It’s now Saturday and I finished all the classes for the week. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the education in this Real Estate Investing College as compared to other investing gurus and seminars I’ve been to. I learned a lot of good / new stuff that will help me stop foreclosure, make money and hopefully avoid bankruptcy.
Even though the basic idea of a week-long intensive real estate investing “boot camp” is similar to other guys out there, the execution here is much better. Rather than just a “seminar” concept they truly are more like a “college” or “trade school”:
* Complete college-style real estate investing education from 100 level classes like “Understanding Mortgages” to 400 level classes like “Short Sales”
* Courses are taught by experienced full-time real estate investors. Not just some seminar promoters. These guys make all their money in real estate and teach you the stuff that really works “in the trenches”. Furthermore, every teacher provided us with their contact information for future support and mentorship. Definitely not a fly-by night operation.
* Many of the courses give you college credit and are approved by the American Council of Education. You can transfer the units to most other regular colleges. (This is definitely a first in the real estate investing education industry.)
* Each student follows a customized curriculum based on their level of knowledge and experience
* Each class starts with a pre-test to measure your knowledge level. The results are scored within minutes and the teacher knows which topics to emphasize
* Taking a post-test is required to pass the class. It also helps you see what you learned and provides valuable feedback to the college and teachers to improve future classes.
* Bonuses: 1) Every class can be repeated for free as often as you like for up to a year. 2) You can bring a partner for free. 3) You get all the classes on audio CDs for free. What real-world college or seminar company is going to let you do that?
There are also some additional benefits that you will not find in any other real estate investing seminar company:
* Cash Flowing Properties: All students have access to a private website with packaged real estate investments. The company has experts in different cash-flowing markets around the country. The experts find properties with positive cash flow, line-up tenants and secure financing. All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house. Ongoing management is included. That’s awesome for somebody who doesn’t have a lot of time and just wants to be a passive investor!
* Strong Community: There are local real estate investment communities throughout the country. Great for learning about the college, networking, sharing deals and helping each other succeed. There are also weekly mentorship calls to get help with deals. Additional student benefits include: in-house mortgage company, in-house credit-repair company, in-house accounting and legal firm.
* Marketing Income: Students who refer their friends and family to the college get 50% commission for spreading the word. That’s pretty generous. They call it a scholarship program - you earn while you learn. Also, the extra income is nice to help with real estate deals so you don’t have to do crazy “no-money-down” or “cash back at close” deals out of desperation like I did.
Great Value
Even with all these benefits, I was a little bit hesitant in going to this real estate investing college thinking, “Why do I need to go to another seminar? I already know all this stuff. How much better can this be?”
Now after completing the winter session, I’m convinced this is not just another “seminar”. The combination of college-style education, properties, community and marketing income is something very unique and costs just a fraction of what the other “gurus” charge.
The cost/value is much better than anything else out there and it’s not just one strategy or topic but rather a complete REI education from start to finish. I have spent something like $30,000 on real estate seminars before this college and have already seen a lot of stuff out there. Some stuff was good but a lot of it was “fluffy”. So I had high expections coming in.
This investing college has exceeded my expectations and if I was to start all over again I would save money and do this instead of all the other stuff out there.
Here are the courses I took this week and what I learned that will help me with my foreclosure situation:
Monday: Foreclosures
This was a fairly basic foreclosure class. I say “basic” because I already knew most of the stuff from my own foreclosure experience and past seminars. However, my friends who are new to real estate found this class to be very helpful. I did pickup a few good nuggets there and here that will help me with my own foreclosure and with buying forecloses in the future.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Short Sales
After getting a good review / overview of the entire foreclosures process on Monday this was a great class that just focused on short sales. A Short Sale is when the bank takes a discount on the mortgage to sell the house quickly and avoid having to go through foreclosure. This is a strategy we’re going to need in our current cooling market because of all the overleveraged and “upside down” properties (like mine).
I already knew a lot about short sales because I’m involved in a couple of them right now. However, I learned a lot of additional tips and techniques for getting the bank to approve a discounted sale, how to free up additional equity and how to sell the house quickly. It was a very detailed 2-day “meat-n-potatoes” class.
Thursday: Subject-To
Another great “meaty” class on buying houses “subject to” existing financing. This allows you to buy a house without using your own credit (good for me!). We were taught how to find motivated sellers, how to catch-up their loans and take over their payments.
Then we learned how to turn around and sell the house to a credit-challenged buyer via owner financing or on a lease option and make a profit on the spread. I am already using some of these creative selling techniques to sell my own houses. I picked up a few new “nuggets” and tips in the class that will help my stop my foreclosures and sell fast.
Friday: Wholesale
Wholesaling is the only true “No Money Down” technique. We were taught how to find motivated sellers, negotiate a low price and put the deal under contract. Then we were learned how to find rehabbers (fix ‘n flip investors) and cash buyers to buy the contract from us and close on the deal. I brushed up on this technique and learned several new ways to do wholesaling. This is something I want to focus on in 2007 to make some quick cash and get out of my financial trouble.
Saturday: IRA and Retirement Plan Investing
This was an amazing class! I have known before that I can do real estate deals through an IRA to get tax-free gains. However I always thought I will have to wait until I’m 60 years old before I can access that money. In this class I learned how to take money out of the tax-sheltered account at any time without penalties!
Another cool trick: getting check-book control over your retirement account via an en entity. Even better: putting together a group of investors and pooling multiple IRAs inside of an entity (like a LLC) then using the entity to take down a big real estate deal like an apartment complex or a land development project. All with tax-free / tax-deferred gains. Sweet!
Wow, what a week!
I can’t wait to come home and start planning how I can apply these strategies to my foreclosure situation.
Classes I want to take at the next investing college session(s):
* Building Your Team
* Establishing Your Business Vision
* Business Financial Management
* Understanding Mortgages
* Market Analysis
* Computer Property Analysis
* Negations for Real Estate
* Legal Strategies
* Tax Strategies
* Creative Financing
* Buy and Hold I and II / Landlording
* Managing Property Managers
* Fix and Flip
* Rehabbing
* Lease Options
* Multi-Family Dwellings
Exciting stuff!
“Mistakes Are Only Sins When Not Admitted” -Robert Kiyosaki
Listening to People In Foreclosure
145 Comments
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Graduation Day
December 16th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Sswwweeeeeetttt!!! I’m hoping you’re downtown Monday morning picking up your business license cause you are ready for 2007.
And oh, your definition of short sale is incorrect. A short sale is when the value of the house is less than the liens placed upon the house. Typically banks are involved in these transactions, but a seller can come to the closing table with the cash to close.
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HN
December 16th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
You need to attend some accredited college where hard works are measured by grades A, B, C, … not those lousy weekend real estate make rich quick courses which takes your money and give no grades because all students are as stupid as one another. Quality my ass.
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HungryBear
December 16th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
“Cash Flowing Properties: All students have access to a private website with packaged real estate investments. The company has experts in different cash-flowing markets around the country. The experts find properties with positive cash flow, line-up tenants and secure financing. All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house. Ongoing management is included. That’s awesome for somebody who doesn’t have a lot of time and just wants to be a passive investor!”
Wow, you must have felt truly priviledged, to have an opportunity like this handed to you on a plate! That alone is worth more than whatever they charge for this seminar. Do tell us. How many houses did you buy?
I hope you are kidding about $30K on seminars. Get a library card. Take out all the books on real estate for free. Or go to one of the Barnes & Noble’s with a coffee bar for an hour or two each day and read a book on RE while sitting in coffee bar and making notes, but don’t buy it and don’t buy any coffee either. It’s not like they will kick you out or anything. Be smart with your money.
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Less than zero
December 16th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
You’ll never make another penny from RE in your life.
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Frikkin Hilarious!!!
December 16th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
I can’t stop laughing… HOLY SH*T!!! I was getting bored with this blog, but I got my belly laugh for the day.
“We were taught how to find motivated sellers, ”
Tell me you’re now just giving us comedy to keep our interest. In your fu*ked up situation, you go to yet another a week-long seminar to find out how to find uhh … YOU? LOOK IN THE MIRROR MORON!!!
“ Some stuff was good but a lot of it was “fluffy”.
You mean like your brain?
You CANNOT be serious with this crap!!
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Dale D
December 16th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
Dale D here dog gone it. Hey yall what’s up I’m Dale D. Hey Casey I want to go do what your doing. If it’s working for you its gotta work for Dale D.
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Aelfscine
December 16th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
You do realize that $30,000 would have covered four years’s tuition at a good public university and most of your room and board, right? (or a master’s degree and all your expenses… you’d need even less than that if you got funding from the school) I’m sure you could have gotten a realtor’s license and had plenty left, too. Just think, you could have taken classes in accounting, business, finance, who knows?
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Grammar Teacher
December 16th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Yeah, real exciting…
From whom did you borrow the $ to go to this, and how/when are you going to pay them back?
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Grammar Teacher
December 16th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
Is there a class you can go to next week?
Going to class is such a very convenient rationalization for not dealing with your problems.
If you go to enough classes and post enough spam mail and old videos, perhaps your problems will just go away.
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Grammar Teacher
December 16th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
What’s up with the Utah house?
How’s the wife doing?
Did you get the $50K loan?
Is Chris going to extend your employment past 12/31?
Have you opened your mail?
Did you get the car fixed?
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Grammar Teacher
December 16th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Status on your December goals?
DECEMBER GOALS
1. Sell/Wrap/Lease Burdett, Larchmont, Muncy
2. Organize Accounting
3. Plan and (maybe) re-launch AbleBuyer.com
4. Setup CRM and call all personal contacts to catchup
5. Plan for 2007
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star
December 16th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
I wonder how the friends and family who loaned you money feel about you spending cash and a week on this?
How much money did you make this week?
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Dick Butkis
December 16th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
I’ll grant you that this operation sounds better than many of the others you’ve spoken of, but it still sounds like guru-central. I don’t think it really sounds like anything you need to be screwing around with at this point. A year ago maybe. Besides, everybody is going to assume that your glowing review is in return for free tuition. I know you probably won’t tell us, but what is the cost for a week at this place?
I will admit one thing, if you somehow do use something you learned to get out of foreclosure, that will reflect pretty highly on the school. Otherwise, I think you’re wasting time as usual. A week long school on bankruptcy would probably be a better use of your time. Seriously. You need to look yourself in the mirror and admit that most likely you aren’t going to be able to avoid BK. Start formulating a backup plan.
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jonny quest
December 16th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
“… Saturday: IRA and Retirement Plan Investing
This was an amazing class! I have known before that I can do real estate deals through an IRA to get tax-free gains. However I always thought I will have to wait until I’m 60 years old before I can access that money. In this class I learned how to take money out of the tax-sheltered account at any time without penalties!
Another cool trick: getting check-book control over your retirement account via an en entity. Even better: putting together a group of investors and pooling multiple IRAs inside of an entity (like a LLC) then using the entity to take down a big real estate deal like an apartment complex or a land development project. All with tax-free / tax-deferred gains. Sweet!…”
Sweet indeed - pray tell Sercasey, how many $’s are in your IRA for you to leverage this new found knowledge? You’re clawing the porcelain sides of the commode you’re in, trying to keep from being flushed into debtor’s hell and what, you still think you can part people from their hard-earned retirement monies to invest in your LLC RE fantasies? You are truly delusional. For pete’s sake, go get a job in the insurance industry if you think you’re that silver-tongued.
I think I’ve had enough - I’m going to check this out site out for a few more days to see if there’s any comedy left, but that’s about it.
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The Man
December 16th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
Yep. The call label their classes as 100, 200, 300, and 400. 500 is the Master’s level and 600 is the PhD. Sweet! It must be quality like MIT, or at least Northwestern, since they number their classes.
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mrblowtorch
December 16th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Hey-
Just wanted to say thanks for providing the most entertaining site on the net for the last 2 months. But like all good things, it’s come to an end. It’s over, buddy. Thanks again, and good luck to you.
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Ethical Realtor in DC
December 16th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
“Students who refer their friends and family to the college get 50% commission for spreading the word. That’s pretty generous” - thanks for being ethical enough to disclose a motivation for your rave review.
A few things:
1. If you went to college, you’d know that a 400 level course isn’t a day two of a little course like that. You are one gullible consumer.
2. I agree it sounds better than most, but it is teaching skills that are irrelevant for you in your situation TODAY - today you are the motivated seller that people who are doing this course (and, I hope, payign good hard unborrwed cash to pay for it) are looking for. You are not the looker.
3. Some of the info in your description is wrong re. the IRA issue. You do NOT have to withdraw the $$ from the IRA and would pay penalties in most cases if you did. What’s relatively new (but you could have learned for $3.95 by buying a copy of Money magazine) is that you can buy real estate within your IRA. And, just in case you forgot, you have no IRA, no assets, just a boatload of debt and a handful of crummy proeprties that you paid too much for.
I second the question above - how are those December goals going? From my perspective, ti seems you have been:
1. spending too much time blogging and too little earning an honest living
2. hiding behind an unneccesary class that didn’t seem to teach you anything about how to be a motivated seller
3. borrowing more cash
4. chasing more rainbows and still looking for”sweet deals”
You are no better off than you were on December 1, and you seem to be sliding deeper into debt.
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DMan
December 16th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
I’d be suspicious of any actual real estate developer that shared his/her knowledge. The more people that are in it, the more competition there is. As the saying goes “Beware the advice of successful people, they do not desire company.”
Unless they are just training idiots to screw themselves on their own dime so the real developers can buy the properties discounted when said students try to sell fast to bail themselves out of their mess.
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me
December 16th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
i want to go there too, any website i can look at it before i join the school? what’s the school name?
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HAL 9000
December 16th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Casey,
You need to stop, breathe, and think about a complete career change. Maybe try a career in marketing?
Think about your experience with Rich Dad and your course. From the definition of “confidence game”:
“A confidence trick, confidence game, also known as a con, scam, grift or flim flam, is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the “mark”) usually with the goal of financial or other gain.”
http://www.justfindthis.com/en....._game.html
Casey, that’s what all these people are doing to you. Notice that you’re 2.2 million in the red, but they are probably quite profitable. Please stop, for your own sake!
-A concerned reader
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Sub2Guy
December 16th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
Casey,
Sub2 is a valuable, powerful tool that has helped many people achieve financial freedom through real estate even if they had no credit.
That said let me say that you cannot expect to hold property and not have the cash reserves to do so. Tenants and even bad credit buyers sometimes don’t pay (why do you think they have bad credit) and when they don’t pay you guess who pays anyway? That’s right, you do.
You have ruined your credit and possibly your wife’s as well. I hope if you decide to take responsibility for other peoples’ credit by taking their mortgages subject to that you do a better job with it.
Buying subject to is great! I love it and even teach it to other investors but it is something that must be done responsibly and with care. If you fail, others pay the price.
Good Luck,
William Tingle
www.Sub2Deals.com
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SweetieDeal
December 16th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
I am already using some of these creative selling techniques to sell my own houses.
You sold your houses?! Pray tell!
All students have access to a private website with packaged real estate investments. All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house.
LOL!
Seriously, best laugh since you mistook spam for a business opportunity.
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why not...
December 16th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Why not give them your houses to sell in their packaged deal? Maybe your classmates would buy them.
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Lou Minatti
December 16th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
Casey,
This is nothing like a college. What you are attending is a kollege. In most countries, calling these scam seminars “colleges” or “universities” is illegal.
What will a bankruptcy judge say when he learns you’ve been wasting even more money?
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The Sangha
December 16th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I think many of the posters are jealous because Casey is both ambitious and a dreamer. :D
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Michigan Guy
December 16th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
Surely you realise that you are the one with the distressed property? You better get a-sellin if you’re down 2.4 mill!!
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Anomalous Blowhard
December 16th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
It sounds like they’ve done a great job of giving you all the trappings of a college education. Just the trappings, though.
Casey, please call the neareast public university (UC Berkely? I’m not all that familiar with the CA system). Ask them if your last week’s studies will transfer. If so, please tell us how many credits it’s worth, and what course it tranfers as.
To those who say that Casey got free tuition in exchange for publicity, I disagree. Notice that he didnt’ name the “school” that he went to. Some publicity. No, I think he paid real money to these people, just like all the others.
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Dumbfounded
December 16th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Somebody lock this con artist up before he scams more people!
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lsdblotterart
December 16th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Another great option for people to get a good grasp of real estate is to sign up for your local real estate licensing school.
Here in Utah, it cost me $285 to take 96 hours of class and I got a nice textbook out of the deal. I also was able to take all of the practice tests for the state exam to make sure that I had done a good job comprehending the material.
In most places the classes are flexible and you can take them at night, weekends and even a certain amount of credits can be from video instruction.
Its a great way to get 96 hours of class on the cheap. ( It is probably $375 now, but still well worth it)
I know that these classes do not cover all the sweet deals and creative financing, but it is a great place to start to get a firm grasp of the basics of real estate, and the contract laws of your state.
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Phillip
December 16th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Casey,
Actually, with $30,000 you could bought 2 foreclosed single family houses in a stable market such as Houston using 90% LTV. You could have more than doubled your equity. The secret to being profitable, of course, is finding the right deal. Here’s an actual example of instant equity:
$70,000 wholesale-price, single family home.
Purchased with 10% down or $7000.
Rehab cost = $6000.
Retail market price = $107,000.
Total dollars invested = $7,000 down + $6,000 rehab + $2,000 closing costs (CC) = $15,000.
Equity: $107,000 – $70,000 = $37,000 equity.
Return on Equity (ROE) : $37,000 equity / $15,000 total dollars invested = 247% return on investment.
Here’s the example of cash flow for the same house above:
$1000 / month rental income or $12,000 / year.
Assume a 10% vacancy rate or $1200 / year.
Net rental income = $12,000 - $1200 = $10,800.
Costs / year: Taxes (@ 3%) = $3000, Insurance (@1%) = $700, Advertising = $20, Mortgage @ 6.13% = $4888.
$10,800 – ($3000+$700+$20+$4888) = $2192 cash flow per year tax-free .
$2192 / $15,000 total dollars invested = 16.6% return per year.
Here’s the example of tax benefits:
You should be claiming a loss on your real estate due to depreciation which in turn reduces your taxable (active) income. This is why your cash flow is tax free.
$107,000 market price - $13,000 land = $94,000 improvements
$94,000 / 27.5 depreciation-years = $3418.18 depreciation for tax purposes
$3418.18 * 35% tax bracket = $1196.36 money back
$1196.36 / $15,000 total dollars invested = 8.0% return on investment
Don’t forget as a business owner you can take the following:
All business deductions including entertainment, meals, etc.
Up to $25,000 off active, taxable income (your day job) from passive activity loss rules
Home office deduction
Up to 100% expensing of your current or new vehicles (vehicles over 6000 Lbs - SUVs, trucks, etc.)!
This blows away even your matched 401k if you have one.
Casey, stop spending money in classes and find a decent mentor.
http://retirein6years.gcproperties1.com
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dean
December 16th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
The rich dad “mentor” did mention a couple of times the one thing that you are not addressing - the taxes. “I have a CPA for that” is just kidding yourself.
You can get “creative” all you want with sellers and banks but the IRS has no concept of being “creative” and there’s no debate about jail time either.
The IRS loves high profile cases as well and may have already targeted you do the the publicity you’ve generated. There is no doubt some one at the IRS who’s waiting to make a name for himself on this one.
Get whatever money you can together and get some serious legal help. Find some one who is an expert (has a track record of getting real results).
Like an alcoholic you have a vice called “opportunity seeking”. You’re getting a high off the idea of getting rich while your life is turning to shambles all around you. If you value your future, get help.
-D
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D
December 16th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
So you’re going to try and sucker your friends into giving you their retirement dollars so you can piss them away too? I’m sure Ramit at iwillteachyoutoberich will *love* it. Email him today.
You have got to be the biggest sucker who ever lived.
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Aaron
December 16th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
In specifically what way is this “college style”? This organization has absolutely none of the characteristics of a real academic institution: formal fundamentals, critical thinking, serious independent study, emphasis on research and rigor. And you say your “student advisor” seriously used the word “hater”?
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John
December 16th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
Each student follows a customized curriculum based on their level of knowledge and experience
—————–
“Casey, this is called a pen. Today you will practice writing your own name.”
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Troy
December 16th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
ah man, seeing Casey present himself quite well in the RK video really humanized him for me, but this drivel has got me back in “hating” mode.
“All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house”
no comment needed, right?
At least we can get Tim in Monterey to update us on how much Casey’s debt has grown this past week.
The BK promises to be most interesting.
