just nasty and negative for no reason.
*
Michael
November 15th, 2006 at 3:29 am
Would someone mind telling me what it means when “the bank does not want to budge much on a short sale”.
Does this mean the banks can actually “artificiall”y keep the price of the real estate up simply by refusing to sell? What happens when the market keeps falling? Can they just say “forget it? We won’t sell it”? Sorry I’m not to privy on real estate.
Seems interesting in this case.
*
meirinn
November 15th, 2006 at 3:37 am
People who live in glass houses…
*
Sean
November 15th, 2006 at 5:31 am
where’s anon? i miss anon…
*
Aaron
November 15th, 2006 at 5:38 am
UncleC,
remember….Losers congregate together b/c it makes them feel smarter.
*
Sac Realtor
November 15th, 2006 at 7:20 am
Real Estate always goes up, wait until Spring and you can flip out for $320K.
*
star
November 15th, 2006 at 7:42 am
re: running ticker
Awesome idea!
*
Panda
November 15th, 2006 at 8:52 am
Uncle C….
Hmmm, spelling and grammatical errors…there seems to be a theme here. In addition, it’s one of the worst Web sites I’ve seen in a long time.
*
Free advice
November 15th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Uncle C:
Yes, the Landmark site is indeed riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. But what is worse is replacing the letter “S” with a dollar sign.
Here’s a rule of thumb: When you see the words “CA$H FA$T,” it’s likely that you’re not going to get much in the way of “A$$I$TANCE.”
*
Radical
November 15th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Casey - is there any way you can save just 1 of the houses you have left? Rather than lose them all in foreclosure at this point do you have any cash at all to bring one of them current and just forgo the others?
Casey can’t even afford $500 to pay for his rent…he’ll be gettting evicted by his sis in law soon..then he can live in the CAR that he was ABLE to afford while stiffing everyone else
*
Diomedes
November 15th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
I hate to sound like an a&&hole, but if Casey emerges from this debacle un-scathed, I will have lost all confidence in our free market system.
All the checks and balances in place we have today (bankruptcy laws, credit counselling and consolidation, and now companies specializing in ‘mortgage assistance services’) all do nothing but encourage this type of behavior and make it far too easy for individuals to start with a clean slate despite gross misconduct on their part.
I am sorry, but these types of mechanisms invariably end up costing those of us who are fiscally responsible more money in the end. Because eventually, these monetary snafus have to work their way through the system and manifest into higher fees and general inflationary pressures for everyone.
How likely would our society be to over-extend themselves and take these types of unmitigated risks if the downsides were far more severe? When people like Casey and Donald Trump can waltz through the system and emerge as if nothing has happened despite esgregious errors and lack of foresight on their part, what message does that send? There will be another Casey waiting in the wings ready to pounce. And his thoughts will be: “Well, Casey got into that mess and got out of it with no problems. So I should take risks too!”
Perhaps I am being too preachy. But my history shows me that the greatest expansion of this country existed post the Great Depression where individuals knew there was no free lunch and understood the value of a dollar. The current demographic in Casey’s age group (I call them The MTV generation) wants everything for nothing. Even now, despite this entire debacle, Casey STILL has aspirations of entering into a field that produces nothing and exists only to transfer wealth while charging 6 percent to do it. And then they wonder why our children do not want to go to college and earn a living. Why bother when one can simply get a realtor license and charge ridiculous comissions for showing houses. Or better yet, making loads of money by buying and selling properties without doing anything. Just work from home and make millions like the informercial says!
Perhaps I am rambling. Perhaps I am just fed up with seeing this type of conduct. But I for one want to see recriminations. I want to see some individuals sent to the poor house. Because its not just about owning up to one’s own mistakes. Its about sending the right message to our youth: money is NOT free and the best way to financial success is to EARN it.
My two cents.
*
Stephanie J.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Stop trying to get him to rent out the properties; it’s a lost cause!
You can all try and persuade our little hero here to rent his properties until you’re blue in the face; he won’t do it. He won’t do anything that constitutes him having to actually do work or take responsibility for anything.
