No more excuses! It’s true. I lied on my loans.
I overstated my income, and misrepresented my owner-occupied status and concealed the cash-back-at-close from the bank. I knew it all along. Nobody made me do it. It was my fault. I take full responsibility. And, that’s how I originally started this blog.
But then… I started to spin it.
First I though I will be some kind of “whistle blower” - exposing the industry, bad real estate gurus, etc. I then realized how stupid that was - I have no expertise or credibility to expose anything. I am guilty myself.
Second, I tried blaming the banks. They made these loans so easy to get, so it’s their fault. WRONG! Easy or not, a lie is a lie! I am guilty and should not try to weasel out of it.
That was WRONG and STUPID.
I want to apologize to all my friends, associates and readers of this blog.
What started as an honest attempt to write about my situation turned into a spinning act and subtle blame shifting.
I even went back and edited some of my earlier posts to make myself sound better. I am truly sorry I let myself fall into that. I will be restoring my posts to the original version later today or tomorrow.
[UPDATE: I restored my first post and added some good detail. That’s where I first mentioned “liar loans”. Check it out: Why I am Facing Foreclosure. ]
Now what??
- No more lying to cover up old lies.
- No more blaming - I did it
- No more spinning and trying to make myself look better
- I take full responsibility
- I will pay whatever price I must
- I will do whatever I must do to MAKE IT RIGHT!
And… No More Ads!. I need to cover my hosting bill, so I can stay online and help more people with my story.
So… I lied on my loans. I got over-extended. I am facing foreclosure. The lenders stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over my mistakes. My questions to you is….
What can I do to make it right?
98 Comments
October 4th, 2006 at 8:31 am
it’s not like you murdered someone. so you lied to the banks, big deal. the banks knew you were lying to them. they just package the loans and sell them off anyway.
imo you should forget about the banks, to them you’re just a number, there are thousands of people in your position.
October 4th, 2006 at 9:46 am
You’ve started. With apologies to
Kübler-Ross
1. Denial and isolation - The “No, not me” stage.: “This is not happening.”
2. Anger - The “Why me?” stage.: “How dare you do this to me?!” Blaming others or just chance.
3. Bargaining - The “If I do this, you’ll do that” stage.: “Just let me get out with a little cash.”
4. Depression - The “It’s really happened” stage.: “I can’t keep acting like this, putting my family through this.”
5. Acceptance - The “This is going to happen” stage.: “I’m ready, I don’t want to resist anymore.”
Now that you’ve stopped bargaining and rationalizing things can only get better. Tougher yes but better. Without all the energy wasted on bargaining you can concentrate on containing the damage, formulating an exit plan, executing.
October 4th, 2006 at 9:47 am
Casey,
I think a lot of people have lied to get a loan. I would estimate @ least 50% lie to get loans.
As far as your situation goes try and get rid of these properties fast. Do not chase the market down.I hope the short sales work out for you.If any of these properties were producing positive cash flow you could probably hold on for the long term but don’t think that is the case here. All the people who were speculating are going to be forced to sell under unfavorable conditions. When investing you should choose the time to sell and not be forced into a bad situation.
I think you got a little greedy which is human nature. You have to learn to control your greed and find a balance between greed and fear.
I think you were speculating and not really investing. So many people think that real estate only goes up but that is wrong. When the money seems so easy to be true than that is time to sell and look a other opportunities.
October 4th, 2006 at 10:09 am
you have to ask how to make this right!?!?!?!?
face the music kid! stop ignoring the phone calls, be upfront with your lenders….
you got in way over your head. i just don’t understand: why so many properties & why in 4 different states? these seem like two rules even a novice would know not to break.
not even taking into account the fraud you committed on your loan apps, that is probably the most stupid move you could make.
i can’t wait to see how this turns out for you, so please keep posting.
October 4th, 2006 at 10:11 am
Honesty is a first step.
Then you have to apologize,
Then you have to make amends.
October 4th, 2006 at 10:36 am
That’s just it, Casey.
You can’t make it right.
You’re going to get beat up, and you’ll have a lot of company.
October 4th, 2006 at 10:55 am
If you really want to “make things right”, stop avoiding calls from the people who’s money you borrowed.
Face it casey, you took their money, now you won’t pay the agreed interest or give the money back.
No one cares about your excuses.
No one cares that you wasted the money on poor real estate decisions, no one cares! From what I can see you have four options; 1) Pay the Interest you owe, 2) Pay back the money you borrowed, 3) Try to weasel your way out of paying all the money back, 4) Go to prision for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
October 4th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Dude, put the ads back up. At this point, any legal source of income is exactly what you need.
October 4th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
You and a bunch of others didn’t want to work hard so you cheated just to get some leverage.
Even in gambling people should play fair.
I work hard and play fair. And I hate cheaters.
October 4th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
Well at least you have a girlfriend. I don’t even have that!
October 4th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Go GET A JOB!!!! Make it right first by getting a job!!! And pay off whatever you can to the lenders you owe. You can’t just delay paying them and hope magically your home will sell. If you want to make it right you give them whatever you can by selling all your possessions and on certain “necessities” and give them the money. Cancel your cell phone bill, Sell your nice cellphone, No cable TV, Stop filling up your gas tank and ride the bus, Sell your car. Eat Top Ramen. That is the life you should be living if you want to make it right. October is here and you obviously aren’t gonna pay your lenders anything this month. And pretty soon November and then December will pass. And your homes still won’t sell because you missed the final push of when home sales are the hottest. SO GO GET A JOB!!!!You said you had an offer. So why didn’t you take it. I hate beggars who feel that they have the right to choose. Take whatever you can get and yes that does mean flipping burgers if that’s all you can get.
And to that idiot “Yo Dady” who replied to my previous post. I’m assuming he meant ‘Daddy’. My point is if flipping burgers is all he can get, he should take it. If cleaning toilets is all he can get, he should take it. If doing grunt work at a web programming company is all he can get, He should take it. He needs any income right now. Even if it is holding up a “Will Work for Food Sign.” You dont’ think he can take the time to do this Blog and flip burgers even if it does pay minimum wage. You think Casey is that busy showing his houses to people. Look again my friend. Houses aren’t selling and you’d be lucky to get 1 prospective buyer per month. Even if he blogs 6 hours per day. What is he doing for the rest of the 126 hours he has free per week. I dare anyone to try and sleep, crap, eat, watch tv, and pick your nose for a week and you couldn’t even come close to doing that for a 126 hours/per week. Especially if you’re as “ambitious” like our boy Casey here right. And if you think that flipping burgers for 20-40 hours a week is gonna ruin his marriage…Look again Mr. Yo Dady. You think maybe the problem might come from…I don’t know…That 2.2 Million Dollar Debt!!! Hanging over his head. It’s just a guess but obviously ‘Yo Dady’s’ advice comes from a life of not having to work a single day of some honest hard labor. There’s nothing wrong with flipping burgers if that’s all you can get.
Ohhhh and 1 more thing…I think I read someone else’s comment about not listening to all the negative comments. And how Casey should be proud for doing what he tried to accomplish. And people giving negative comments are only those people who missed the opportunity in investing in the housing market and don’t have the guts to do what he did.
Well Slow Down…And maybe you should take you lips off of his #@$% for one sec. Jumping in and trying to start a “business” without having much knowledge of the industry is very foolish. You think an accountant one day after taking some fashion classes and trying to start up a Jean company and then fails, but lied to all the banks to give him the money to start the business, should be praised for his efforts. Casey got caught in that mentality where you win in Vegas for the first time and think it’s gonna be easy all the way through. Sure if he started earlier, then maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess. Well that’s debatable too. Maybe he would be stuck with 50 homes now and 20 Million in debt.
But the signs of a slowing market have been there for around a year. And Casey ignored it or just didn’t know. Either way that is what happens when you lack experience and get too greedy.
Ohhh and by the way…GO GET A JOB!!!!!!! Ohhh Yeah…I’m sorry. You’re working on it. Well then work harder!!!! You want me to find you one!!! I promise I can get you a job right now. GO GET A JOB!!!
October 4th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
You are a very interesting case because your attitude is so Gen-Y it’s not even funny. The rationalizing the lying on the loan application like CD copying and stuff is pretty hilarious.
Perhaps trying to get famous by being the “I am facing foreclosure” poaster child isn’t a bad idea. Who knows — you might get on Larry King by being the most stupid person in real estate. Hey, it worked for Annarosa in the Apprentice, right? She gets jobs now and she was the most annoying person on there.
October 4th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Move on. File BK. Take down the blog.
October 4th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Make yourself hard to find for a while after you file BK.
October 4th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
I see a couple of morons trying to feed on your losses offering you half of what you paid for on your house. It is disgusting yet interesting.
Several idiots suggested some thing good will come out of this such as lesson learned, etc. Simply retarded. Nothing good will come out of this.
October 4th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
You know what Casey, it takes a lot to admit that you are wrong. However, if anything the responsibility is shared by you and the others involved for chasing the almighty dollar. You wouldn’t have been able to get yourself 2.2 million if it weren’t for lax lending, inflated appraisals, and flippers trying to make a fast buck.
You got caught up in the tornado of real estate fast bucks. But I appreciate your unbelievably honest experience. However, you need to take credit for the fact that you were able to get your hands on 2.2 million dollars in one year. That in itself is amazing (and scary to anyone with financial prudence reading this blog).
I wish you the very best and have a feeling you aren’t the only one that lenders and bankers are calling.
October 4th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Should I really Shorting sale and BK out of this thing? Isn’t that considered dodging my responsibility and weaseling out of paying back my lenders?? I’m not sure BK is the “right” thing to do… I should really repay every dirty penny I borrowed
October 4th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
Casey, understand. You cannot pay it all back. Do the math. You could end up with $1m worth of real estate after 30 years if you can come up with $60k now and $15k per month for the next year and $20k per month thereafter as the ARMs reset.
BK exists for impossible siruations. That said, you are already backpedalling. You didn’t “borrow” the money. Last I saw bankruptcy is not on the list of deadly sins unlike several others I could mention.
October 4th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
I just don’t like the sound of a BK… just weaseling out of paying back a loan I promised to pay. Short sale is a similar thing actually.
I’ve never NOT paid a loan back in my life. And I don’t want to start now.
Another thing… if the lenders loose money, they have a reason to investigate me and my loans. And I have already given them plenty of ammo on this blog to nail me for whatever they want - loan fraud, embezzlement, you name it.
I spoke with my RE attorney and he says the *ideal* situation is to pay back all the loans and everyone is happy.
So if I can pay back every dirty penny I borrowed, that would be good for 1) legal reasons and for 2) “doing the right thing”.
October 4th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Casey, Permit me to quote a phrase from a recent teambuilding exercise I participated in:
What were ya smokin’?
Way too many people have run afoul of “the rules” during the past 5 years and they’ve had willing accomplices in mortgage brokers, lenders, appraisers, and realtors.
This however, does not make what you did right.
I agree with a couple of other posters who said that you should do whatever you have to do to sell all of your properties immediately even if it means you take a loss on the properties. The market is falling and the best thing you can do for yourself is get what you can from your properties but SELL NOW. Pay off as many creditors as you can and work out a payment plan with those you can’t pay in full.
This is what you do if you really want to “make things right!”
By the way, you’re not going to get off scot free with a bankruptcy filing. THe new bankruptcy laws passed last fall will likely ensure that you are on the hook for a portion of your debt. And your credit will be ruined for the next 7 years minimum.
If your banks give you short sales, be thankful because you’ll have been let off the hook for your mortgages (not to mention possible charges of fraud!) and I think your credit rating will not be harmed. But do get a job and start saving your money because any debt forgiven by your creditors in short sales becomes taxable income and the IRS will be breathing down your neck next.
Best of luck to you.
Sincerely, RoadTripBoy
October 4th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
It’s natural to experience difficulty while first grappling with the thought of going BK. If you’re sincere about wanting to repay “every penny,” then you are still in stage 1 (Denial and Isolation).
The advice of bloggers like GET A JOB!!, HN and Move On may seem harsh, but they are by and large correct. You were seduced by the prospect of quick and easy riches, chose to make a run for them, and acted unethically at times to make it happen. The strategy was poor and ultimately forced you into failure. But this is just about money, and nobody was killed. Except your credit report, which will spring back to life in a decade.
Your poor choices included, among others: buying property out of state; buying non-performing assets (no rental income); no economies of scale (all SFH’s); little value-added in the process (I gather you are not an architect, broker, lawyer, builder or other such professional in the trade). It’s clear that the strategy was 100% about betting on further appreciation (speculation). Any objective person can see immediately there is no way the properties themselves are going to pay off the loans. And since you can’t, it’s game over. You were counting solely on appreciation bailing you out, right? A double-or-nothing? Well, it’s nothing.
1) ALL lenders will DEFINITELY send you 1099’s for indebtedness forgiveness following short sales.
2) Unless you have cash losses elsewhere, those 1099’s will generate a HUGE tax liability.
3) The IRS liability WILL survive bankruptcy. The IRS WILL agree to a payment plan, but they MUST charge you interest (currently around 8%), so the payments will be tough.
4) A deficiency following foreclosure may lead the lenders to seek a general judgment on the deficiency. Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is usually the best solution.
5) If you have considerable unsecured debt, you might as well consider Chapter 7.
This blog may ultimately give you a considerable edge over the many others in your position. Strangers like us are helping you move down the learning curve more rapidly. You’ll get on with your life faster. Get a job and start learning about your options!
Good Luck
October 4th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
I just don’t like the sound of a BK… just weaseling out of paying back a loan I promised to pay. Short sale is a similar thing actually.
I’ve never NOT paid a loan back in my life. And I don’t want to start now.
Well…just run the numbers on your POSSIBLE debt service. A person making an ‘average’ income of $50K per year will make $2,000,000 over 40 years. Out of that they must pay taxes and all living expenses, so with debt service at 50% of gross income, it would amount to $1,000,000 paid back. For a lifetime of work.
$50K per year is $4166 gross per month, so that is maybe $3000-$3500 per month take home pay without health insurance or retirement savings. You would spend $1500 to $1800 per month paying for debt service. You would be left with roughly $1500 per month for housing, food, and transportation. Your standard of living with a $50K income would be that of a person making, at best, $20K per year.
Inflation will raise the average income over time, but the interest on the loans raises the amount necessary for repayment.
A person making $75K per year can’t live normally and pay for a mortgage much over $300K…plus they get to live in the house instead of paying for lost assets.
This is why your situation is stunning to those of us run the numbers and why your situation is HOPELESS! COMPLETELY HOPELESS!
My guess is the lenders will agree to some sort of deal because they now know you have no chance of repaying the money. They may deal because they don’t want to draw attention to their own sloppy and shady dealings. In the end your honesty may help, but it is likely to result in a ‘reasonable’ debt service plan that may only be a token of what was actually lost.
-John
p.s. This case resembles the night club fire just now in the news. The rock band Great White set fire to a wooden club and it caused massive deaths and damages–but there’s no way for the club or band to repay. You are the de facto poster boy for the housing bubble, just like the band, and it’s going to be repeated 10,000 times in the next few years.
October 4th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
First, stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop being apologetic. Lenders accepts the RISK of doing business with you. They took the risk, they were stupid, they didn’t demand enough risk compensation … whatever, that is THEIR problem and NOT YOURS. Another poster here is right, the banks literally package up the loans and pass them on to (probably) Fannie Mae, where they work the magic of statistics and use financial derivatives to turn your bad loan into an AAA rated mortgage loan. The system handles it.
It’s THEIR g***** problem. Your job (and I’m not being sarcastic) is to weasel your way out of your situation through any legal means necessary. The bank loses big on the loan? SCREW EM. Can you evade any of this by bankruptcy? Maybe look at that route.
What you must do now is reduce your leverage, as leverage is the key to an aggressive investment gone wrong. Don’t feel bad about delaying the creditors. Again, it’s their problem and not yours. Win yourself as much time as possible, reduce leverage, stay legal but remember you owe the lenders nothing morally.
October 4th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
I don’t know if you are retarded or just simply stupid. How are you going to make payment on $140K credit card debt at 15%-19% interest rate?
What is your minimum credit card payment? $3700/month? They’ll let you make minimum payments for about 6 months then when interest kicks in, your monthly payment will double. Hence, you have no choice but file BK. What are you going to eat if all money you make goes to making credit card payment?
October 5th, 2006 at 12:50 am
This is great advice from above. You have secured and unsecured debt. This is why this is the best choice for you.
4) A deficiency following foreclosure may lead the lenders to seek a general judgment on the deficiency. Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is usually the best solution.
5) If you have considerable unsecured debt, you might as well consider Chapter 7.
October 5th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Ads, no ads
Running from Lenders
Short sale, bankruptcy.
I’m sure the list goes on and on.
I know this time is tough for you. You are not thinking straight but it’s time for you to exercise your VERY weak decision making muscles.
Make a real decision and stick to it.
October 5th, 2006 at 6:34 am
How the hell did you get credit card lines of $140,000 to begin with?
October 5th, 2006 at 6:47 am
you will ever be able to pay back that money. if you owned it to people I would say go ahead and try, but the truth is you owe the money to faceless corporations that don’t give a damn about you or anyone else. screw them, they should never have lent you the money.
October 5th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Dude,
Just move overseas. Credit history doesn’t follow you across international borders.
October 5th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Casey, If you can somehow find a way to pay back everyone.. yeah go for it, but I can’t see that happening in a sinking market. Prices are down from when you bought everything almost everywhere. Maybe if you could somehow sell all your properties and wrap all the losses into one loan, but I doubt you could get the loan for that at this point.
One option is you could offer to short sell all the houses (so you don’t keep bleeding cash) and offer to pay back all the banks for what the difference is on some sort of a payment plan. If their only other option is to forgive the debt, they may be keen on that.
Once again, you have an interest problem though. If you can take all your losses and afford to pay interest + principal on those losses… well that would make the lenders happy.
October 5th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Jim Jantz, it’s because of idiots like you that this country is going down the crapper fast. The idea that you can just dump your problems on nameless, faceless creditors is IMMORAL and COWARDLY.
If you’re the one who got the loan, then it’s YOU who need to repay it. Nobody forced it on you. The creditors aren’t the bad guys, here.
Cowboy up, and be a man.
And Casey, I’m glad you’re turning the corner learning to be completely honest. In the long run (and in your case a VERY long run) it’s the only way to live your life).
And, for my two cents, I see nothing wrong with getting ad revenue from this. We can all learn from your experiences.
October 5th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I thank all of you for posting, I am in a similar situations as Casey but not as extreme (all my 6 properties are/were in Sacramento area). Yes, my motive was a fast buck. But as Jim Janez said, the banks are still making money off these deals by selling off the notes. Their risks are calculated.
My risk is that effective tomorrow I become a tenant after being a homeowner for 9 yrs because I am also losing my primary home! Yes, I am going to have a fat 1099 filed with IRS.
Yes, I accept I must role with the punches……I gambled, I pay……BUT, it must be within the law……I used ’stated income’ to qualify for these loans.
The law breaker are also the banks…..
One of my problems is that the mortgage company gave me an extension date to my trustee sale date while we were in short sale escrow, and is now acting stupid and foreclosed on me. I have filed against America’s Servicing Company (the bank owned by Wells Fargo &/or HSBC) for fraud with the Federal agency Controller of Currency (they regulate banks/financial institutions)
My other problem is with the same company (ASC), I was suppose to sign loan modification papers within 14days of foreclosure, the papers didn’t arrive and they said ‘too bad’, and foreclosed. I kept phoning them informing them the papers hadn’t arrived, ‘contract papers are on their way’ was their response.
I think people in foreclosure need to unite to protect our legal rights. The financial institutions know they’ve got us ‘by the balls’ and have no regard for our legal rights.
Maria Grijalva
P.S. Again, thanks to your postings I am learning and am learning quick! Please keep educating me. Your information is priceless
October 5th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Oh, by the way, I do have a job. I work 8 to 5 and then speculate/invest in the real estate market
October 5th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Casey, I wouldn’t blame you completely for the mess you are in. I have worked in several large corporations and I have routinely seen people stretching the truth. It is called advertisig. The only difference is that you stretched it more than others.
Another way of explaing my viwpoint is by looking at how people buy homes. In some socities you have to pay all the money down. There is no concept of loans. In US I had a hard time getting to terms with the fact that I have to get a loan that I might be able to pay back after 30 years. However everyone else was taking these loans so I had to if I wanted to own a home. Even though I feel uncomfortable about the loan, I have learnt to live with it.
And the final way of explaing my viewpoint : Enron.
What should you do about it? I don’t know. Just don’t go down the path Ken Lay did. Life is too precious. Enjoy it.
Zak
October 5th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
I overstated my income, and misrepresented my owner-occupied status and concealed the cash-back-at-close from the bank. I knew it all along. Nobody made me do it. It was my fault. I take full responsibility. And, that’s how I originally […] Continue Reading October 4th, 2006
October 5th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Casey,
Put the ads back. I like the idea about you writing a book as suggested by Mary. Young people will definitely learn from your follies; even old ones as well.
Keep your head up, dude!
October 5th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
Tortoise you are wrong … the business culture since 2003 has been aggressive lending, thanks to companies like Countrywide Financial and Capital One. And you can indeed dump your problem on nameless, faceless, creditors. The entire asset backed securities market, credit derivative business exists solely to make risk disappear.
JP Morgan and other banks and underwriters makes a fortune making this happen. The system is built to handle this, so there is no need for a borrower to feel bad. It’s not immoral, it’s not cowardly, it is American business in a credit driven economy. (Besides, truth be told most of the risk is assumed by foreigners buying American MBS paper, probably Asians).
The name of the game in today’s lending biz is loan volume, not quality, meaning the lender wants you to take that money while they are aware of your unfitness or inability to repay the money. This is the nature of the 2003- credit boom. I’m pointing out that the borrower plays a role in this business environment and often that role is taking a loan and not fully repaying it. This is not something to be ashamed of.
As the borrower, especially one who is in deep double, your responsibility is to YOURSELF. Casey is getting a lot of good advice here, including working out deals with those who you owe money to. I’m just saying don’t jump to try and fully repay those loans, you probably can’t anyway.
October 6th, 2006 at 3:58 am
Interesting to read about the mortgage market in the USA. I am also surprised about how naive the US lenders are regarding providing money to potential homeowners.
But I agree with some other comments here, as long everybody can transfer the end-risk of the loans, no lender cares about repayment or not. The final risk of the loans is probably also with risk-seeking institutes like hedge funds or Asians looking for a high return. I am from Holland, and here the banks (who are also conservative regarding risk) are quite carefull by providing mortgage, due to regulations by Central bank, and also the law. When you want to have a mortgage the bank (not the financial advisor !) requires:
-A statement from the employer (not the employee!) containing the salary and status (tempory work or not) from the applicant.
- The Bank providing the loan, choose a person to appraise the value of the property. Not the real-estate broker is choosing because he can request for a minimum value.
If you do not meet with the conditions you are not getting a loan. Very simple !
We also have auctions (by request of the banks after default for a long time) but all are caused by personal circumstances of the borrowers like divorce of loosing job. However, the final loss is always relatively limited. We don`t have the short-sale system in Holland. After your house is auctioned you remain responsible for the debt to the bank.
The USA system is more creative, and it offers more possibilities to borrowers, and also financial institutes, but I think our system is protecting more people for financial disaster.
Also regarding credit card debt and loans. How is it possible that you can borrow such big amounts or have such a hugh credit line with credit-card companies ???????? We have a system in Holland that every debt is registered at a governmental institute. When you apply for a loan or a credit-line, the lender is obliged to consult this register about payment behaviour and also about the total amount of the debt. When any of these things are not OK, you are not getting a loan.
So in fact, financial institutions are forced to be carefull if they want to meet with law. Would be good to introduce this also with the institutions in the USA.
October 6th, 2006 at 5:04 am
re the irs, you should do some research on the cancellation of indebtedness income issue. my understanding is there is no COD income if at the time the debt is forgiven you are insolvent or in bankruptcy proceedings.
and you are insolvent in a big way.
October 6th, 2006 at 7:54 am
My suggestion is to auction off the properties. That will guarantee a sale at the current market price (which is still declining). This will prevent the situation from getting worse. If you can’t sustain the payments after that, then declare bankruptcy.
Don’t worry about the morality of declaring bankruptcy. The lenders knew, or should have known, the risk when they made you the loan, and priced the transaction accordingly. Bankruptcy is part of the legal environment in which consumers and mortgage lenders operate. If you can’t get credit for some years, well, that might be a good thing.
October 6th, 2006 at 7:59 am
I’ve got to say the “What can I do to make it right?” question is shockingly naive. You are bright enough to dig this hole and jump in… now be bright enough to see the way out. Get a job. Pay the money you owe and remember the old saying: “If it sounds too good to be true, then it is too good to be true.”. If you’re lucky you won’t be prosecuted for fraud.
Good luck!
October 6th, 2006 at 8:50 am
Casey,
You really have no other choice other than BK. Any attempt to repay these loans is absolutely hopeless with your income stream. Your best bet is to BK quickly and move on. In 5-10 years you can be back on your feet credit worthy, etc. Any money you pay these lenders right now is pissing in an ocean of debt, you cannot make any difference at all.
Best to learn from the experience and move on.
Go see a BK lawyer today and move on with your life.
Best, SolvingADream
October 6th, 2006 at 10:18 am
3-5 years in prison for fraud sounds about right…
October 6th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
There are companies that teach programs that cost thousands of dollars like those by the National Real Estate Institute (a course or similar one by another company that Casey surely took) to do exactly the things that Casey tried to do. For example, they will have you buy 6 or more properties within the first few months on their program with little or no down payment.
These companies always give examples of their success stories and I’m sure there are people who got lucky. But I wonder how many of the stories like Casey’s they have not told us. The National Real Estate Institute and companies like it NEEDS TO GIVE ALL THE PEOPLE AT THEIR CONFERENCES THE STATISTICAL RESULTS OF THEIR PROGRAMS. If they don’t want to give out their results then a DISCLOSURE LAW NEEDS TO BE IMMEDIATELY ENACTED FOR THEM TO DO SO. Otherwise there will be thousands of more cases just like Casey’s.
Casey was surely following such a program and if that is the case, that company should be the ones to bear the burden because they did not disclose to Casey the incredible risk involved in taking such chances. The company did not disclose their rate of successful investors leading people to believe that their system is a perfectly safe form of investment when in actuality it is a lottery game.
I think now is the time for all those people who have followed such courses and lost lots of money and failed miserably, to come out and support Casey. Had it not been for the get-rich-quick poison planted in Casey’s mind by these outfits then this disaster would not have happened. AND HOW MANY MORE SUCH DISASTERS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THESE GET-RICK-QUICK WORKSHOPS?
Finally, it is my understand that the sophisticated people who do these kinds of transactions take special precautions and have themselves legally protected just in case something goes wrong like what happened to Casey. They draw up what they call a “Family Limited Partnership.” Once that contract is drawn up, no one would be able to sue them under any circumstances whatsoever and their assets would be completely protected.” The Asset Protection Company whose lawyers have drawn up this sophisticated program to put all law suit lawyers out of business can be contacted at 1-800-963-4550. Since they know all the legal loopholes, maybe they can even advise Casey about what to do.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Hello Casey, confucious wrote “fall down 99 times, get up 100.” So you tried Real Estate. So you failed. So what? The real problem here is that most people in the USA are trading 1 unit of work for 1 unit of pay. Whether we are employed or self-employed, there is a limit to how much of ourselves we can leverage per day for profit. I would like to suggest changing your thinking to turn 1 unit of work into multiple units of pay. This means taking advantage of trends that are far more lucrative than the Real Estate industry is today. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, prices for a number of metropolitan areas in California are headed south for the next two years. Sure, you can still flip properties, but if you truly want to be come wealthy and get back all of your time AND money, consider other lines of work. Let me know if you’re interested
Good luck and hang in there - Russ
October 6th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
You got greedy thinking you could become a multi millionaire overnight. You lied and got greedy, now live with the consquences.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
The banks got what they deserved. It’s the banks responsibilities to check your documents out and verify that the info is correct. If I send money to a fraudulant company or person, it is MY fault for not doing my homework. Just keep blowing them off kid. If you get in a tight spot just bounce out to the carribean and work as a bartender somewere under the radar.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
This website is Parody, right??
October 6th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
“The lenders stand to loose hundreds of thousands of dollars over my mistakes.”
For god’s sake. If you do nothing else, spell it LOSE not LOOSE. Loose is a tottaly different word from lose. The two words mean different things and are pronounced differently.
AAaarrrggghh
October 6th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Leave the country. Go to Dubai where they don’t even have credit bureaus. And the Arabs fawn over blue eys/white skin. Easy to make close to $10K a month tax free. They’re just starting on the real estate flipping business with their palm shaped designer islands and 1km high towers and whatnot. People that dumb deserve to get their money taken away.
October 6th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Your story describes someone who is so clueless, and so irresponsible about real estate, money, and other people’s money that I find it hard to believe. Your site and the surreal estate article indicate that you are for real, but I keep thinking that you made all of this up. Or maybe you have made at least one stupid deal and have exaggerated the extent of your rampage. Your blogs sound like you are trying to sound ignorant and helpless enough to get someone to declare you mentally unfit and take over your life. Are you as flaky and stupid as you sound?
October 6th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Casey, you’ve failed this time but most mogals fail more than once before they hit on something that is bigger than they ever expected. It is in your spirit, the spirit of the risk taker that will make you millions one day.
October 6th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
If you are hoping to get on Oprah, pretend you are just a little bit smarter, you tried to make it work but tye system misled you.
October 6th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Dude…YOU LIED.
Yeah, Bush lied and a bunch of people are dying every day. No biggie, right?
Yeah, Foley, Hastert, Boenert (sp) and a whole host of Republicans lied…for at least 10 years….and are not only STILL lying, they’re blaming everyone from the victims to the minority party to former president Clinton. But, hey. It’s all about politics. Anything to hold on to power. No biggie, right?
Everybody lies. All the time.
No, biggie…right?
Get off your a**. Go find a dictionary. Or sit there and go to Google.
Find the word: K-A-R-M-A
Now.
Get to work.
October 7th, 2006 at 12:07 am
You know, having looked at this some more, it is really looking like you’ll see some jail time … might want to prepare yourself psychologically for that. $2 million worth of fraud isn’t a laughing matter.
October 7th, 2006 at 2:15 am
I think people in foreclosure need to unite to protect our legal rights. The financial institutions know they’ve got us ‘by the balls’ and have no regard for our legal rights.
So let me get this straight…you lie on your loan application (fraud) about the fact that you are using each house that you have as a primary residence..(c’mon, I know you did) and now you are all up in arms about YOUR legal rights? Yeah the banks may have you by the balls, but just remember..you were the one that PUT them in their hands and said..squeeeeeeeze…..
October 7th, 2006 at 9:10 am
I could use a man like you, but you’l have to promise to learn more about legal issues. I own 53 properties from Miami to St. Thomas island, let me know when you can make the move. Yes I can mentor you, but you better be a good listener.
October 8th, 2006 at 8:29 am
Hmmm, nice website, not sure if for real but even if not, there is a book deal in here somewhere, and some BIG income is what you need. Turn this into a “real estate melt down freak show” and you have it made!
Or wait, maybe mission accomplished!
October 8th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Interesting. It seems alot of people on here just want to yell at you. I assume it makes them feel better about themselves. Im not really sure? Personally I’m a pretty conservative investor. I usually put at least 20% percent down on properties at the time of purchase. I like to have about 30% equity on all my properties at any given time. At the same time I don’t begrude investors who are more risky. Alot have made alot more money than I have because they were more risky. If they market goes up they get lucky and end up with a net worth of 10 or 20 million but if the market goes down the face foreclosure. Its simply business and risk. Personally I think real estate investing is alot of luck. If you invested a few years earlier you would have done pretty well.
As far as the banks and your moral obligation to them? Banks are in the business of lending money. They realize their is a risk involved. The banks got swept up in the peaking California market. You are what 24. I have an easier time understanding your lapse in judgement than the banking industry. If anyone should have known better I would have to look more at large banks than some 24 year old. Regardless, when I was in college I was sent hundreds of applications for credit cards. If banks go after young people with such reckless abandon its insane for them not to accept their is a risk associated with that.
Anyway what should you do now. I would look for a job. I woundnt take a job flipping burgers. The amount you will make at wendy’s is a drop in the bucket to the money involved. I would look for a php type job. If you get an offer I would not put it off to finish with selling your properties. A decent salary could fend off some of your debt. I would try to live as cheaply as possible. I have a blog entry about frugal living over here Frugal living in Austin Texas. When we set up to acquire properties we lived as cheaply as possible to build up cash from our jobs. The same method could be used to extract yourself from your current situation. I would also look into foreclosure and see how much debt you can clear from the table.
October 11th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
After attending “a few seminars,” aspiring real estate investor Casey Serin, 24, acquired eight houses in eight months in four states without paying a single dollar as a down payment. How did he do it? He lied his a** off, he’s facing foreclosure and he wants the Internet to help him out of the mess. Before you dismiss his plea on the grounds that there may be no one on Earth more deserving to be fed to lenders, recall that after Dustin “Screech” Diamond’s
October 11th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
casey,
you brought this all on yourself. trying to take the “fast - track” without any regard for anyone but yourself.
You won’t need to worry about your housing needs for too long; I’m sure the state (or possibly the feds) will provide you with housing soon enough (even if it is only a 9×12 room with the toilet in the corner).
you’ll be very popular there, prettyboy…
October 11th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Casey,
We live in a corrupt culture of relativistic morality. Our politicians, our leaders, our schools, our media, our corporations, and many of the posters to your blog — all are steeped in the misconception that ethics and morals are learned traits; that there are these gray areas between right and wrong; and that degree of immorality of a lie is relative to lies other people have told, or how much harm it causes other, or some other nonsense like that.
Here’s the problem. You have admitted you lied - that’s good.
You claim that you accept responsibility - that is also good. But have you really? Many people - and Dennis Hastert comes to mind as a recent example - claim to accept responsibility for their actions, but they really don’t. Accepting responsibility means accepting the consequences of our actions. And many people who claim to “accept responsibility” are unwilling to accept the consequences. You can’t have it both ways.
The Bible says “A man reaps what he sows.” There is a concept of the “Moral Law” which states that we all know, inherently, the difference between right and wrong. You knew it was wrong to lie, you knew at the time that what you were doing was immoral and wrong.
You need forgiveness, Casey. You need to ask this of those you have wronged. And you need to ask for God’s forgiveness. You are a creative person, so use your talents for the purpose God intended for you. If you need help with this, google “Purpose driven life.” Buy the book, and find a church that is running a “40 days of purpose” campaign. It will change your life forever!
God Bless.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Normally Matty the Damned would have no problem with someone who rips the banks off.
It only seems fair.
But you’re just a greedy little pratt who’s no better than the banks he’s defrauded. May you go down in a screaming heap.
MtD
October 12th, 2006 at 8:40 am
You americans always look for the fast easy buck. Now your in a world of hurt and you beg for people to bail you out. I am actually embarrassed for you.
Anyone who would lie to get $2 million in debt in houses across the country must be too stupid to gain anything from the advice on these forums. What were you thinking starting with 8 houses?!? Do you honestly think the banks will swallow the loss and not pass it on to other consumers? The reason you had to lie to get so much money was because YOU COULD’NT HANDLE IT! The bank has no interest in sending out crappy loans. You skirted their system that protects you from your own stupidity and now you have to pay the price.
The best thing that could come out of this is hard jail time. Not much as you didn’t physically hurt anyone, 8-10 years would be fair. I know that will be the only good way to make you stand on your hind legs and act like you have a pair…
October 12th, 2006 at 8:48 am
To all of the moronic posters claiming “scew the banks” or “screw the IRS”:
The Banks are public companies. Their losses affect pension funds, individual investors, etc. Robbing from them is like robbing granny next door. These are not foreign-owned organizations, nor are they individually owned by some greedy Montgomery Burns-type character. Their failure can and will affect the entire economy.
The IRS collects money from the citizens of the US to fund our governmental programs. If you do not agree with all of the appropriation of these funds, I suggest you trying voting. If you or any other selfish, dishonest c*nt decides they want to not pay their fair share, the rest of us get stuck paying the difference. I will say that I have no problem paying a bit of extra tax to fund debtor prisons for people like yourself.
Take some personal responsibility and live BENEATH your means. Produce SOMETHING.
October 12th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
It takes a big man to own up to his mistakes. I’m impressed. Just don’t hog all the dividends by keeping this experience to yourself. Write that book. I once heard that the secret to making the right decisions is experience, and the way to get experience is to make the wrong decisions.