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Wikifortune.com
December 16th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Mr. Casey sir,
How much food money have you wasted on this so-called college-like courses?
What is going on inside your head sir?
Please stop taking any more courses and take action (ie bankrtupcy) now.
I’ve clicked on 4 adsense ads. I’ll increase my clicks a bit so that you can eat.
Yes, I’m supporting you.
Make the right choice Mr. Casey.
File for bankrtupcy.
You’re just delaying the inevitable and suffering.
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Darren
December 16th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
oohhh boy ..you will never be successful dear casey whilst you chase losing propositions …what are you going to do with far far more sellers than buyers and the majority of these sellers will be people like you in debt far over any asset value you have - even if you managed to sell the houses tommorow ..do you really think you would come out clean…come on casey you keep thinking your an investor ..you keep labelling yourself as such..but wheres the success ..wheres the profit ..and you still chasing what has become old hat ..and it will not be the same market in 12 mths as it is now ..it will be absolutely saturated with houses that have been bought far over their value..and trust me when i say you will be in no postion to take advantage of it…being optimistic and positive is good ..but without a healthy dose of reality it just delusion
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BFFChucky
December 16th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Only $30,000? But Casey took out much more cash in his sweet deals, where did it all go?
Oh, if you don’t publish this here I’ll go on HousingPanic and other sites and request this topic specifically. Lots of people passed grade school math class and they know your story doesn’t add up.
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Mind Petals: Young Entrepreneur Network
December 16th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
links from Technorati Real Estate Investing College
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Cornholio Mangus
December 16th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Huh? Did I just step out of the time machine? What is all this about seminars?
I thought you go to real estate seminars BEFORE you lose your shirt in the market.
Are you now wasting money on real estate seminars AFTER you have lost your shirt?
Did I miss something?
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Hooray for Homey da Clown!
December 16th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
Why do you keep deleting Homey’s posts, man??! What’s the story with “res-com”?
P.S. Casey, post (more than one month of) your adsense revenue. It’s the honest thing to do.
P.P.S. When was the last time you made a payment on any of your debts?
P.P.P.S. How many dirty little pennies did you spend on your RE college trip (instead of paying back your lenders)?
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Jerry
December 16th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
Can you provide a link to this school?
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you are crazy!
December 16th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Sweet replies, y’all. Have you noticed that your readers are more creative, funny, and intelligent than you are, Casey?
And, as if we needed it–Example 1,249,302 that you have messed up priorities, excel in subterfuge and avoidance but are deficient in practically everything else, and are blindly, wildly, sociopathically optimistic. But, entertaining for us!
Please continue recycling plots, addressing all random points but the important ones, and racking up more debt.
–sincerely,
you are crazy (still)
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Great jorb
December 16th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
Dear genius,
1. You could have “brought a partner for free?” In other words, you could have split the cost with someone. But you didn’t. Brilliant business maneuver, as usual.
2. I have a master’s degree in real estate finance from a first-tier university. Total cost = $13,000, or less than half of what you’ve spent on seminars. Took less than 2 years. I did spend another few hundred on books, and $15 for a used HP-17BII calculator.
3. The idea posted in the last thread about pawning your Jetta is fantastic. Absurd as it sounds, I bet you’ll do it. Those places really do exist (”Cash for the title, you keep your car”) - there’s one a few blocks from my house.
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College Life
December 16th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Real Estate College
Sweet!
Did they have a football team?
Did they have a fraternity you can join?
Did you party after class, get drunk and go on a panty raid?
Did you get a cool bumper sticker that says Alumni?
No wonder you’ve not been an “early riser” this week - everyone knows college students don’t rise until after 10 a.m.
What are your Christmas holiday plans?
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Les
December 17th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Welcome home Casey -
Here’s the latest news from SF….
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...../SACTO.TMP
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Great jorb
December 17th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Actually I take it all back. If I were a single man I’d certainly enjoy having my pick of the fly ladies in that room (2nd pic). Casey, as a minor celebrity, and the owner of a sweet Jetta, could no doubt pick up some first-class golddigging hoebag.
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Miguel
December 17th, 2006 at 12:59 am
Just out of curiosity, over the last week while you were away pursuing your dream/delusion, how much did your debt increase by?
You’d have been far better off spending the money on a bankruptcy attorney. Seriously.
I know you have this dream that you’re refusing to relinquish, and that’s a good thing up to a point - but the cold hard fact is that you don’t seem to have any talent whatsoever in this business. You parrot the jargon without understanding the underlying philosophy - or, crucially, the figures. Or the market.
As many, many other people have pointed out, it’s not just your absurdly irrational optimism that’s the problem, but your lack of basic education. Which is why when you’re up against people who ARE smart and educated, they’ll spot you a mile off and will eat you alive. As has already happened - with half of those deals you might as well have been wearing a T-shirt (blue, natch) marked ‘SUCKER’.
So my advice if you still want to carry on doing this:
1. Declare bankruptcy (if you can);
2. Enrol in a basic business studies program (learning to crawl);
3. Take on an apprenticeship at a realtor and gain practical experience of the market (learning to walk).
THEN you’ll be in a position to judge if you have the smarts for going it alone. But not until then.
*
Coyote Investor
December 17th, 2006 at 2:22 am
Casey,
You are like a drunk with a half empty bottle, loudly exclaiming the virtues of a clean and sober life. The disconnect between your financial situation, as it really stands, and the fantasies of your behavior is awesome. It’s like thinking you can hike across the Grand Canyon by just stepping off the rim and floating over to the other side. Your debt service and credit card expenses are now around 20K and growing. That is to stay even. To make any progress with those debts will require much more money (after tax money). No one commented on my post of the questions asked at debtors anonymous but they remain the most accurate assessment of your situation. You can’t face the facts. You’ve not yet hit your bottom, but the ground grows ever closer and your speed grows ever greater. I find it hard to look away.
*
james
December 17th, 2006 at 4:04 am
“We were taught how to find motivated sellers, ”
Did you raise your hand in class and say you are a movitated seller?
wah….
*
Smarten' Up
December 17th, 2006 at 5:05 am
Word of advice:
The external links on your site should always open new browser windows. By not opening new browsers, visitors who click on your adsense links or the embedded signature links on your blog are taken away from your site. This is bad usability. And if you think users will hit the “back” button half a dozen times to return to your site, studies show you’re mistaken. A simple “target=_blank” is all that’s needed, as in:
I am Facing Foreclosure .com
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Grammar Teacher
December 17th, 2006 at 5:17 am
The Sanga: “I think many of the posters are jealous because Casey is both ambitious and a dreamer.”
You’re wrong. Many of us are also ambitious dreamers - but we’re not impulsive fools like Casey.
BIG, BIG difference, and certainly NO reason to be jealous of Casey - it would quite simple to have made the mistakes he did and to be in the deep hole he’s in.
You’re confusing jealousy with disgust, frustration, anger and amusement.
Who would be jealous of someone who is facing:
- multiple foreclosures
- backruptcy
- prison
- huge IRS taxes
- divorce
- etc.
?????
*
LOL
December 17th, 2006 at 6:25 am
It’s easy for you to find a distressed buyer, just look in the mirror.
*
Bubbers
December 17th, 2006 at 6:31 am
So how much of today’s post was a direct regurgitation of copy from this so-called college’s promotional brochure or website? It’s like the saying, don’t do a deal if you don’t understand it. If you cannot describe the benefits of this so-called education in your own words, you’re just sucked into the “sweetness” of it all and are not even thinking on your own. Or maybe, as has been proven time and time again by your actions (or, more accurately, inaction), you are just plain lazy. Seriously, if you can’t be bothered to actually write a blog post, why should any of us be bothered to read it? It’s official: You’ve jumped the shark.
*
tomtom
December 17th, 2006 at 6:49 am
Casey, you going to a real estate seminar is like a desperate late stage alcoholic going to a wine tasting.
*
BT98
December 17th, 2006 at 6:54 am
Well said Miguel. Casey, it’s the concesis that you drank too much cool-aid, not enough basic substance. You are getting screwed by the other investors. So smart thing to do is quit, bk and get a job.
BT
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The Trailer Park Boys
December 17th, 2006 at 6:54 am
Wow!!!!!!
You are a real estate college grad.
*
Tae Kinnit Updabut
December 17th, 2006 at 6:59 am
Long time reader, first time posting.
Casey-
As so many others have said, you are in serious trouble (in so many ways) yet you’re still somehow managing to fool yourself into believing you can get out of this mess with just one more fix. Er, I mean “sweet RE deal”. Amazing. I think most here are right in that you suffer from ADHD, you’re also a compulsive gambler, you’re delusional, and you’re most likely bipolar. Get help, for the sake of those around you. Then leave the country before prosecution begins against you, your further opportunities in the US are extinguished. Not to mention, several of the things you’ve done lately may well lead to you being found in a ditch long before the IRS gets to you.
The rest of the world-
Didn’t anyone notice this bit of the article?:
“Marketing Income: Students who refer their friends and family to the college get 50% commission for spreading the word. That’s pretty generous. They call it a scholarship program - you earn while you learn. Also, the extra income is nice to help with real estate deals so you don’t have to do crazy “no-money-down” or “cash back at close” deals out of desperation like I did.”
This thing is nothing more than a pyramid scheme, although maybe it’s just one layer thick. Supreme idiots only need apply. And I hope Casey doesn’t find too many of those to further fuel his crash (for their sake only).
*
Wishful Thinker
December 17th, 2006 at 7:20 am
The watchman high up in the Empire State Building looks out the window and sees this guy coming down.
“How are you doing?” the watchman yells to him on the way by.
“So far, So good!”
*
Wishful Thinker
December 17th, 2006 at 7:22 am
So, Casey, it’s December 17.
How are those goals coming along.
So far, so good?
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the dealers advocate
December 17th, 2006 at 7:29 am
Casey,
Drop everything! All your hard work has finally paid off! You’re on the cover of Time Magazine!
Keep Ballin
*
Crashlander
December 17th, 2006 at 7:40 am
I had no idea there were so many to ways to fleece people like Casey. Even at the start of a huge RE downturn. I used to feel sorry for them, patience running out.
And they try to unload ‘cash flowing’ properties onto the kids with good credit. I’m sure none of the kids can even determine how to property cash flow a property, forget all kinds of fees/taxes.
Apparently its so hard to sell houses now they have to resort to this crazy tactic of lining houses up on ‘closed website’ hahaha. oh man. oldest racket in world the ’secret deal’ the guy who sold the eifel tower for scrap did same tactic (several times). All those homes are in local MLS for sale.
Casey probably went for free for putting ‘Scam University’ positive review on his site. Now he’s a WHORE too.
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college girl
December 17th, 2006 at 8:02 am
Here’s a hint: use Yahoo or Google and search the buzzwords and buzzphrases in Casey’s post.
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Alan
December 17th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Casey,
These seminars, etc., are a total irrelevancy to you right now. You are still focused on achieving a dream, when you should be focused on managing the nightmare that the situation is fast becoming.
I’m not a real estate, financial or legal professional, but I do run my own business (and have done for ten years). Anyway, even using a little common sense, some things seem very obvious.
1) You need to turn in the properties to the lenders. They are nothing but a distraction to you now. If you are fortunate, maybe they will take a “can’t get blood out of a stone” approach to some of the debt.
2) You need to get some regular wage paying work (preferably a couple of jobs). There is no shame in what you might regard as “menial” work. Years ago, I had a good paying position with a prestigious outfit which went bust overnight. I did a morning cleaning job to keep my family while I worked on other projects during the day.
3) You need your wife to put her tuition on hold and also get some kind a regular wage paying work - her CPA course is irrelevent if you don’t reorganize your affairs.
4) Once this is done, and you have an income stream for your living expenses, you need to create a repayment structure for friends and acquaintances who gave you loans.
5) You then need a reliable debt counsellor/negotiater, to see if - now you have a consistent income - it is possible to get some repayment settlement for your credit card debt. If possible do whatever is possible to salvage as much of your wife’s credit as possible. Oh, and then cut up your credit cards.
6) Follow up with a bankruptcy attorney, and again see if it is possible to preserve as much of your wife’s credit as possible.
7) In preparation for the possibility of legal charges, find a criminal attorney. Put together as much paperwork as you can on the transactions (including details of those who ‘turned a blind eye’ to the ‘liar loans’ etc. This way you will be in a situation to offer maximum co-operation to law enforcement, and perhaps by doing so negotiate a situation where your wife is left out of any charges, and that you are dealt with more leniently.
I realize none of this is as attractive as focusing on the next ‘home run” but all you can do right now is to work on damage control.
*
Squideye
December 17th, 2006 at 8:46 am
Can’t you see that RK needs to pump you up publicly so that in turn other would be “real estate gamblers” will buy into his program? He is using you as a tool to get more people that will feed his business, which now is selling a dream.
I personally have not gone to a single “guru” seminar or have read any of their books and still I am successfully building wealth in real estate. You are starting too big. Even RK talks about buying a 50,000 dollar place and flipping for 70,000 after some time. You are buying 500,000 dollar places and trying to flip immediately for much higher. That’s risky business with no cash behind you. Take smaller bites and grow into bigger projects. Right now you have taken on way more than you can chew and you are choking badly. It will take you years to recover from this and I am not sure you will have learned the right lesson.
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Sandra Rose
December 17th, 2006 at 8:47 am
“I learned a lot of good / new stuff that will help me stop foreclosure, make money and hopefully avoid bankruptcy.”
I have tried to be supportive up until this point-but you really got a problem thinking you are going to stop a BK with NO $$! Well, pretty soon these leanders will forclose and you will have to face the end to all this…
I am surprised this is taking so long.
Gypsy
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az-realty
December 17th, 2006 at 8:54 am
what time line are you working under? most of your posts on your property’s were updated in september, when you “needed to sell to avoid foreclosure”.
A trust deed foreclsoure takes about 90 days? which is has expired??
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lhc
December 17th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Casey No matter how seminars you go to the fact of it is that you paid to much for your houses and they will not sell until you either lower your price or the market recovers. A class will not fix your problem. And dont buy any houses the market is going down not up. I dont think you understand this though.We still would like to know how much you make from Adsense. Well????
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Coyote Investor
December 17th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Alan,
You gave CS excellent advice, as have others. Having visited this blog regularly in the past few months, one thing has been consistent. Casey does not take advice, does not respond to advice, can not take action consistently, does not open his mail, does not respond to direct questions, does not respond to direct requests, mostly he trolls for more responses and continues with his ridiculous behavior. People care. People offer support from their own experience. It is irrelevant. He’s on a debt bender and until the bender is over (bend ‘er over) nothing will get done. So just realize that you are writing for everyone BUT Casey.
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Sac Realtor
December 17th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Casey:
You should listen to William Tingle the sub 2 guy.
You can tell he is doing well since he is eating well.
It looks like he just took the pork chop out of his mouth for his photo…
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Sac Realtor
December 17th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Casey:
This is your lucky day. Since I don’t have the time to help this guy I’m passing the info on to you. You can make over $10mm just by helping him out…
From: “alhaji erowo iman”
Subject: Solicitation
Date: December 16, 2006 03:31:38 +0200
ALHAJI EROWO IMAN.
Lagos, Nigeria
PrivateAddress:alhajierowoiman@presidency.com or alhajierowoiman@mail.com
ATTN.: THE MANAGING DIRECTOR / C. E. O.
REQUEST FOR URGENT (CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP OF THE TRANSFER OF US$45,560,000.00 (FORTY FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY).
I hope this letter will not embarrass you since we have not had any previous communication. I got your reference from your country’s trade department under private enquiry that is not related to my aim of writing you this letter and went further to have it confirmed by the Nigeria Exports Promotion Council(NEPC).
I, on behalf of my other colleagues from different Federal Government of Nigeria owned parastatals decided to solicit your assistance as regards the transfer of the above stated amount into your bank account. This fund arose from the over-invoicing of various contracts awarded in my parastatals to certain foreign contractors some time ago.
We as holders of official positions in various parastatals, were mandated by this new civilian government to scrutinize all payments made to certain foreign contractors by the past Military Government and we discovered that some of the contracts they executed were grossly over-invoiced, either by omission or commission. Also we discovered that the sum of $65,560,000.00 (Sixty-Five Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars Only) was lying in a suspense account, although the foreign contractors were fully paid their entitlements after executing the said contracts. We all agreed that the over-invoiced amount be transferred (for our own use) into a bank account provided by a foreign partner, as the code of conduct of the Federal Civil Service does not allow us to operate foreign accounts.
However, we have succeeded in transferring some of these money, precisely US$20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million United States Dollars Only) into a foreign account in GENEVA (SWITZERLAND). But unfortunately, the provider of the account has severed all forms of contacts with us as he has refused to adhere to our earlier mutual agreement insisting that the total amount be paid into his nominated bank account before disbursement will take effect. If for US$20M (Twenty Million United States Dollars Only) we are not compensated, how can one guarantee full compensation on remittance of the balance of US$45.560M (Forty-Five Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars Only).
We are therefore seeking your assistance based on the balance amount of US$45.560M, which can be speedily processed and fully remitted into your nominated bank account. On successful remittance of the fund into your account, you will be compensated with 25% of the amount for assistance and services and 5% set aside for expenses contingency.
This transaction is closely knitted and in view of our SENSITIVE POSITION we cannot afford a slip, I assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free. We will avail you with our identities as regards our respective offices, when relationship is fully established and smooth operation commences. I am at your disposition to entertain any question(s) from you in respect of this transaction, so contact me immediately through the above private email addresses( presidency & mail) and fax number for further information on the requirements and procedure. Please note that the DEAL needs utmost confidentiality and your immediate response will be highly appreciated and we will use our own share of the money to establish a lucrative business in your country.
Please you should contact me immediately with your private fax and telephone numbers where further details in respect to this transaction would be sent to.Please you can also contact me on yahoo at alhajierowoiman@yahoo.com.
Yours truly,
ALHAJI EROWO IMAN.
*
RE Employee
December 17th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Casey,
You are clearly delusional or else this website is a sham (or maybe it’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham).
Consider the immortal words of Charlie Munger:
“Failure to handle psychological denial is a common way for people to go broke. You made an enormouse commitment to something. You’ve pured effort and money in. And the more you put in, the more that the whole consistency principle makes you think, ‘Now it has to work. If I put in just a little more, then it’ll work.’”
I recommend (but what’s the point?) you stop going to these stupid classes and instead start reading how to think critically. I recommend:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger
Looking Out for #1 by Robert Ringer
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
There’s more wisdom in those books than in all of the dumb guru classes you’re going to. Those guru classes are a waste of money!!
There is no “secret” to making money in real estate. Put one foot in front of the other, stay conservatively financed (ie not overleveraged) and you’ll get there.
*
Mak
December 17th, 2006 at 10:23 am
@Phillip
While I guess what you are saying is still possible in Houston where houses are dirt cheap, have no appreciation to speak of, property taxes are very high, and most importantly rents are high relative to prices, it DOESN’T WORK in most areas of the country. And no, I don’t want to have you find the house, buy it for me, and manage it for a fee so I can continue to live where I do and have properties out of sight and mind in Houston, managed by you.
Here is a real deal done by someone I know.
$225,000 single family home, 2/2/1 car, purchased as investment.
Purchased with 100% cash.
Rehab cost = $0. Remember where I live almost all housing is less than 10 years old. No rehab required.
Retail market price = $225,000.
Total dollars invested = $225,000.
Equity: $225,000.
Return on Equity (ROE) : 0% return on investment.
Here’s the example of cash flow for the same house above:
$1000 / month rental income or $12,000 / year.
Problem is it was advertised for rent for 3 months before a tenant could be found. After a 1 year lease, the tenant moved out, but left the house in perfect shape. It has now been advertised (over $1000 spent on advertising) for 6 months for rent, shown 17 times, and no renter has been found. There are currently 30,000 houses listed for sale in this market, of which 10,000 are new, never lived in, vacant. Many of those houses are also “for rent”. Renters have their pick of thousands of houses, all new and never lived in, with granite counters, gated communities, etc, all with dirt cheap rent. Far more houses for rent than renters who want them.
Assume a 10% vacancy rate or $1200 / year. (OK I’ll grant you this, and say that we’ll find a tenant next week, but in the future everything will get better, we’ll have only 1 month a year vacancy.)
Net rental income = $12,000 - $1200 = $10,800.
Costs / year: Taxes (@ 1%) = $2250, Insurance = $700, Advertising = $500 (your $20 is ridiculous. yes I know about craigslist and other free sources, it doesn’t get it done. A single newspaper ad costs $150 here.)