Could you imagine anyone else saying no to a potential income that will keep them above water when they’re in a situation like this? No! But he does; with stupid reasons like “rentals require maintenance”. Oh my god! I might have to *WORK* to get money! What a concept!
Jesus, he’s already wavering on his current job, because it’s cutting into his ‘finding ways to get rich quick without having to do anything besides sit on my ball and blog’ time. You *know* he’s going to find every justification he needs to not take he responsible route.
He’s lazy. That’s what it all comes down to. Give up already. Just sit back and enjoy this slow-motion trainwreck.
*
Wait a Minute
November 15th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
You mean THIS is the guy helping you sell the property?
http://www.biggerpockets.com/p.....iendly=yes
fORECLOSURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Images
——————————————————————————–
Address: 6842 Burdett Way
City: Sacramento
State: California
Zip: 95825
Price: $248,000
Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Status: Active
Full Description: 6842 Burdett Way Sacramento CA 95823
This home is updated with everything. It just need to be cleaned. Asking what is owed $248,000. This house has 3 beds and 2 baths with 1008 sqft. Corner Lot great house Just Must Sell!!!!!!! There is a $10,000 assignment fee with this proeprty to the investor who help with stoping the foreclosure and getting the price down. Please contact them with all questions. Landmark Property Solutions 925-608-8919.
www.landmarkpropertysolutions.net
COMPS $298,000
6530 Prentiss Dr. 3/2 1056 sq ft. sold 7-17-06 $290,000
5241 Sky Pkwy 3/2 1111 sqft. sold 7-17-06 $295,000
5036 Dingman Cir 3/2 1122 sqft. sold 8-18-06 $305,000
THERE IS LOTS OF EQUITY IN THIS ONE AND YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL!!!!!!
Spelling and grammar errors aside, read this ad closely.
Exactly WHAT equity is there?
*
Nobody
November 15th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
UNBELIEVABLE!
THIS is the “assignment fee”
“There is a $10,000 assignment fee with this proeprty to the investor who help with stoping the foreclosure and getting the price down.”
Did you run this ad through a spellchecker?
WHAT “equity?”
*
omarnyc
November 15th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
so if LANDMARK PROPERTIES doesnt close the deal
with the incentive of two weeks,
they still get FREE advertising and eyeballs to their site…
CASEY YOU GOT TAKEN FOR A RIDE…
VULTURES COME OUT WHEN YOUR FACING FORECLOSURE.
*
Rob P
November 15th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
OK, Landmark Properties conveniently forgets the second mortgage here entirely. What is “owed”, even on the first, is not $248K, and I bet there’s no written commitment from either lender to take less than the face amount of the loan (talk being cheap). Also, if there were in fact equity left over after the two loans were taken care of, the house would logically command a higher price. Plus, the comps are eons old in this market and completely outdated. I wonder what current comps, if any exist, would show.
What else, WAIT A MINUTE? Other than that Landmark Properties is a low rent :- ) operation. I don’t invest in real estate (I practice a profession that I’m good at, that makes me a substantial and consistent income year in and year out), but have become hooked on this site since the SF Chron article. Nothing, nothing seems to get through to Casey.
*
TAllison
November 16th, 2006 at 8:52 am
Rafer Hoxworth wrote:
*Anybody Google this guy? Go to Google Groups and put his name in. The second reference is a pyramid scheme with a thread started by “AlekseySerin” (Hmmmm), and name #5 on the list of who to send money to is [drum roll please] Casey Serin of Pheonix Ave Fair Oaks CA (a suburb in the Sac area).
Granted it was posted in 1997, but maybe some things never change?*
Forgive my math, but if that was 9 years ago, then Casey was all of 15 years old. Are you sure you’ve got the dates right? Or is Casey significantly older than 24?
*
aaron
November 16th, 2006 at 11:56 am
casey started his con business at a very young age. he even admitted to doing this at 14. sad….very sad.
*
Fraud
November 24th, 2006 at 11:08 am
What happen to the last buyer of this house?
Did they google this house and found out what a POS it was and all the FRAUD you committed and backed out?
What excuse did the buyer give to you?
*
Bill Jones
December 24th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
We help stop or avoid foreclosure call 916-925-HELP or visit www.avoid-foreclosure.org
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment