Saturday, July 28, 2007

Overwhelmed by Despair and Pressure

This is one of those days… I woke up feeling overwhelmed by this intense pressure. I feel despair and helplessness. I’m normally pretty optimistic (sometimes overly). But today just I’m down… I feel like the odds are against me. I want to give up.

Despair

Pressure

Overconfidence

Here are 6 reasons why I’m feeling depressed.

111 Comments

  • Dude - sometimes?

    Don’t give up entirely, just get back on the feet of a normal working person, neh? Get a proper, if ‘bottom feeding’ job, and then start from there sorting your life out. Sort your huge huge debt out before you even THINK of starting up that idea again, and when/if you do start it up again, make sure you have savings to fall back on (not spend in case) if something goes wrong.

    Being ‘overly optimistic’ has cost you a lot of money, integrity and undoubtedly caused stress to friends and family, and yourself. You’re extremely lucky you havan’t gone to jail previous to this point.

    Just get on with it.

  • 2. Take Some Responsibilty
    October 18th, 2006 at 5:58 pm

    Go ahead. Give up. Declare BK. You tried to rob the system, time the market, and get money for nothing. It bit you in the a** .

    Now retrench, get to work, and start “producing” instead of adding to the misery of our debtor nation.

    First ounce of respect I have for you : you are a fan of Demotivators. Nice one.

  • I have been a full time real estate investor since 1990, the year I permanently shed the shackles of wage-slavery. It can be done. It wasn’t easy, however.

    The question is do you have what it takes to make it work for you? Only a very small percentage of people have what it takes to succeed. Most won’t even try, content to be life long wage slaves. Most who try won’t succeed. Do you have the requisite intellect, streetsmarts, and motivation to succeed? So far we have seen no sign of it. So show us what you can do! I would love to read about how you proved the naysayers wrong and got rich.

    Here is a hint. I have seven figures in cash right now, but I own ZERO residential real estate in CA. I even sold my home in 2004 to lock in my gains before the obviously imminent crash. I wish the markets always gave such blatantly obvious sell signals.

  • Everyone goes through some bad times and everyone makes mistakes. Don’t give up on yourself.

    In a few years, you’ll look back at this time in your life and hopefully, have learned from your mistakes.

  • maybe you should consider turning the properties back to the banks, then go the bankruptcy route. with the reforms you probably need to do that before getting a good job or you could be on the hook. you were very foolish jumping in at the top as housing had to peak with the double digit gains, but then I think the banks do have some responsability for giving you these loans in the first place. they obviously did not check up on the info in your applications! my sister lucked out and sold summer 05, for a cool 200k profit in 2 years! but, it was just luck! and, timing housing is like timing stock trades!

  • Banks understand that there is an oversupply of housing.

    They don’t want your houses. They’ll let you remain in default for alot onger than in the past.

    OR …

    They won’t want to catch a falling knife, so they’ll foreclose and auction them ASAP.

    Who knows?

  • What a wussy. Try this:

    http://sacramento.craigslist.org/

    Go to Jobs look for something that fit your skill and send your resume.

  • Success is only a couple steps past the point where everyone else would give up.. You have gotten a couple properties sold while everyone said you couldn’t do it… So don’t start being a whinny baby now, get up and get back to it.

  • No way man u friggen got me down now. We all know how it ends anyways but this despair is bad news. Hey you go broke, foreclose, and then come back in 7-10 years with a fresh start and a fresh new housing bubble. Don’t sweat this small (large I mean) problem. Just dump the houses and tell the lenders where to stick it if they don’t want to short the houses where the market is. Get a pen and paper then list ur options. I think there is only 3 so don’t get all uptight.

    Sell short
    Foreclose
    Renter

    (shoot the broker)

  • How about instead of begging you go and make your own money like a big boy and take care of your expenses

    PS: do you have stairs in ur house LAWLZ

  • Flippers In Hell, LMAO!!!

  • Casey, READ THIS.

    Advertise your houses on Craigslist for ridiculously low rental rates (like 1/2 or less of what they’re “worth”). Be upfront with potential tenants about the coming foreclosure, and they will probably be OK with it because they’re getting such a good deal. Use the money to (1) EAT (2) PAY YOUR LAWYER and (3) make partial payments on the properties to stall foreclosure.

    Seriously, you DO have 5 houses. Most of us don’t. That’s a source of potential income you’re ignoring, for some reason. Get $500 for each house x5=$2500 a month instant income! It can’t hurt!

  • You are the sh*t mr casey serin,
    Don’t give up on me brother.You have done amazing work on your blog to this point. Look at youreslf, as an immigrant to the states you have done a lot more than other people have in their entire lives.

    My advice to you would be just try and get out of your situation and then start from scratch with your bird dogging. You made a major blunder by buying too many properties. You need to buy a fixer, fix it, sell it for a profit and gain some F*cking confidence. Trust me on this, gain confidence by takeing baby steps.You have what it takes to be sucessful in your life.You already have more knowledge about real estate then half the bozos out there. Hang in there my man and take it day by day.

  • It seems as if your financial life requires that for at least a certain time, someone else make the decisions.

    In essence, that’s what bankruptcy judges do (at least in chapter 11). They’re there to represent the interests of creditors, of course, but they’ll enforce the discipline that you need. They’ll tell you who gets paid what and when and take it out of your pay so you won’t be tempted to be your own worst enemy.

    They’re not there to be punitive, but to make sure the right decisions get made — not just right for you, but for everyone involved given the circumstances. In some ways, it’s a lot like when old people need someone else (as in power of attorney) to make decisions.

    Of course the presumption here is that you’ll work on learning how to make decisions for yourself. After all, you don’t want to be in receivership for the rest of your life.

    Then it’s out of your hands and you can move on with your life already.

    Sure it won’t be pleasant, but it probably wouldn’t be sheer hell. And it won’t be permanent. And once you make your decisions, you’ll probably feel better.

    Your situation may be too grave for credit counseling, but you might look into it. I know nothing about it except that it does affect your credit, and some are plain rip offs, so tread carefully.

  • You should probably give up.

  • What do you feel overwhelmed by, why do you feel down, what have you learned so far?

    You will be very lucky not to spend time in jail and very very lucky not to be single again soon. You will be in a great amount of debt, and - rather than working to become rich - you will be working and ’saving’ toward a goal of having $0 net worth. At that point you can pat yourself on the back and start all over again.

    There are some good and entertaining books of first-hand accounts of financial delusions. I’d recommend Dot.bomb, by David Kuo - back in the news for his Bush / religion book. This is a project that you will be able to work on in jail, so if I were you I’d keep the all the paperwork you have so that you can plot things out and give good accounts of what happened at the seminars you went to and so on.

    If jail is looming, this may be the most productive way to spend your time inside. The writing process may be genuinely ‘healing’, and you will certainly learn a lot about yourself, and it may even translate into a book contract.

    More updates, please.

  • I had some relative who declared bankruptcy and even went to jail for it but hey this person came back stronger and more optimistic than ever! It is all about the attitude man! So even if you did have to go for the worst case scenario there is still life after that; you have a lot of life ahead of you and you are not old, decrepit, diseased, weak or ugly so you should be ok. Just my .02.

  • Костя, это не ты. Ты всегда был оптемистик.
    Не падай духом. Все будет нормально. Время возьмет.Бывает и хуже.

  • Realizing that foreclosures and possible jail time are drawing closer is a b*tch ain’t it?

    You got a lot of good free advice thru your blog, but like your real estate deals..you pissed it away. Why don’t you do something pro active and productive and actually start working on the problem in front of you instead of hoping for that magical lottery ticket that is going to instantly get you out of this mess.

  • I second Ross Pruden’s advise to make this blog anonymous.
    From the creator of WordPress’s blog:
    http://photomatt.net/2006/10/1.....-blogging/

  • @ blitz: renting out the houses with full disclosure might be a good idea… the problem is that if people know that I’m in trouble they can simply move in and never pay any rent and then mess up the house. I will be worse off because now the property will be worth even less!

  • @ blitz: plus I don’t have the time or the money right now to advertise and manage renting out 5 properties across 3 states. And what happens when they call me in the middle of the night saying their toilet is clogged? Management headaches is the last thing I need right now.

  • A lot of very successful people have declare B.K. You can get back on your feet.

    Name Known for
    Benedict Arnold Betrayed colonists to British
    John James Audubon Illustrated Birds of America
    P. T. Barnum Circus showman
    John Barrymore Romeo and Juliet
    Kim Basinger Prostitute in L.A. Confidential
    Barbara Bel Geddes Miss Ellie on Dallas
    Melvin Belli The King of Torts
    Bunny Berigan Jazz trumpeter great
    George Best Manchester United
    John Wayne Bobbitt Penectomy survivor
    Peter Bogdanovich The Last Picture Show
    Edwin Booth Renowned 19th century American actor
    Bjorn Borg Pro tennis player
    Lorraine Bracco Goodfellas, The Sopranos
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    Toni Braxton Un-Break My Heart
    Louise Brooks Pandora’s Box
    Sylvia Browne Afraid to accept Randi’s $1 million challenge
    Lenny Bruce Multiply obscene comic
    Anita Bryant Anti-homosexuality activist
    Buffalo Bill Wild West showman
    Gary Burghoff Radar O’Reilly in M*A*S*H
    Crazy Cabbie Part of the Howard Stern menagerie
    Tia Carrere Wayne’s World
    Nell Carter Housekeeper on Gimme A Break
    Raymond Carver Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?
    Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote
    Bill Ceverha Lobbyist, GOP activist
    George Clinton Funkadelic
    Gary Coleman Arnold Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes
    Francis Ford Coppola Directed The Godfather
    David Crosby Crosby, Stills, and Nash
    Aleister Crowley Wickedest man in the world
    Charles Cullen Claimed to have killed 30-40 patients
    Vic Damone Singer of ballads
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    Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe
    John DeLorean Automobile designer and entepreneur
    Walt Disney Founder of Disney empire
    Henry Dunant Red Cross founder
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    Mick Fleetwood Fleetwood Mac
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    Redd Foxx Foul-mouthed comedian from Sanford and Son
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    Zsa Zsa Gabor Cop-slapping Gabor sister
    Leif Garrett 1970s teen idol
    Marvin Gaye Singer shot and killed by his father
    Wally George Abusive conservative spectacle
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    Gary Glitter Rock and Roll Part 2
    Bernhard Goetz Subway vigilante
    Charles Goodyear Invented rubber vulcanization process
    Ulysses S. Grant Eighteenth President of the United States
    Johannes Gutenberg Inventor of movable type
    Tony Gwynn Batted .394 in 1994 for the Padres
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    MC Hammer Can’t touch this
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    E. Howard Hunt Coordinated Watergate break-in
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    Buster Keaton The General
    Bernard Kerik NYC Police Commissioner, 2000-01
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    Larry King CNN’s Larry King Live
    Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad, Poor Dad
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    Anton LaVey Founder, Church of Satan
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    Jerry Lee Lewis Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!
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    Horace Liveright Publisher of the Modern Library series
    Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell, Bob in Fight Club
    Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Member of TLC
    Henry Mayhew Punch
    William McKinley 25th US President, 1897-1901
    Tom Metzger White supremacist
    Marvin Mitchelson Celebrity divorce lawyer
    Robert Morris Financed the Revolutionary War
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    Willie Nelson The red-headed stranger
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    Harry Nilsson Me and My Arrow
    F. Donald Nixon Nixon’s brother, got $205K from Hughes
    Emperor Norton Emperor of the United States, Protector of Mexico
    Ted Nugent Rock star, bowhunting enthusiast
    Kate O’Brien The Land of Spices
    Thomas Paine Common Sense
    Johnny Paycheck Take This Job and Shove It
    Tom Petty Don’t Come Around Here No More
    Philip II King of Spain, 1556-98
    Bud Post Unhappy lottery millionaire
    Susan Powter Stop the Insanity! fitness guru
    Randy Quaid Parents
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    Rembrandt Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
    Tommy Rettig Jeff Miller in Lassie
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    Billy Sims Detroit Lions RB
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    Anna Nicole Smith Addled golddigger
    Dee Snider Frontman for Twisted Sister
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    Sheryl Swoopes Three-time WNBA MVP
    Fife Symington Governor of Arizona 1991-97
    Lawrence Taylor NFL hall of famer
    Randall Terry Operation Rescue founder
    Nikola Tesla Invented alternating current
    Donald Trump The Donald
    Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn
    Mike Tyson Crazy tattooed lispy boxer, recidivist
    Johnny Unitas The Golden Arm
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    Carol Wayne Art Fern’s Tea-Time Movie Lady
    John Whitehead Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now
    Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
    James Wilson U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1789-98
    Tammy Wynette Stand By Your Man
    Florenz Ziegfeld The Ziegfeld Follies

  • Leave the U.S. for a 10 years and invest in anoth housing bubble, then come back a new man (with a new name)

  • 1) Offer fell through? That’s probably a blessing. And besides, anyone who wants to buy low and sell high HAS to expect that most offers will be rejected or countered. If most of your offers are accepted, you’re probably bidding too much.

    2) Your “rich dad” is not a mentor. A real mentor would say, “Casey, I see some real potential here. Why don’t you get a full time job and then feel free to call or come by anytime and I’ll explain the investments I’m making, why I’m making them, how I’m financing them, and my exit strategy. I’ll suggest some books for you to read and make sure you understand the principles of investing, marketing, financing, etc. Then, when I think you’re ready, I’ll coach you through your own deal.” But your “rich dad” is PREVENTING you from getting a job which is REALLY in your best interest. Why would he do this? He wants you to bring him deals. That’s understandable. It’s in his self interest to do so. But it’s not in yours.

  • Don’t get down, get a job. Don’t listen to these fools telling you to keep jump off the cliff and worry about finding a parachute on the way down.

    There is always opportunity. It will be there in a few years when you dig yourself out. However, if you keep digging yourself in deeper there will be no way you can recover.

    Declare BK and let the banks foreclose. No short sale, no 1099, no taxes. You may get stuck with being liable for whatever the banks cannot recoup from selling the homes, and you may well end up having to pay that debt back. Those payments will all get figured into your BK, however, and it is highly unlikely you would go to jail as long as you are making a good faith effort to repay the debt.

    Just get it over with and get on with your life. You are young and there will be many opportunities to come in the years ahead. Apply your creativity to a real job and you will advance quickly.

    That 3% per year crap is for losers that just make an appearance in the office every day from 9-5 and don’t go the extra mile. Up until I was earning $120K/year the smallest raise i ever got was 10%. My income from my full time “loser” job was $210K in 2005 and will net out to $320K in 2006. I am expecting to do $400K in 2007.

    In the last 5 years of my professional “loser” career I have made over $1.5M in salary and bonuses. Not too bad for a guy with no college degree who started out digging ditches for $7/hr in 1983.

    I can guarantee you that not many “flippers” see that kind of dough, and my income is reliable and steady.

    You can have that too Casey, just take that creative mind of yours and put it to work for you. Get a job, shine hard in what you do and the rewards will come. If your employer doesn’t recognize it then go find another job that pays better.

  • Collect cash up front. You’ll have your pick of a wide variety of tenants since you’re underpricing so much. Just go out and look inside their cars to see if they’re clean people or pigs. If they’re renting the house for $500 instead of $2500 they can (and will) unclog their own toilet! But seriously I know what you mean. You should at least rent the California properties for now. If I were in Dallas instead of Houston I could get a good tenant for you. In my own experience I’ve never spent a penny on rental advertising - craigslist, signs on the houses, newsgroups, etc.

    As for the car you need, I have experience there too, having “flipped” over 20 cars profitably in years past. Try these:

    http://sacramento.craigslist.o.....74295.html
    http://sacramento.craigslist.o.....94552.html
    http://sacramento.craigslist.o.....78156.html
    http://sacramento.craigslist.o.....45509.html

    Decent reliable cars, cheap enough that no one’s going to try and have them seized from you. Start thinking in “survival mode”… it’s useful even when things are going your way.

  • Hello Casey.

    I feel your pain from a certain point of view. I know what it is like to feel depressed and a sense of despair from external events that you can’t control. I have an entire life history of odd circumstances that kicked my a** when I least expected. Some were my fault, most were just “hard knocks” as they say.

    I have read what others have posted and I must concur that your approach to your real estate investment opportunities is more like gambling than investing, as it employs the same psychology.

    I think it is important at this point not to be in denial about your situation and at the very least be honest and introspective so that you may never repeat the same mistakes again.

    Unfortunately, even though you’ve worn your heart on your sleeve and had the desire to tell the truth on a blog as an outlet for both guilt, fear and remorse, you’ve unfortunately admitted that you falsely and fraudulently filled out mortgage applications. Now that major news outlets have picked up on your plight, the odds that you will be made an example of are exponentially compounded.

    People warned you that you should take down your blog and not take the risk. For whatever reason, due to pride or naivety, you did not follow the advice of others. Thus, I feel that you should contact a lawyer and be upfront about your situation and see what your options are.

    If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t be worried about bankruptcy or financial ruin. I’d be more concerned about spending five years in jail.

    But I do wish you good luck.

  • Another comment:

    I have dual-citizenship. If I were in your situation, where bankruptcy may not be an option, taxes might be owed on short sales, possible jailtime, etc, I would GET THE F*** out of the country.

    I would head to Canada faster than Chris Hansen from dateline NBC could catch another child predator.

    From Canada I’d probably go to Europe and clean s*** off of toilets if that what was needed to stay there.

    Hell, I might even go to Bulgaria or Romana and clean up sheep sh*t for a roof over my head.

    And I am not being facetious here. If the walls start closing in, just get out.

  • You dingleberry, three BK attorneys in three days? Its only going to take one BK attorney before you realize that
    the big BK is not going to be an option, no flipping way. You are required by the new BK law to go through at least a few months (six?) of credit counseling before you can even file BK! All its going to take is one of the creditors crying foul about your fraudulent loan applications and the BK trustee and or judge is going to sniff your BS out like a barn cat chasing rats. At best they would simply dismiss your case without discharging your debts and at worst they would walk your file over to their state and federal prosecutor buddies. So by then you’re out the federal BK filing fees, any attorneys fees, whatever you have to pay for credit counseling and all you’ve done is gained a BK on your credit report, the right to always have to check the ‘yes’ box on applications that ask “have you ever filed BK?”, and you’ve lost the ability to file for BK again for the next six months to a year (without special approval from the court.)

    Anybody who points to “great” people who have once in their past had to declare BK — not a single one of those folks went through a bankruptcy under the new bankruptcy laws. (Guess who wrote the new law? Right - MBNA, Chase, Citi, etc etc etc)

    You need to stay as far away from courthouses as possible.

  • 31. Voice of Reason
    October 19th, 2006 at 2:53 am

    You need to cry just a little bit more. You got yourself into a situation that you knew nothing about and (gasp) failed. You were a fool and you got a fool’s reward.

    Deal with the consequences of your actions yourself, instead of throwing the puppy-dog eyes to anyone who’s willing to feel sorry for you and begging them for favors.

  • you paid back your ‘friend’ with a 10% interest even though you have negative money yourself.

    1. you are handing out a nice present that isn’t yours. you are hunderds of thousands of dollars down, and you give your friend an extra 10%? if your banks found out…. they wouldn’t be too happy! like you can give him some extra money, but you arent going to pay them back? that’s insane.

    2. I don’t think you really wanted to give your ‘friend’ a present. I think he’s a loanshark that will rip your kidney out and sell it if you don’t give him his money + nice interest back.

    good luck getting out of this hole. stop digging ffs

  • You’ll be fine. I’ve been reading your posts for a while and while It makes me nervous to think of all that debt and uncertainty, your attitude is so unfailingly optimistic and pro-active on most days I don’t see how you’ll fail in the end. It will all work out somehow, never surrender - that’s how people want the story to end, go ahead and prove them wrong.

  • I don’t like where this script is going. Let’s move into
    another direction.

    Casey, there is NO reason for you to be depressed when you still have so many other options that you haven’t explored. This is not the end of the road for you.

    You still have $1900 from the $3000 you borrowed from your loan-shark friend. (10% APR ha?). Now get down to the gun shop and purchase a decent piece. That’s the kind of tool you need to solve your problems. It’s what you need to generate positive cashflow (such as in rob a bank) and own a vehicle with “You guessed It” 0% down (such as in a car-jacking) and get protection from the cops picking you up and trowing your arse into the slammer (such as in taking hostages). Imagine the cashflow you could generate by kidnapping the son or daughter of a rich man. They’d easily fork over 2 million bucks and you would be scott free. It is time to exchange white collar for true blue - grow up and act like the man you are.

    Now take that ball and run withit!

  • “6) No response from NYC buyer on Dallas. For those wondering.. the Dallas property realtor did receive the $650 I sent him and he did cancel the listing. So the NYC buyer is supposed be closing by now but I’m not getting any response from him. I wonder if it’s still happening. I will have to try to bug him again tomorrow. I’m counting on a little bit of money from the Dallas closing to keep going. ”

    Perhaps he read your blog. I don’t think anyone would want their name tied into any negotiating or dealing with you.

    You’ve surpassed the hot potato stage.

  • Hey Casey:

    Don’t despair… Think of all those little old ladies who’s money was invested in the bond market. You’ve managed to steal hundreds of thousands of their dollars and spent in on vacations to Hawaii! U the Man Casey… Well, at least for now. In prison it will be, “U the B*tch, Casy”.

    By the way, this company is in a rapidly growing industry. The hunt down theves who steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and make sure the Feds lock said crooks up for decades!

    Enjoy your cell, thief:

    http://mortgagefraud.com/career.html

  • Casey, just give up and leave the country. People like you are one of the biggest reasons the U.S. is so screwed up right now. Greed and no sense of personal responsibility. Just get the hell out while you can. I don’t want you soaking up more of our money while you’re sitting in prison.

  • Hi Casey
    Best wishes to yu dude. You have blogged of the way you made some cash from “finders fees” & “assignment”. Could you please give more detail on this devise and other devices that you found to make money in RE? Am learning much from yu. Thanks bud.

  • good luck with everything! just remember, that money is money, give to cesear what is cesear’s…

  • I did much the same thing you did, I took a no-income, no-asset loan while unemployed (I had really good credit) and bought a house in Glendale, AZ for $92,000 in august 2002.

    I recently sold that house this July for $210,000.

    I now live in an apartment in Scottsdale, AZ (A much better part of town) with my girlfriend and live off the interest of that sale. I do not need to “work”. (Of course my level of living is much lower than i’m sure most of your readers desire, but my computers are top of the line and I eat shrimp cocktails quite often).

    I had the chance to buy the house next door to mine in 2004 for $110,000, but it would have been at a much higher interest rate, and I could have barely afforded to have made the payments. I decided not to do it.

    I managed to sell my single house at just the right time before the local market dropped too far. And I didn’t have to try and get rid of two homes.

    The difference between me and others? I didn’t get greedy. People want something for nothing and they want it now so they take insane risks and often it bites them in the butt.

  • Casey,

    I’m amazed how many people are ready to cast stones. Keep your head up. You were clearly naive going in. Keep fighting.

  • I think Churchill summed it up best:
    “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
    Congratulations, you are now at the state where real growth takes place. Save your post for a few years so you can look back on it in a few years. What you need to learn from this experience is that your optimism must be tempered with wisdom else you’ll just find yourself in a new mess when things don’t go exactly as planned. This has and will be a costly lesson so do you best to learn from it and use the down time to do two things, build capital for the next run and learn wisdom.

  • Casey,

    A family member bought a condo in Boston in 1989. Talk about bad timing. When she had to move out of state a few years later, it was worth less than half of what she owed on it (she had put 3% down and financed 97%). After consideration, she (i) stopped paying mortgage and HOA fees, and (ii) found a tenant and rented it about $100 below market ~ $700/mo.
    Whenever somthing would break, she gave the tenant a rent credit to fix it himself. It turns out the bank that made the loan had made a lot of other similar loans, went belly up and was taken over by the FDIC. It took about 3 years before the FDIC foreclosed on the loan, by which time she had recovered about triple her downpayment in the form of rent. She was able to get the account completely wiped from her credit report as the FDIC could not come up with any documentation that she owed it; (FDIC was inundated with failed banks and foreclosures and probably had higher priorities). No 1099 or deficiency judgment or anything like that either.

    I suggest you consider that the Mother of all Housing Crashes is about to begin, and your lenders like Countrywide have made millions of similar loans to guys like you, and will thus probably be insolvent within a few years. This could work to your advantage.

    Just get your houses rented to generate some cash. Find a cheap used American sedan (Chev Cavalier, Ford Taurus) as these cars tend to be in over supply. Pay cash for it, do not borrow money to buy it, and do not pay more than 80% of blue book wholesale. It will be good practice for you.

  • 44. Pretty Vacant
    October 19th, 2006 at 10:01 am

    Snippet of conversation overheard this morning on way to work:

    “I told him to quit drinking mouthwash and get a job. And he was totally pissed.”

    Quit drinking mouthwash and get a job!

  • “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

    President Teddy Roosevelt

    Keep your head up Casey!

  • Casey,

    I know it must seem hard to be where you are at. But if you are looking for something to be proud about you have MANY people paying attention to you. You can’t buy this type of publicity. From the way your site is setup, the marketing in your real estate, and the ability to continue to press on you do have some persistence. In addition, you’ve been featured in the SF Gate and today you’ve made it national with NPR:

    http://www.npr.org/templates/s.....Id=6326038

    I doubt many people get pleasure from kicking someone when they are down. But look at it this way, you do have some real world real estate expertise. You’ve been able to buy multiple homes in one year. If you are able to learn real estate valuations methods, you will excel in the future.

    This does not negate the fact that your lesson will be a tough one. But anyone that has achieved success has been in your spot. It is easier to cast stones and put people down than to look in the mirror and realizes your place in life. The difficulty is not looking at reality but having to change if you are not satisfied with your condition. And if you are wondering why some people are so vicious, you need only look at the German concept of Schadenfreude. Try not to listen to them. Some people dwell in the misery of others to hide the fact that they are not living up to their own potential. In addition, you can provide valuable advice to others thinking about pursuing real estate via your methods and be a cautionary tale.

    Initially wasn’t your goal to be a whistleblower on the mortgage and real estate industry? It takes two to tango and I’m hoping when this blows over there will be shared blame. Good luck.

  • 47. Reality Bites
    October 19th, 2006 at 10:11 am

    Dude

    Hate to tell you this, but real estate goes up AND down. You got in on the tail-end of the boom. Tough, but that’s how it goes.

    Suck it up, be a man, take your lumps, and get a real job. Invest carefully and wisely, and in 20 years you too will be a millionaire.

  • Boo hoo hoo… wah wah… call a wah-mbulance.

    You not only stumbled over a stone,

    you stumbled over it again, and again and again,

    and now you’re lining yourself it it’s path, goofily skipping along the way.

    Learn something you dunderhead! Oh my god, can you really be that OBTUSE????

    It’s unbelievable. I’m starting to think this is fake; because NOBODY can be this ridiculously hapless in his decisions… especially with all bad things looming over his head like the sword of damocles.

  • You’ll be fine. You are still young and have so many years ahead to get past this mess. Just be patient.

    Your mentor should have warned you about over-leveraging. Don’t let this stop you from investing in the future, just go very very very slowly next time, and let the wealth build slowly.

    Good luck, take a deep breath and have patience

  • On bankruptcy attorneys: Because many attorneys will provide an initial consultation at no charge, seeing more than one is actually a wise idea.

    Even wiser? See more than one tax advisor (if they’re willing to provide an initial consultation at no charge), so you can get the real lowdown on potential tax liabilities.

  • Jon
    October 19th, 2006 at 9:08 am Casey,

    I’m amazed how many people are ready to cast stones. Keep your head up. You were clearly naive going in. Keep fighting.

    You are right Jon, now since you seem to think Casey is so awesome and can pull it out if he keeps fighting, why dontcha lend him $1000 (last I heard he’ll pay you back 10% for about 10 days) to help keep him afloat.

    That quote by Nigel up above works both ways..there are ALSO people who want to STAY on the sidelines cheering and cheering, giving advice… but don’t actually want to get in the arena themselves.

  • I’m overwhelmed by jargon and narcissism.

  • Chin up, take a deep breath. Things are going to get a little bit ugly from here on in but you will live through it. I’m thinking they don’t call it being “forced” into foreclosure for nothing (I’m not speaking from experience here). No one takes foreclosure voluntarily — usually, the Sheriff comes knocking on your door, changes the locks and throws all your furniture out on the sidewalk in the rain (and maybe writes you a ticket for littering to top it off??). Merry Christmas!

    You’re in a sad state of affairs and there is apparently nothing you can do. You owe way too much on the houses to just fire-sale them, the bank won’t negotiate a reasonable short sale, you apparently don’t want to bother renting out your houses, even at below market rents (I once rented a house very cheap on a month-to-month lease ($1200/month in Pasadena) and had to do all the toilet unclogging and maintenance myself), etc. etc.

    Actually, I’d be depressed too if I was in your situation.

  • 54. San Diego Renter
    October 19th, 2006 at 11:26 am

    It’s been suggested before, but… if this blog is really all non-fiction, you need to get yourself evaluated for bipolar disorder, asap! All the entrepreneurial spirit in the world isn’t going to help if you keep getting sabotaged by your brain chemistry.

  • 55. Dickie@1600Penn aka DarthCheney or TheDrunkenHunter
    October 19th, 2006 at 11:30 am

    You are screwed - you are a dumba** - being reading to many Trump books & watching too many 80’s Wall Street “greed is good” movies.

    Listen, boy -We rich people are rich because either our ancestors or we work at it. And we do everything possible to keep the field uneven, wait till you try to go thru bankruptcy now - you’ll see what I mean. You forgot that “Hairdo Trump” started his real estate gigs oohh with a $20 - 30 million trust fund from his Pa, who made his money the old fashion way by building working class real estate in conjunction with the mob.

    Now, you have a few choices - The French Foreign Legion and eat frog legs… or come to help Uncle Sam and do some work in our Iraq experiment, or work for one of my old businesses - Halliburton.

    But either way you have to realize, that in the history of the world peons like you -if they want to make it - got to risk their hinnie - and the odds are that they would lose it….

  • Dude, you’re a dumba**. ANY money coming in through renting will offset your costs, and even a part time job at In and Out pays nine bucks an hour. You can get more if you put any time in at a construction site.

    As for transportation, consider buying a motorcycle. You can get a used Ninja 250 for next to nothing on craigslist, and as long as it holds up long enough for you to do what you need to do, you’re good.

    Failing that, but some thousand-dollar econobox, and use the money to float your payments.

  • You may not want to go through the hassle of renting them and fixing toilets, but lease options are something to consider. Place a Rent To Own ad in the paper and your phone will ring off the hook. You can place the ad today and start taking calls tomorrow.

    Ask for 2% to 5% down. Set the rent just above your mortgage payment and sell them at the market sales price.

    It’s worth a shot before you declare BK.

    I’ve bought and sold over 150 homes in the past 6 years and have sold all of them Rent To Own. Granted I own a mortgage company as well to convert the lease options into mortgages.

    Russell
    Author of www.rent2ownsecretsexposed.com

  • Casey,

    Since you don’t listen to critical but right-on-the-money advice (or you just don’t believe it applies to you), I will offer you a few choice quotes. Your job: consider how they might apply to you and your situation.

    “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
    –Benjamin Franklin

    “When the shoe-shine guy gives you stock tips, it’s time to get out.”
    –Joseph Kennedy (just prior to 1929 stock market crash)

    “It’s only when the tide goes out that you can see who’s been swimming naked.”
    –Warren Buffett

    “History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low-risk premiums.”
    (and)
    “newly abundant liquidity can readily disappear.”
    –Alan Greenspan (with irony)

  • This is what I’m taking for my perpetual divorce - lorazepam. It’s like two quick shots of cheap whiskey.

  • 60. Just Do Your Knocks
    October 19th, 2006 at 1:00 pm

    Dude, just do you knocks. Talk to the bankruptcy folks, get a job, eventually you might be in trouble, but you’ll be over it, and ready to start.

    I speak from experience. In my misspent youth I got arrested for vandalism and vehicle tampering because I fell in with the wrong crowd.

    I asked the probation officer when I first got arrested what I should do, and he looked really surprised and said, “Do your knocks.” He said most people who get into trouble are in denial or try to put up a big attitude, but he said just accept it and move on.

    It was great advice. Given your age and inexperience they’ll go easy on you, and then when you’re through it you’ll be older and wiser.

    Just don’t worry about it. You could even write a book and maybe make some money.

  • HA HA HA
    you GREEDY bastard … this is the funniest story I have heard on the web in awhile .. you get what you deserve.

  • “Did you actually lie on your liars’ loans? No-doc loans are often made on the borrower’s statements of “expected” income. Didn’t you expect to realize significant profit on your other homes when signing the mortgages?”

    Man if that’s all it takes can I put down 100 million expected income for when I win the powerball? I mean I can see if this guy had a history of doing this profitably he can state an income but sheesh.

  • Hey Irv,

    Chill out. Give me the guy a break. He needs some advice.

  • Re: prosecution

    A formal complaint from the bank does NOT need to happen before a state or federal prosecutor or FBI office looks into Casey and Gi1an’s case. Especially in this situation where (one of) the perps has ADMITTED various crimes in a public forum.

    Investigators will split Casey and Gi1an’s cases up and get Gi1an to flip against Casey. Casey will be assigned some overloaded and disinterested public defender, face a huge pile of evidence against him, and will end up pleading to whatever they charge him with.

    CASEY IS GOING TO JAIL. MARK MY WORDS.

  • Casey Casey Casey

    I am but one of well over 100 earnest folks who have given you honest advice, none of which you have ever acknowledged let alone heed.

    You don’t even acknowledge that this entire fiasco is of your own doing. The only reason you don’t want to declare bankruptcy is because you know they will nail you for fraud on multiple counts.

    Just a few:

    - You committed fraud on ever mortgage you undertook where you declared your flips as primary residences.

    - You committed fraud in your hard money loan because you took cash-back without notifying your lender of a material change in equity; something you had full intention of doing *at the time you took on the initial debt*, as you have stated yourself in this forum.

    - You committed fraud when you attempted to promote an “owner financing” scheme which was little more than a wrap-around mortgage in clear violation of your lender’s terms.

    - You committed fraud when you undertook all this debt as an individual — because the banks thought you were Joe Homebuyer — even though you had every intention of running the entire operation as a business. This means you lied to the lender when they asked if the purchase was to be by a business or by an individual.

    - You are in the process of committing tax fraud in myriad ways, all of which I hope become painfully apparent to you soon.

    You see, first the banks will foreclose. Then you will get forced in bankruptcy. The lenders will pursue fraud criminally and civilly, in order to prevent you from being release of obligation upon judgement. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the IRS will send you a nondescript little letter informing you that you will be audited, collected upon for all undeclared income, penalized, and investigated for potential criminal tax evasion or tax fraud.

    It’ll be right about then, I suppose, when you are all alone with nothing left but your punishment, that you finally realize that crime is best left to professional criminals.

  • Well, you were warned repeatedly about the New York “buyer”. Hint: he’s just like your “rich dad”. He wants to lay all the costs and time on you, while still taking the majority chunk any income that might come your way.

  • The answer in life is always pressure and time (see the Shawshank Redemption movie).

    To apply pressure, you need to rent out your homes to get some cash to keep you going and keep trying to dump these properties. Keep actively marketing these homes in the most cheap, effective manner possible.

    Time is pretty much out of your control.

    I could see myself getting carried away with the temptation of easy money and getting myself into a similar situation. I thought about speculating in a condo conversion unit a year ago. But the prospect of losing a $1000.00 a month in the hopes of the property greatly appreciating didn’t make any sence. Therein lies the difference between investing and gambling.

  • I don’t think you’re being fully honest about the “friend” who loaned you $3K. You paid him $1,100 after 10-days on $1,000?? That’s OVER 360% interest annualized!! (I don’t have my financial calculator handy).

    There’s more to this story, I’m sure ….. (1) Russian mafia? (2) loan shark @ 10%/WEEK?, (3) don’t understand how to calculate a week’s worth of annualized interest? (4) just trying to churn comments for your book? (5) just making it up?

  • Your reasons for not renting out the properties you own are a little thin. ANY inflow of cash is better than no inflow. Rent them & get some money coming in while you still can.

  • Casey bought 6 houses, if he rented each of them
    for a $600/month loss he’d be losing $4K/month
    now that’s a lot of loss, but if you have ajob
    that pays $80K/year you would put all your money
    into covering the loss and not have credit card debt.

    Sure casey would be working like a dog, but he’d own 6
    houses, and be able to set up to manage his problem

  • You have to bottom out before you can rise again. This is what you need to do:

    1) Declare bankruptcy
    2) Move in with your parents
    3) Turn in all of your houses to the bank
    4) Figure out how much you owe the IRS
    5) Get a real job, pay back the IRS, save up money
    6) Get an apartment once you have enough money
    7) If you feel like getting into real estate again in a couple of years, be a little less brazen

  • 72. Cheopys Ghost
    October 19th, 2006 at 8:24 pm

    casey, i cant tell you anything about what you should do to get out of your trouble. iI can tell you one thing and one thing only. don’t listen to a thing sean-sisb tells you. save yourself.

  • When I faced these issues for nearly two straight years, I made a point to work out 90 minutes a day. Intense Bikram hot yoga. It enabled me to embrace the facts with no sense of despair, and gave me innovative and often perfect ideas almost every day I did it. It’s possible to see the path clearly every day only if I work out. Clarity and serenity is worth huge sums to you lately. I just started a new job ($57/hr, short-term, just a cute bike ride around the lake.) and I’m contemplating getting to Bikram every evening just so I can totally dominate and earn, yes, twice as much in pay as everyone else in the office. Then I go home. Well million-dollar ideas take sweat. All aspects of your wellness and clarity should be a serious part of your daily focus and decision-making.

  • A few months ago I seen this 22 year old who owned part of a club, had several nice cars, and was clearly very wealthy. Being older, I was a bit jealous that if this kid could make it why couldn’t I? Well today that kid was busted in a major drug smuggling ring which he led. He was making upwards of $150,000/month. He now faces up to 100 years in prison. He’ll likely get a long term because the FBI is referring to it as organized crime and racketeering.

    See http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4519031

    Be thankful you aren’t facing prison. Yes you lied on your loans, but it’s a common thing. You’ll find a way out of this mess if you just keep trying.

  • Casey -

    You could always sell pictures of yourself in your underwear on ebay or some other service. If I had your looks I’d turn myself into a regular Jeff Gannon and try to make $1000 an hour.

    Imagine the media’s reaction if you make a serious attempt at selling the silhouette of your buttcheeks in a hot shower. You could press your a** up against the shower door and that pic alone can probably be sold for several dollars a pop.

    I am not gay.

    ps: if you post this, I promise to click on your ad links several times a day for the duration of this site.

  • Casey - I submitted your link to the drudgereport and wrote Matt the reasons why he should include you as a news item.

    Once in a great while, some of the information I have sent Matt has in fact been posted.

    If you get posted on Drudge I guarantee your issues will become known worldwide.

    I think you should be more like Gene Simmons at this point. We should start talking about Casey Serin dolls, Casey Serin books, condoms, wallets, electric guitars, movie deals, commerical voice-overs, beer, and breakfast cereal.

    I am not joking.

    Well, I am kind of joking.

  • Just testing if this nifty web thingy made-by-Casey is still buggy.

    Casey, you are officially screwed. No way out but prozac or a bullet. Choose your poison.

  • 78. casey can't rent his houses
    October 20th, 2006 at 10:04 am

    He isn’t smart enough to take that advice. He simply figured on buying and selling these houses without putting any work into them at all as he thought their values would continue to climb at 12% or something ridiculous.

    Renting houses means actually putting time and effort into making them rentable. Obviously, this kid has neither the ability nor interest in that putting that kind of sweat-equity to work.

  • http://www.realmeme.com/roller.....pplemental

  • While you’re waiting for your book deal, condom, silhouette, cigar, etc to sell, try this yet:

    http://sacramento.craigslist.org/

    Go to Jobs look for something that fit your skill and send your resume. And while you’re waiting for response, get a pizza delivery job or any job.

    Pizza delivery or any job will add more drama to your story. I guaranty your story will sell to the judge, or any audience if it has pizza flavor in it.

    Try it. You may feel a little happier.

  • “Renting houses means actually putting time and effort into making them rentable. Obviously, this kid has neither the ability nor interest in that putting that kind of sweat-equity to work.”

    That, and the fact that rentals need to be managed quite a bit (e.g. toilet backing up and overflowing at 2am). To do that, either the owner needs to be close enough to respond within a reasonable period of time or hire someone who can do the same. If all five of his properties were in Sacramento, this would be perfectly reasonable advice.

  • Something is not right here. I offered to look at the Modesto house this next week and you don’t even get back to me? Don’t you want out of your mess? Or is this some elaborate hoax? The more I read on this site the more I realize how easy it would be to invent all this…but to what end? Building a successful website? Possibly. Scamming sympathetic people? Possibly. Attention?

    Something is not right here.

  • Casey,

    God will make a way for you, somehow.

  • Casey, I gotta hand it to you, maybe what you did wasn’t too smart but it certainly took guts. It seems that most people that have replied to your appeal on this site have opted to give you advice. There sure is a lot of it being tossed about. I like the old adage, advice is worth what you pay for it. Any advice you have received and a dollar, these days, might get you a cup of coffee.
    I can’t agree that what you did by lying on your loan apps can be attributed to youthful naiveté. No sir, that was outright fraud. Yes, it is a crime, but it is also a white collar crime. If you do end up doing time, chances are you will come out of prison a better golfer. For some strange reason we don’t allow white collar criminals in this country to do “hard time”. Maybe that’s because the people that make the rules regarding these things are acutely aware of just how likely it is that they may someday have to do time themselves.
    I have also noticed just how little creativity has been expressed, seriously that is. You asked that people get creative with ideas on how you might be able to pull yourself out of this mess. Well, I think the reason for the dearth of valid ideas is that the hole that you have dug for yourself is so deep that escape is beyond the imagination of even the most creative among us. At this point I think it would take a miracle of some sort. As I don’t believe in miracles, I don’t suppose I can really help much.
    However, I did want to tell you something about myself. We have something in common. We are both investors in real estate. But I have never even attempted to buy any property with no money down. I can’t argue that the concept has a certain appeal. I suppose I was just never that confident in luck. And I think, by and large, that’s what it would take to make money this way. What I do is much different and something that thankfully I can make money at in almost any market. Instead I rely on the principle of buying low and selling high by investing in foreclosures. So, when your houses go to sale on the front steps of the courthouse, or wherever the sale will ultimately take place, someone very like myself will probably be there. You see, your folly will not be a complete loss, at least not for everyone. Even if the property is of no interest to a speculator at the sale it will eventually become an REO (Real Estate Owned) and could still offer an investor a possible gain.
    Foreclosure law differs from state to state. Here is a smidgen of advice I am risking; educate yourself on the laws in each of the states in which you own property. Some will allow the lender to go after you even after the sale by pursuing the deficiency in the event that the sale does not generate enough cash to satisfy the entire debt. Sometimes the lender sets the opening bid less than the amount owed in order to generate interest in the sale. Remember, they would rather not end up with the property. What happens at these foreclosure sales will ultimately determine how much you are finally “on the hook” for.
    I wish I could tell you that I admire your tolerance for risk, but I would be lying. Myself, I am extremely averse to risk, but I’m not patting myself on the back. It’s simply a difference in our core personalities. I get a kick out of all the people that think it takes risk to achieve the American Dream. This might be true to some extent, but I believe the only kind of risk that reliably leads to success is the calculated kind. The situation you’ve gotten yourself into is a prime example of what happens when you take the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of risk. I don’t know if any of this helps but I felt compelled to say something….

  • You know there is a simple way to end all of this despair. Go to your local pawn shop and buy a nice previously owned shotgun. Go to your local Wal-Mart and steal a box of shells that match the gun you just bought. Hey you steal from the banks, why not $5 for a box of shells. Anyways, go home and spread out all of your invoices and legal statements on the floor. Load one shell into the shotgun. Put the butt of the gun on the floor, wrap your lips around the muzzle and pull the trigger (push down technically, but you get the idea). I think the blood and brain matter on the financial statements could start some sort of new modern art.

  • 86. just thank God..
    October 27th, 2006 at 12:08 am

    hey Casey im real sorry for wat have happend dont really mind the negatives the only thing you could do right now is just pray to God ask Him for mercy…and someday…all of this will be like just a dream…ill pray for you…

  • I think it’s time to watch Nine and a Half Weeks again!

  • I recall the pain and sleeplessness of having 8-10 house payments totaling in the low 20’s per month. I lived for the next closing and cash infussion to cover those bad boys before the magic 30 day late.
    I worried about the 31st day and even wished that it would come to pass and the game would be over. The presure would subside then and its downhill from there. If I knew even 1 month in advance of the crash I could hold onto the 20K for a new start. Glad it never came.
    One thing that I learned from RDPD was that we as humans have the abillity to think things out and find solutions. Its like as in the books, working for free and still being able to cover the really need to be covered expenses. The solution is out there and its not 9-5 and trying to pay it back with a normal paycheck.
    I rented many empty houses at a loss and lowered the 20K nut to under 10K per month and that bought me the time to sell a couple and refi some more and finally I found the exit.
    It would have been ok to crash but I saw it through and learned alot. I still have a monthly loss of about 7K but I will soon refi that to a positive cashflow. Then a long and overdue vacation!

  • Rick.

    What do you do for a living?

  • Please call me ASAP I know I can help you www.5day.com you screwed it all up buddy!!
    George Cappony

  • Very eye opening as I have been wanting to get into flipping homes with my father……

    Hopefully someone who reads the blog can help me with some information on my situation….

    I’m trying to buy a home in GA while I live in FL. The problem I’m running into is I never had a mortgage in my name and the lenders I have checked with don’t want to lend me $$ for a home that is in another state which I will not be living in right away. Our plan was/is to buy a home in GA and sell our home in FL, take the equity from the FL sale (about $20k) and make the move to the home in GA. Once moved we’d find employment which shouldn’t be a problem as we are both very diverse with our work backgrounds. My credit is clean, I have a great work history with a fine income from my position as parts manager with a large central Florida car dealership. I’m only looking to buy a $80k home… The home I live in now is mortgaged by my fiance and I show on the deed.

    Any advice from the collective on a loan solution?

  • Casey,
    Don’t give up…. hang in there! I’m just now getting into real estate and what I’ve read about your misfortune has taught me a few things. It’s obvious you are incredibly intelligent and I know you’ll be back on top soon! Good luck and don’t give up!

    - Chris

  • CASEY!!
    Rent out those properties for 1/2 - 3/4 price and month-to-month!

    If a toilet plugs up, tell the tenant to fix it and send you the receipt with the amount deducted from their rent!

    With month-to-month, you only have to give tenants a 30 day notice to move and return the deposit within 21 days of move-out (in CA). Tell them you are in trouble with the mortgage or something, but don’t go intp great detail to avoid them trashing the properties.

    You can advertise rentals for FREE on Craigslist!!! They are in nearly every state! TRUST me! Just put your I am Facing Foreclosure Blog address on the ads for the rentals and they will know the deal.

    Get tenants!!! You NEED that income!! Don’t over-think the situation, just place the ads on Craigslist and keep the ads brief and add photos.

    Include a tagline: Buy this home with No Banks. Just $ (amt. you are backwards-forget the profit right now, you can try to negotiate when they are willing to buy, just get them to call & see the property!!) down and TAKE OVER PAYMENTS!

    Then you can structure the deals with you profiting when the tenant-buyer actually refi’s the property in their name- by giving a higher buy-out price. This is like a wrap-around-mortgage.

    JUST DO IT!! YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF (FINANCIALLY) AND AND SILENCE THE HATERS!

    THE RENTAL INCOME WILL TIDE YOU OVER. PERHAPS WITH TENANTS YOU CAN FILE BK AND GET SOME LENDERS TO WORK WITH YOU TO KEEP SOME OF THOSE PROPERTIES AS RENTALS???

    JUST DO IT! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND MONEY TO GAIN!

  • […] 10-18-06 Casey 2.2 million in debt is felling like giving in (Just shoot the broker man) […]

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