Mortgage = $0.
$10,800 – ($2250+$700+$500) = $7350 cash flow per year. Forget taxes for the moment.
$7350 / $225,000 total dollars invested = 3.3% pretax return per year, it will end up being virtually tax free after depreciation.
Here’s the example of tax benefits:
$225,000 market price - $40,000 land = $185,000 improvements
$185,000 / 27.5 depreciation-years = $6727 depreciation for tax purposes
$7350 income above-$6727 depreciation=$623 taxable income. Negligible.
Before you start telling me the problem is no leverage, try running these numbers using a 6.5% mortgage and see what it does to your cash flow and rates of return. The fact is, no houses in my market, NONE, have cap rates higher than mortgage rates. You borrow money at 6.5% to invest it and earn under 4% net.
You didn’t include maintenance on your properties above, I assume they are all magic properties that don’t need re roofing, plumbing problems, gardening, etc.
Oh BTW, the $225K purchase above, a real purchase, is worth today, 2 years after purchase, $225K.
$225K sales price less 4.5% negotiated relator commission, 0.5% transfer tax and title costs plus probably a seller contribution would net $210K in sales proceeds if the home were sold. SWEET $15K capital loss over 2 years. Oh then there’s that pesky depreciation recapture. Yep, all that has to come back and be taxed.
If you’re going to say forget that, 1031 into something else, I would say INTO WHAT? All the other things to buy have similar returns and characteristics to this investment. No other house/duplex/rental in the same city will differ significantly in cap rate, expenses, rent yield from the one already owned. So why not just keep what you’ve got and hope it gets better decades from now?
The fact is Casey’s markets are even worse than this. I know of $500K houses currently rented for $1125/mo outside Phoenix. Vacant 6 months. I know some vacant over a year. Compute that.
The whole guru thing really sickens me. Stupid people paying good money to con artists who tell them what they want to hear: it doesn’t matter you have no education, education is bad, you can do it, just dream on. Then take $2000 or so of the chumps’ money before they run out and ruin themselves and probably lose lots of other people’s money. Fact is, most lose money, almost all. Just like in a casino.
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Kevin
December 17th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Phillip,
When you calculate return on investment for buying and holding (rental property), you need to use the *equity* in the house in the calculation.
When “flipping”, using the amount you’ve actually spent (out of pocket) make sense. However, when holding the property for the long term, you need to consider the equity in the property. This lowers your percentages by quite a bit (more than half).
However, you still look to have a good deal on your hands. :-)
*
Les
December 17th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Hey Casey -
It is almost 11:00 a.m. - no early riser this morning. Still in bed cuddling with the wife? (understandable since you’ve been away at college….)
Are you going for your 3 mile jog this morning?
Are you *treating* yourself to a starbucks or jamba juice today?
How much money do you have for the rest of the month?
Does your sweet job with Chris provide you with a week’s paid vacation?
Christmas is a week away - what are your plans?
*
sisb-sean
December 17th, 2006 at 11:02 am
What a complete and total waste of money (unless it was really cheap or free).
I posted about gambling psychology before. I posted several screeds to you about how you are pumping money into the machine, assuming that the next big spin is going to be the payoff.
Most of those people going to those seminars are get rich quick types. An extremely small percentage might luck out and land a “sweet deal”
*
Future Opportunity
December 17th, 2006 at 11:20 am
Casey:
Stop thinking of the negatives of going to jail. There is no “bubba.”
Jail does have the following benefits:
Free housing
Free laundry service
*Sweet* exercise yard
Free Meals
Free healthcare (treatment for your ADHD or bipolar disorder)
Free Coffee (no, it’s not starbucks, but it is free)
Free College Education - you can earn an Associates Degree
“Quality Time” with the wife
New friends and potential business partners
Free wardrobe
You might get a “job” - the pay sucks - about 12 - 40 CENTS per hour. It will, however, bring into perspective that making $30,000 +/- as an uneducated computer “program” when you were 19 was a pretty *sweet* deal.
They have a computer room, and, if you are good, you can have internet access.
Our (the taxpayer’s cost) of your experience will be $34,000 p/year.
A few added benefits:
Free legal representation
No calls from creditors
Some one will open your mail for you
Bet that drive down to the local FBI office doesn’t seem so bad now, does it.
*
Les
December 17th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Casey -
The lightbulb just went off in my head - is the reason you are attending these “seminars” for your education is because you didn’t graduate high school??????
Please tell us if you graduated high school. And if so, what school was it.
*
A REAL HONEST AND FOR TRUTHFUL HATER
December 17th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Man, how many times do you have to be stung to realize you have been had. You seem to have some belief that you are going to escape without too much damage by using short sales on your properties.
Here’s a little hint about how the system works: Someone is going to make up the difference between the lower sale price and the price you paid, and it ain’t going to be the banks that gave you the financing.
I love the part in this week-long course where they show you how they have positive properties with happy tenants just percolating away making money for clever RE investors. And they even take care of the management part of it as well. Wow, do I have some properties you would be interested in.
But in the end, this week-long vacation from the drudgery of bailing out your debts hasn’t helped much. My count is that you are sinking at the tune of $15,000 a month, and December is now passing with no progress that I can see on solving your central problem: you screwed up and have no option but to try rescheduling your debts and getting a salaried job.
*
sisb-sean
December 17th, 2006 at 11:38 am
I love how these real estate “classes” had 100-400 levels like a traditional university.
The 400 levels at the university I went to had class averages that were usually below 60% so a 70% was a solid A.
Yet, one or two individuals from these seminars (probably trustfund sh*theads) will luck out and flip a third rate property to derive a second rate income and they’ll be featured on real estate seminar posters and slick brochures.
The same type of brochures that ITT tech passes out. Have you ever seen those? After reading one of them you’ll swear that in two years you’ll have an IVY league education and you’ll enter a corporation making a first rate salary.
When in reality you *might* get a job making more than $12 an hour and be in debt for $20 grand or more. ITT and those seminars are a good way to suck in people who have the false belief that you don’t have to bust your ass to make a good living.
Casey, here are a few books that you should read:
“a mathematician plays the stock market”
*
Homey Da Clown
December 17th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
IT’S HOMEY TIME!!!
Casey, Here is a test to see if you are being honest with all of us.
Simply copy/paste ( you know how to do that at least) the following, and reply to it on your blog, with the following- ” YES, I ADMIT THIS IS TRUE AND CORRECT”
That’s it.
Here it is:
I declare under penalty of perjury as per “U.S. Title 28,§ 1746. Unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury”, and California Penal code 118 &118(a), that everything I, Casey K. Serin, have posted on my online blog known as www.iamfacingforeclosure.com is true and correct.”
Executed on December 17, 2005. Casey K. Serin
You say that this site is not a scam. PROVE IT.
*
lol@nru
December 17th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
So now you are going to try and sucker one of your friends into signing up for this ‘college’ so that you can make a fat commission? Good luck!
I mean, when they see how successful you’ve been, how can they not jump at the chance?
*
Phillip
December 17th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Kevin,
What do you mean, equity? I have included that in the my calculations. Can you give me an example of how it reduces my percentages?
If I buy a house at 90k and market price is 120k, then I have gained 30k in additional equity, or unrealized gain. If I used 10% down, or 9k, to acquire the house plus $6000 in closing and rehab costs, I spent 15k out-of-pocket. 30k / 15k = 200%. This is the definition of return on equity.
We are buy and hold and rent out investors, but eventually we sell (in 2-5 years) which is why our calculations are the way they are.
Appreciate your comments/discussion.
Phillip
phillip@gcproperties1.com
*
Mak
December 17th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
@Sac Realtor
LOL re your comments on sub2scammer. I’m waiting for him to branch into vitamin and herbal product sales to promote health and vitality!!! It is working for Robert Allen!!!
Seriously though, it is mind numbing to see how someone can get suckers down there to Deliverance-land with butts packed in the seats to listen to the BS at $2000+ a pop.
A friend and I were having lunch last week and talking about this guy. Big time self promotion on ebay and the website, has netted butts in the seats to yield probably $100K/year in seminar revenue net of the $20 hotel rooms that are “thrown in” ’cause he’s such a giving guy. What a racket! The key is you’ve got to be self promoting all the time, and have suckers who think they are going to get something back for their money. The reality is >99% never get anything back.
My friend is about to go on the lecture circuit. The course is almost ready, it is mostly rehashed crap from the other courses, same as them all. Few pages of terms defined, few forms largely copied from other sources. Lots of motivational go-go talk. Put down formal education all the time, because the audience you are aiming at is uneducated and needs to be told “they’re OK”. In fact they like to hear they’re better than the educated people. CD’s with spacey background music on them so the saps who sit there listening to them and meditating actually think they’re better off than before they spent their money.
Marketing is key. You’ve got to pack the butts into the seats. But there is no shortage of people like Casey who want to think people working in jobs are all losers, and they are lucky to be unemployed. All they need is to come and sign over their unemployment check for the seminar and tapes.
Casey, listen up. You do have a way out of this and it has nothing to do with actually trading in real estate or finding sweet deals. YOU MUST BECOME A GURU. Get your course ready. Use the buzz you’ve created online to promote yourself and your course material. Get butts in the seats. Get the losers to come and buy your seminars, books and tapes. You just might be able to earn some real net profit from telling others how to “do it”. Just don’t ever “do it” yourself. The real money is in the seminars.
If that doesn’t work, branch into vitamins or any other MLM scam. Worse case, try Quixtar/Amway.
PS, if you check at any of these get rich seminars, you will find 100% of those in attendance have already done and failed in multiple MLM “opportunities”. They just can’t stay away.
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JLIN
December 17th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Make sure they do not misspell your name on the Real Estate Investing College diploma.
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Bedrock92990
December 17th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Please post this. RK refers to dogs having sex, tells people to “screw themselves,” etc. This is classless. Casey, please take the drivers seat and get yourself back on track. RK tells you to keep going, but why hasn’t the “guru” told you how to get out of this mess?
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Jim
December 17th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
You do realize that the only reason you haven’t been picked up and hauled to the pokey yet is because law enforcement and carefully combing through your finances looking at every mortgage broker you worked with.
If I were a broker who’d sold you a mortgage, I’d be shitting my pants right now. The hwole bunch of you are likely to be arrested on the same day.
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KH
December 17th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
To All You haters on this blog.
I just came back from the same univerisity that Casey attended, matter of fact him and I shared the same room and we talked.
First off this college is THE real deal. those of you who are too damn cheap or who got your degrees and spent alot of time and money in traditional “college” can hate all you want however for enterpenuers like Casey and myself it was very beneficial. Its hard I know to believe someone would teach you how they are making money, but 1, these instructors are getting paid and two most of them have enough net worth that “compettion” is not a serious threat at this point.
Casey may have made mistakes, and been too ambitious and naive when he started the process, however he is trying to do the right thing. IMO
He is a man of integrity trying to figure out the best way to handle his situation……
As for the college it is a wonderful oppurtunity. Some of the classes, in some states at some schools you can transfer for credit into a traditional university and they are working to be even more accredited.
For all you disprespecting him calling him names etc. You need to get a life SERIOUSLY.
Casey will bounce back from this and be sucessful. Mark these words. He’s got more class then half of you “ethical”, know it all, never done nothing wrong in their lives, haters on this blog.
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Colette
December 17th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
If your intent was to flip the properties, how in tarnation did you figure it was possible to have so many flung across the entire west? You buy one, fix it up, market it, sell it and THEN buy property two.
Have you been tested for ADHD?
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Homey Da Clown
December 17th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
KH,
Why you using UC Berkley’s domain to post? Is you one of the “professors” at this Real Estate College there? BWAHAHAHA
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Kevin
December 17th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Hi Phillip,
You are correct when you use your initial cash investment to calculate your return on investment for the initial purchase.
However, if you then decide to hold the property and rent it, the calculation for your return on investment for rental income must be based on the equity in the home. The amount that you have invested is no longer relevant.
Imagine that the home that you purchased doubled in value over the next two years. In that case, you are making a very poor return on your investment if the rent did not increase (which has been a common occurence in many areas). It would be better to sell the house and put the equity into a mutual fund (or use it to rehab more properties).
If you continue to base your rental ROI on your initial cash outlays, you would not know whether you have a good or bad investment on your hands.
Your calculation for your rental ROI was based on the amount of money you invested in your property. However, as you stated, the actual equity in the property was much higher (because of a good purchase and rehab efforts). If you continue in that direction, you may end up renting a $1,000,000 property for $1500/month and about $800,000 in equity and think you are getting a great return on your investment (which you are not).
To be more specific, your calculation about should have been:
$1000 / month rental income or $12,000 / year.
Assume a 10% vacancy rate or $1200 / year.
Net rental income = $12,000 - $1200 = $10,800.
Costs / year: Taxes (@ 3%) = $3000, Insurance (@1%) = $700, Advertising = $20, Mortgage @ 6.13% = $4888.
$10,800 – ($3000+$700+$20+$4888) = $2192 cash flow per year tax-free .
$2192 / $37,000 total dollars invested = 5.9% return per year.
The same goes for the tax calculation.
In that case, it may make sense to sell the house and lock in your initial 247% ROI (and move on to other things).
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jilly
December 17th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
KH,
What kind of a mess are you in to be class with Casey?
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yes
December 17th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Yes, the school is fake so casey can not reveal the name of the school.
It’s a scam school~~~
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Unbelievable
December 17th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
@ KH
You seriously need to invest in a dictionary. Are you related to Ca$ey by any chance ?
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WTF????
December 17th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Mr KH, I’m sure that we can all take your word on what a wonderful program this was. However, to use the word integrity and Casey in the same sentence is just hilarious. Keep it up buddy, maybe you and Casey can tag team on this bog and give us double the laughs…….er…I meant education.
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KH - Casey's room mate?
December 17th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
KH
So you shared a room with Casey - cool. That’s awesome. You are the first person to post on this site who actually has admitting to knowing CS in the real world. What’s he like?
Tell us about this college? How can we future RE investors attend this school. Casey said it was a better value than many of the other seminars he attended…. Sounds good to me. I have one rental property and want to continue to grow my empire. This sounds like a great program and I want to know more. Can you share?
If you can’t post - perhaps you/Casey could send me an e-mail with more information.
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Crashlander
December 17th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Casey is poster child for housing bubble crash.
I’m not sure he knows that. All the ‘bubble blogs’ love to rant about him. Not sure there is any money in being poster child, more like its a curse.
The downturn will take years and the blogs will go on and on and on and on. Casey will no longer be interested in RE when its a good time to buy, anyway he wont have the downpayment required at that time. All this no money down crap is foolishness
No matter how bad u want to believe, Santa aint real.
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Miguel
December 17th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
“First off this college is THE real deal. those of you who are too damn cheap or who got your degrees and spent alot of time and money in traditional “college” can hate all you want however for enterpenuers like Casey and myself it was very beneficial. ”
I’m sure it was, but if I had a choice between that and my first-class business degree from a proper university (plus a prize for scoring one of the top three results in the whole year), I know which I’d go for.
And here’s the punchline - I reckon I spent considerably less money getting a proper degree than Casey did on all these guru-led scam workshops: it was in London, and the fees came to the equivalent of roughly $2,000 a year. True, it also took three years of hard work as opposed to the occasional week here and there - but that’s what getting a proper education entails.
Incidentally, if you’re going to call yourself an entrepreneur, it might help if you learned how to spell it.
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Great jorb
December 17th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
KH
“First off this college is THE real deal. those of you who are too damn cheap or who got your degrees and spent alot of time and money in traditional “college” can hate all you want however for enterpenuers like Casey and myself it was very beneficial…”
1. Great spelling throughout your entire post! “enterpenuers”?
2. Did YOU use your business smarts to split the cost with someone? Remember, Casey told us you can bring a friend for free.
We “haters” don’t hate Casey, for the most part. We have tried to help him and he has ignored/refused reasonable advice from older, more successful people. The master’s degree that I “wasted” my time on has opened more doors for me than you’ll ever be able to imagine.
What I WILL give you, though, is judging by the picture there were lots of hotties at the seminar, which is more than I can say for grad school.
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Unbelievable
December 17th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
@KH
Which “university” did you and Ca$ey attend ? Does this “university” have a name ? How many credit hours did you earn ?
What is YOUR definition of “hater” ?
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Falcon
December 17th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Did I read that correctly? $30,000 on real estate seminars? As in $30k? A three with four zeros after it is what you spent on real estate courses????
You’re an idiot Casey. A complete and utter moronic IDIOT. That has to be the most egregious example of worthless spending that I have ever seen. I cannot believe people like you still exist in this modern world and are so easily swayed by the shiesters and paid shills of our country. Unbelievable. Absolutely and utterly unbelievable. It literally defies belief.
Here is my synopsis of how things will play out in the next year for you Casey. You can reference this post later to see how accurate I was:
- You will continue to live in your fantasy world and try every hair-brained scheme that some real estate “guru” touts
- You will steadily continue to burn yourself further into debt as you take every step to avoid the only thing that can help you, which is bankruptcy
- Your properties will continue to devalue as this housing bubble deflates further
- Your properties will eventually all be foreclosed leaving you with mountains of debt from attempting to keep them for longer than you should have
- You will finally, at long last, declare bankruptcy only to be rejected by the presiding judge when discovery of your fraudulent conduct becomes apparent
- You will be left scratching your head with no obvious way of emerging from the catastrophe you brought upon yourself
- You will eventually be forced to take a ‘real job’ at a low pay rate since your lack of experience will cause you to be brought in at a junior level which will further exacerbate your debt problems
That’s the short term synopsis. Long term is that you will fall prey to another hair brained scheme some shill sells you many years from now and be back in the same situation all over again. Because you will ultimately still be completely unaware of your own failings.
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Law Vibe
December 17th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
“Jail does have the following benefits: Free wardrobe”
Yes, most undoubtedly. I myself have taken a gander at Sing Sing Correctional Facility’s new spring line for 2007 and it really is quite smashing.
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Robert Coté
December 17th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
“The 400 levels at the university I went to had class averages that were usually below 60% so a 70% was a solid A.”
LOL. Brings back memories of an advanced finite methods course where my 14% garnered a “good job” annotation.
Look everybody. The replies are getting too long and repetitious. I propose a set of shorthand:
#1 == Get a job.
#2 == Bankruptcy is [_]
#3 == Been there, done that
#4 == Don’t listen to the haters
etc.
Then there are the modifiers:
! == f@*King
^ == stupid/insane/mentally ill
Thus:
Get a job you f%$king stupid idiot.
Becomes:
#1!^idiot.
Saving space and allowing for more comments.
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Vamp Nora
December 17th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
I have been reading this blog for months and it seems that you Casey are just digging a deeper hole for youself. I realize these seminars are a tax write off if you itemize and as such they are a tax write off but they seem to be taking you deeper into debt. I applaud your efforts in attempting to become a realestate investor but your efforts as of late have been getting you deeper into debt. You should put all your efforts into selling your present properties asap and get you bottom line positive and when you a postive cash flow and the market has turned around then invest in 1 property and resell for a profit. You need a full time job as a staple for your income and do realestate as a sideline until you have lots of experience in RE. As for your wife, you taking her credit down with you. I urge you to seek the advise of a good BK attorney ASAP. I went to college for 4 years to earn a BSN in nursing and there was no short cuts to reaching my goals. I live in the Phoenix area and if you are ever in Phoenix again maybe we can have lunch.
Vamp Nora
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John Smith
December 17th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”
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Sprezzatura
December 17th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
$30,000 would buy you a few years of “real” college education instead of a few weeks of scammy seminars.
And the college education is actually worth something.
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Joey Bobo
December 17th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Hey KH,
Casey won’t let me post the name of the “college”, but I know what it is.
KH, are you the guy who sold Casey his enrollment? That would be sweet. A cool 50% commission for no work at all. Over a “G” in commissions, for nothing but selling dreams.
Maybe I should have sold him first.
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TWIT
December 17th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Casey,
Don’t #4. They are right. You should #1, #3, and it works when you need regular steady money for bothersome stuff like food. #2 good for you, #2 not going to be an option for you in the near future.
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Tim, from Monterey Bay area
December 17th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
” I realize these seminars are a tax write off if you itemize and as such they are a tax write off but they seem to be taking you deeper into debt.”
First, educational expenses have various limitations on their deductibility….it’s been many years since I needed to look at this, so I’m not current. But, there are limits.
Second, deductions are generally against taxable income. So far, there seems to be little of this for Casey in 2006.
(Some losses, and maybe some of his “educational expenses,” be be carryable to future years. This is beyond a straightforward 1040, even with itemization, so Casey will need a competent tax expert to advise him.)
Third, aside from the tax stuff, he blew $30K to, as near as I can tell, make stupid real estate purchases.
(For what it’s worth, I have always favored learning by independent studies, independent reading. Though I got a Bachelors in physics, most of what I learned even in physics, let alone math, programming, computer science, I learned by reading extensively. Real estate is no different, with hundreds of books and full explications of the laws and regulations very freely available. There is no need to pay
“gurus” for seminars and “education.” Paying through the nose for education is, ironically, the fate of the uneducated.)
–Tim from Monterey
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MD_renter
December 17th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Does anyone else feel like s/he is watching one of those early rounds of American Idol. You know, where some kid refuses to admit he can’t sing at all and dismisses the judges as idiots (read: haters).
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Great jorb
December 17th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Pawn the Jetta!
250+ Interesting Replies!!!! I promise!
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teacher
December 17th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Casey,
Did the title Company give you the cash back at close or did the seller write you a check after the closing?
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invest3
December 17th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
So Casey,
How much did the promoters pay you to cut and paste their brochure on your blog?
Also, you state that you’re still hot to bury yourself in more debt in a falling market. Brilliant strategy! Have you ever considered actually saving cash and living debt free? Here’s one of the little pearls of wisdom I picked up along the way; If one has no debt in life one cannot go bankrupt. I guess this makes me a hater.
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Catch me if you can
December 17th, 2006 at 6:45 pm
I have read this blog with a kind of morbid curiosity. Kind of like passing a massive accident on the freeway, you have to slow down and look. Having a few more years under my belt than CS I can say all these “get rich quick” seminars are as old as the hills, as a child I remember watching the TV seeing these adds and going to a few with family members. It’s empty Casey, they are selling a false dream, fed by the media (pick your bling bling TV show hosting celebrities pads). You wont accept it, you are addicted to a lifestyle you cannot afford nor will you make the legitimate effort to achieve on your own merits (think about that education your heroes put down).
See, I do have personal experience with these con artists and your type. I have gotten to watch a few family members go down your path (though admittedly not to the sama spectacular degree as you). You won’t stop until you ARE stopped, when you have exausted every option, had every family member tell you not to ever call for money again, had every bank slam the door in your face, lost everything you own (although you sir own nothing, the banks own it all), and maybe lost your marriage. You will then be stopped, but the stigma will continue forever, you will be remembered as “the con artist” by your friends and family, they will always be suspicious when you ask for help, I hope it was worth it.
Maybe you will wake up a few years down the road and look at all the time lost chasing the dream offered by your false idols, maybe you could have made something legitimate of yourself. In less time that my family members have been chasing that false dream I went to college, then professional school, and now I am living the lifestyle they wanted so bad. I have a home to show for it, the cars and the nice vacations
because I am a working “sucker” and I am now my own boss. My misguided family members have nothing but mountains of debt, many years lost and no future to show for it.
Your still young, young anough that you can do anything with your life assuming you dont land in jail, it’s not to late to turn away from the “fools gold” offered by the likes of RK.
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teacher
December 17th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
How to Not go bankrupt:
Visit Casey’s blog 1 time per week; find out what Casey is doing, then don’t do what Casey is doing.
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Mak
December 17th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
@John Smith,
Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend… (Polonius)
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You do realize...
December 17th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
…that “bring a partner for free” means it’s a scheme to sucker in as many people as possible - almost always a sign of desperation. If they were so proud of being of such good quality - why offer you a 50% discount? (You didn’t take it but that’s your fault)
You do realize that the reason why someone who “packages a financed deal” for OTHERS (instead of taking it) must think it’s not good enough to go for by himself, do you? Then why would it be good for you/others? And please don’t start trying to reason with “I am in a different tax/credit/etc. situation” because it’s really not what makes a deal good for one person and bad for another.
Oh man. You make me angry. Last post ever by me, I swear.
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Phillip
December 17th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Kevin,
Ah, you da man! I see what your point thanks to your example. It seems to be somewhat, but not exactly, along the same lines as an “opportunity cost.”
However, I must respectfully disagree:
In the cash-on-cash return, AKA cash ROI, the denominator must always be the initial cash outlay. The denominator cannot also include the instant equity gained from the below-market price purchase.
The reason the equity gained must not be part of the calucation is that a cash ROI (or cash-on-cash return whatever you want to call it) is the amount of money I’m receiving due to the out-of-pocket cash I’ve initially invested. In fact, the “breakeven calculation” is based on the above fatct: if I receive 5k a year in income and had to pay 15k to get that income, then the breakeven calculation is 5kper year / 15k invested = 3 years to break even, or recoup the initial investment.
The way you state the calculation should be (i.e. include the total equity gained at purchase in the denominator) means that I’d want to purchase properties with the least amount of equity (buy at retail or more than retail) so that my “cash ROI” would be greater. But I would do very badly if I purchased at a high, retail price, and the properties probably wouldn’t even cash flow.
If you’d like to know how to choose between two different investments, may I suggest you look up the term Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The IRR was used in the 70’s/80’s for real estate, but has since fallen by the wayside in favor of using cap rates and cash-on-cash returns.
The point is this: I want as many units as possible that cash flow so that I can improve my lifestyle. Even if I were renting out a house that had 50% Cash ROI and a 800% ROE, I’d never sell the property to capture all that excess equity. Why? Because my goal like I said is to have as many cash flowing units in my control. If these properties are sitting on 0 equity or 1000000equity, I don’t care!
So here is a short term goal for me in 2007 (thanks for brining this out). I promise to increase our cash flow from a current $1100 / month to 2200 / month.
Now I’m focused - let’s do it!
Phillip
retirein6years.gcproperties1.com
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Solvent
December 17th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Even with all these benefits, I was a little bit hesitant in going to this real estate investing college thinking, “Why do I need to go to another seminar? I already know all this stuff. How much better can this be?”
ROFLMAO!!!
You know NOTHING about real estate investing. Your only experience is in fraudulant real estate speculation, and you’ve come a cropper on that.
“I have spent something like $30,000 on real estate seminars before this ”
and have seven figures in debt to show for it…
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SCapitalist
December 17th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
If only they could teach things like disciple and the value of research. You made all of your investment in a horrible market. An astute investor knows the market, and has a plan to deal this any projects problems. You had no disciple with your money and no plan on how to deal with your property. THAT is what you should be learning.
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Majer Enterpenuer
December 17th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
KH is right, that school rocks! I got 3 stars on my test and a smiley face! KH even got to hold the Mr. RE doll during show and tell. And if we click enough mouses and buy enough houses, we get to have pizza party! Yay!!!
KH, you should stick around here so you can take over this blog just in case anything happens to Casey. College is for haters!
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beezer
December 18th, 2006 at 1:08 am
Please stop referring to a cheesy, week-long seminar as college. You’re uneducated. Accept it. Change it, and GET some education. Actual education. And while you’re at that, go ask some actual institutions of higher learning just how many credits they’d transfer from this idiocy. Because if you honestly think you can use these as credits (not that you seem to have any desire to get education), you’re even stupi… oh, nevermind.
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JTR
December 18th, 2006 at 6:55 am
“Each student follows a customized curriculum based on their level of knowledge and experience
Each class starts with a pre-test to measure your knowledge level. The results are scored within minutes and the teacher knows which topics to emphasize”
So….do you think the fact that based on your pre-test results, you were placed in classes that cover what you believe to be your “core competencies” says anything about your appititude for being a “real estate investor”?
Just curious….
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Jdelagado
December 18th, 2006 at 7:29 am
“You need to attend some accredited college where hard works are measured by grades A, B, C, … not those lousy weekend real estate make rich quick courses which takes your money and give no grades because all students are as stupid as one another. Quality my ass.”
I’ll bet you have a SAFE, secure job with benefits, a 401k and you probably have 3 MBA’s, a PHD and are as destitute as most real estate brokers………
J Delgado
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Jobu
December 18th, 2006 at 8:30 am
Damn, the university where I got my degree did not give me any commission, even though a bunch of my friends went there as well.
Bartender, Jobu needs a refill.
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Stephanie J
December 18th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Sounds like Casey would come out of a Time-Share seminar convinced that he’d just made a ‘Sweet RE Deal’.
He’s ’snake-oil’ prone.
Pretty much anything where some self-proclaimed expert is standing up in the front of a room, pointing at a white board is enough qualification to enrapture Casey. Even better, if those said-experts jot their pearls of wisdom down into a badly written how-to get rich quick book; he’ll be all over it like white on rice–spending money he doesn’t have to absorb this trove of secrets to becoming rich that only a few carefully selected people have possession of. Crap from random ponitificators=Gospel to our little fair-haired friend.
It’s very sad to see people like Casey; so easily influenced by the wrong people. No independence of mind; only a propensity to seek benefit from the efforts, creativity and ideas of people who possess nor offer none of those things but only give the appearance of it.
Ah.. well. It’s good entertainment; and the ones that stand in his defense are just as amusing.
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PICTURES ABOVE
December 18th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Above Left:
Real Estate student completing the some of the questions in final exam for the Level 300 class: ‘Use Your Spouse’s Credit To Secure More Investments’.
Above Right:
Real Estate Investment students mingle at a mixer after a hard day of listening to dogma. The discussions are lively, and the words ’sweet’ and ‘deal’ are often heard. Air whistling through empty skull cavities is also a constant background noise.
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KH
December 18th, 2006 at 10:26 am
Okay so I am not the strongest speller in the world. I’ll admit that, I didn’t do the spell check thing. I also don’t know what advice Casey has been given and not heeded.
All I can talk about is my experience with the college and me getting to know him a little bit. I have not read all the posts, I am new to this site but it seems that a lot of people are coming down really hard on him and he just made mistakes.
As for college I know multi-millionaires who never went. And I know those who did and are only making 40 to 50 K with a master’s degree. Hmmmm… Interesting, if you think you went to college and that makes you a better person fine. Degrees do open some doors for employees but that’s not my mentality.
I am not one of the college’s professors. I did split my tuition. It was very beneficial information especially if you knew nothing about real estate and wanted to be become an investor.
I think Casey was looking for some answers to try to help him fix his problems there and I don’t know if he found them but the college was excellent.
He does feel bad for what he’s done, doesn’t really want to file A BK if he doesn’t have to… this I got from talking to him. I say he has integrity because at least he is willing to admit he did wrong and feels bad about it and is trying to fix it.
I’m sure you self righteous investors on this site have never done anything wrong. Ever.
I don’t know why he doesn’t want to name the college probably because he doesn’t want it to be associated with this type of discussion.
I guess most of you have never heard if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it at all.
As for my traditional college buddies no disrespect but they teach you how to be an employee which is fine if that is what you want. People after talking to me always ask “what college did you go to?” and are always stunned to find out I don’t have a degree.
Casey is not trying to deceive anyone but have open and honest discussion. He made mistakes he admits that, trying to correct that and keep his spirit alive.
As for my definition of “hater” it would be one who dislikes someone for no apparent reason. Lets be real people if Casey has explicitly offended then that’s one thing, if not why all the name calling and negativity?
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Old Fart
December 18th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Look kid, maybe the only way to talk some sense into you is to spell out a plan for your glorious comeback.
I watched that clip of you and your idol Kawasaki. He was dropping some major hints to you, like “face your creditors”, “act now” (hint…not blogging, not attending, but ACTING). He mentioned the mistake of the woman who bought at the top of the cycle for 124k, missed her chance get out at 70k, and went through foreclosure and he got it for 50k. He repeatedly said the cycle was king, which it is, and implied we have a ways to go on the downside.
He also mentioned people he knew filing for bankruptcy and using a corporation to buy real estate at the bottom. I sense the way your mind works. You won’t undertake serious action till you see a quick creative way to make it back. So go chapter 7 now if you can and be upfront with your creditors if need be and avoid fraud charges/jail with a good lawyer. Then get a decent job like before to save some cash and use that creativity to accumulate business credit. Then time the market low in a year or two and make your money back.
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Alex
December 18th, 2006 at 10:48 am
ROFLMAO this blog is getting ree dick ulous
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BelowTheCrowd
December 18th, 2006 at 11:05 am
Casey,
I’m not sure who the American Council of Education is. The American Council on Education is an education lobbying/interest group and most universities are members. However, it does not accredit institutions or their courses.
Most universities only accept transfer credit from actual accredited institutions, and then only when the courses are focused on areas on study in which they offer degrees.
-btc
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Kevin
December 18th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Hi Phillip,
I’m not sure I’m going to be able to convince you of anything, but all I’ll say is “money is money”. Just because it wasn’t money that you initially invested in the house, doesn’t mean it isn’t your money. If you leave $1,000,000 in equity in a house that you are renting for $2000, then you aren’t getting a very good deal (no matter how great the initial purchase was).
Again, remember that “money is money” and if it can be making more money somewhere else, then you need to move it. :-)
–Kevin
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Hater Mike
December 18th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
“The experts find properties with positive cash flow, line-up tenants and secure financing. All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house. Ongoing management is included.”
Casey, use a little common sense. If these houses were such slam dunk positive cash flow money makers, why would they sell them instead of holding them and making some money? Why would they just hand it to you and all you have to do is click a mouse and wait for the first check?
With all that you’ve done to yourself, you should have developed a little more of a critical cautious eye by now.
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click away
December 18th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
J Delgado,
I bet you felt pretty special when those clowns at the seminar made you seem superior for your lack of formal education.
My only question is this. In your day to day dealings with the many people whom you depend on for water, sewer, roads, electricity, heat, insurance, protection, advertising, phone, internet, title insurance, legal help, printing, mailing, etc. do you treat them like crap for having secure jobs that YOU DEPEND on. STFU hater.
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Ed
December 18th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I can’t believe you are still going to week long RE seminars. Haven’t you learned anything from your experience? You have a lot more to learn it seems.
lol
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Chin-y Chin Chin
December 18th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
— “why all the name calling and negativity?”
Because the collective Caseys have created the biggest real estate bubble in US history and it’s not EVEN close to bottoming yet.
Hey, Casey, that was a funny bit I did with the ad crickage, why’d you delete it?
And please make Tim go away. He grew tiresome in 1990, I read this blog for some smiles, man.
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Underwear Model
December 19th, 2006 at 8:24 am
“All you have to do is click a mouse and buy a house”
Learn how to do some Due Diligence. They count on you not researching anything beyond the info they have given you so you will just click and buy.
Even your so-called mentor RK in that video says he hates to do due diligence. But I bet he does it.
When you talk, do you use a lot of air quotes and motion with your fingers?
It took me 4 years to go through college. If I had known that I only had to go 4 weeks - 1 week per year - I could have saved a lot of time and money.
As for the bankruptcy - which I know nothing about - isn’t it like a toilet? You pull the flush lever and all the debt goes down the drain and you never have to see it again, BUT it doesn’t disappear. Someone else has to deal with the sewage - routing it to the sewer system, maintain the sewer system, deal with it at a treatment plant, etc…
So for you, you just flush it, but everyone else has to deal with it. RK was so cavalier about filing bancruptcy, I can’t believe it.
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HOMEY DA CLOWN
December 19th, 2006 at 8:26 am
IT’S HOMEY TIME!!!
Yneone is HK.
STOP DELETING MY POSTS YOU COWARD.
‘Two days later and you haven’t copy/pasted the admission of truth under penalty of perjury, WHY NOT?
I clicked 300 times. Adsense should cut you off soon now.
TELL THE TRUTH about;
1. Res-com
2. Chris
3. Able & Fitch
4. your family’s involvment in your scams.
5. PrnkLIz deal
6. RK deal
Da man already knows the 411, don’t you know that by now? When they come knocking on your door, your story will be worthless. Felons are not entitled to profit from their crimes. Better butch up for the big house.
Let’s do a survey… who has contacted the FBI? IRS? DA’s OFFICE? DOJ? ATTORNEY GENERALS?
Love,
Homey
PS.. Sputnik RULES. Go poop in Casey’s shoes for me.
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BelowTheCrowd
December 19th, 2006 at 11:52 am
Oh, and am I the only one to notice that once again, the picture of the pencil on the sheets off paper is just too perfect? Perfectly lit with multiple lightsources; pencil perfectly sharpened and placed so that the shadow would fall just perfectly; bubble-forms filled out with enough info to seem legitimate but not with any identifying information; logo visible but not quite identifiable; and of course the whole thing in just about pefect focus across the entire plane, something that’s usually achievable at those distances only by using either a tilt/shift lens or a view camera?
That real estate college sure went to great lengths to allow you to set up such a shot in the middle of a test. But of course that isn’t what happened, is it?
I still can’t figure this blog out. The costs involved in the photography alone are greater than the possible ad revenue. I just can’t quite see the point here. Maybe as a lead-in to some new TV series, or something? A black comedy about a real estate flipper gone bust and his bumbling manner off dealing with his problems?
-btc
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Monty Burns
December 19th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Stephanie J, it’s funny how when Casey was being all pompous about education because all they do is teach you to memorize answers and not develop critical thinking. When he gets out of seminars, what does he do? Did he hear one thing that he questioned?
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Anon 4 Me
December 19th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Here’s a bit more detail on the accredation:
“Several xxxx courses have been successfully reviewed and recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE)”
The recommendation “applies to 7 specific, investment strategies” (courses?) “each of which is recommended for one hour of college credit in the Associate-Degree category for Real Estate or Business Administration”
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ryan
December 20th, 2006 at 12:20 am
Casey,
Your “college” trip and review has sealed my opinion of your blog and your intentions - you aren’t trying to cover your debts with honest real estate deals or sound financial decisions. You are milking your noteriety for site traffic and ad dollars. You have not given any information of any value. Obviously your mission statement …’Trying to avoid foreclosure, sell quickly, repay everyone, and blog my lessons to help others in trouble.’ is pure pablum. Good luck, I’ll check your site in about six months to see what lunacy you have spun but I have better things to do than read your soap opera.
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DSutter
December 20th, 2006 at 6:17 am
Casey,
I see you are still struggling with this stuff. I really feel for you and if you are really serious about continuing to invest in real estate you need to do a lot of things.
One is you need to check out http://www.magicbullets.com/forum/
There is a wealth of information there that can help.
The other thing you need is a book. That book is called the Psychology of the Deal, you can read about it at http://www.reitactics.com/PsychologyOfTheDeal
Personally, I feel it is so important to your future that I am willing to buy it for you. If you will email me I will be happy to make it happen for you.
If you don’t want to send me an email, just comment here that you would like and I will make it happen that way too.
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Chris G
December 20th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
“Casey, use a little common sense. If these houses were such slam dunk positive cash flow money makers, why would they sell them instead of holding them and making some money? Why would they just hand it to you and all you have to do is click a mouse and wait for the first check?”
Because they are in the buy/fixup/sell business, the wholesale business, and the property management business. It happens all the time. I have several people in my real estate investors club who do the same thing, and they have very happy clients that I also know. The reason why these guys don’t just collect the cash flow from the rentals is because the cash flow isn’t big enough for them, but it’s big enough for small fry investors, plus the properties are often in areas where they don’t want to own. They just want to manage the property — that’s the cash flow stream that they want. There are also other ancillary cash flow streams in the property management business that help make them money. The guys who set up those businesses end up being very passive investors.
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Salt Lake Real Estate Blog: Casey Serin - Where Are You?
December 20th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Kramer auto Pingback[…] Casey Serin - Where Are You? The blogosphere is buzzing about Casey Serin. After his trip to Phoenix for real estate school, he hasn’t posted or moderated any comments for some time.Keith at Housing Panic is concerned. After all, he’s “rooting for this kid.”Honestly, I’m a little worried. I checked my email this morning and had comments questioning Casey’s welfare. I figured he was just tired from his trip, possibly a little depressed. I sent an email earlier today to check in with him - no response. Then I noticed his site had gone down for a while. His ablebuyer site was still active though. Later on, I got an email from a “concerned web citizen” -I’ve been following Casey’s blog for a little over three months. I see he’s not done any moderating or posting in almost 48 hours. You seem to have a good relationship with him. Is everything okay? I’m concerned he may be in trouble. Could you please reassure me all is well for him?Unfortunately, I can’t. I gave him a call several hours ago, but have yet to hear back from him. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about something like this, but Casey has been religious in allowing comments and making posts on his website. This is a bit out of character.I just hope and pray all is well. If I don’t hear anything by tomorrow, I will contact the journalists who have done stories on him and see if they can dig anything up.Labels: able buyer, casey serin, casey serin disappearance, housing panic […]
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