October 12th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
For God’s sake! Are you facing criminal proceedings? You may really want to think about all the stuff you say on here, “I am a liar.”, etc. Any prosecutor would have a field day with the statements you already made…
October 12th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
at least you did not burn any of them down and collect the insurance $
October 12th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
After attending “a few seminars,” aspiring real estate investor Casey Serin, 24, acquired eight houses in eight months in four states without paying a single dollar as a down payment. How did he do it? He lied his a** off, he’s facing foreclosure and he wants the Internet to help him out of the mess. Before you dismiss his plea on the grounds that there may be no one on Earth more deserving to be fed to lenders, recall that after Dustin “Screech” Diamond’s
October 12th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Rent a car and flee the country.
October 12th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Lying on a loan application is a felony. You should go find a lawyer and get ready for the charges to hit. You have admitted some pretty bad stuff. Some of this is probably federal, especially if you used the mail for anything or a telephone. laywer up and hunker down ’cause they will probably use you for a scapegoat.
October 13th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Don’t worry about the banks. The fed will print money to cover their losses.
October 14th, 2006 at 11:26 am
How did you find the properties you purchased? Was it through one of the Real Estate Gurus out there promising riches?
October 15th, 2006 at 6:09 am
You committed multiple acts of mortgage fraud when you executed the RESPA agreements for your various purchasers and concealed the under the table payments. Your case is no doubt being reviewed by Federal prosecutors. So your blog provides them with several key admissions as to your guilt. Well done on that one. You may want to consider shutting this blog down, retaining an attorney, and getting a real man’s haircut, lest you be mistaken for a manboy by your prison cell roomie.
Regards,
JH
October 15th, 2006 at 9:34 am
You’ve got a real problem. Close this site right now. You’re not helping youself.
Nobody cares about your apologies and your insight. You’re looking at considerable time in jail. Get a lawyer right now.
October 16th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Dude,
I think part of the problem is that you won’t get a job, even now.
Since you’re most likely going to have to explain yourself to a
judge at some point, it would look good if you were working and at least ACTING like you give a sh** and trying to pay the money back.
Get a job.
And stop talking about doing the right thing and just do it.
October 20th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
career comeback (the former identity thief now does lectures, and even inspired a movie). Leonardo DiCaprio could play Casey. We’ll see. But his blog could come back to haunt him, because he pretty much admitted publicly that he overstated his income while purchasing his houses, meaning that he may have set himself up for more legal problems, according to this analysis. [IMG Technorati icon] Technorati Tags: Casey Serin, Housing, I Am Facing Foreclosure
October 28th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
No where have I seen you Casey state what, if anything, you have learned from this whole process. What would you do differently if you could do it over? I do believe you can learn from the experience. Hopefully you’ll be able to share those lessons.
November 4th, 2006 at 9:03 am
They also lied to you!!!
November 6th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
You are a Dirty Liar. Liars get what they deserve. EVERY TIME. Just like you are now. And you know you deserve it. Why does anyone really care about you and this stupid blog in the first place? Have fun being in debt for the rest of your life you loser.
November 10th, 2006 at 8:32 am
on their bank loans so don’t put yourself in some insolated category of the non-typical criminal. I wish you luck. Anyone who can make that much money and that quickly well dear, you should write a book. OK folks, go throw Casey some encouragement- What can I do to make it right?
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:02 am
Gene,
Wow, someone who actually knows something finally.
What business are you in? Landlord, RE investor?
November 23rd, 2006 at 8:19 am
curly tree,
He can’t auction off the properties. He’s upside down. How do you pay off the loans from the proceeds of the auction, when the mortgages are far greater than the value. You can’t.
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:22 pm
I’m curious. How much money did the mortgage broker make on your transactions? And when you were signing the papers, did the broker look the other way. It has been my experience that the broker goes over the entire packet during the buying process. Everyone out there who thinks Casey was blatantly deceiving the banks is a little naive. The type of loans he took are treated as a “this is how we do business now” atitude. Sure, on paper, in the courts, it’s going to look like he is a crook. But, he was being “taught” how to do this by seminars (legit teachers) and coached by brokers (legit business men and women). He had poor mentoring. He listened to the wrong people. He went against his inner voice telling him to stop, turn, and run. Now he will learn some new stuff from legit lawyers, accountants, and tax collectors (all of whom I’m sure have never been misleading or dishonest in one or more of their own personal endevours).
Get real everyone…you win some and you lose some. Get a real job, dedicate your life to them for 30+ years, pay the tax man half of your income over that time, and watch your employer fold leaving you with no income and limited retirement. Then spend the rest of your days wondering why you didn’t just try again.
Good Luck Casey…try again!
November 25th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
What to do? What to do? What to do? What to do?
Here it is>FILE BANKRUTCY! FILE BANKRUTCY! FILE BANKRUTCY! FILE BANKRUTCY! FILE BANKRUTCY!
When?> NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!
Stop with the Mother Theresa attitude and wanting to pay it back. You can’t pay it back. You weren’t good for the $ from the start.
File bankruptcy without a minute to waste and send the lender the keys. This wipes out your debt. This is what you want. To wipe out your debt.
Bankruptcy is better than foreclosure. You can’t borrow for a loan for a long time with a foreclosure. But you can borrow 1 day out of bankruptcy.
Again>THE answer is: file bankruptcy. Do not hesitate. Do not wait. Do not think it over. It will be difficult to do from jail. File now! STOP wasting time.
Then prepare for the Feds to rap on your door for embezzling the money from the banks. Do your 20 years in FED prison and get out sooner for good behavior if you don’t get killed. Be sure to request a Fed prison close to your family so they can visit. It will get lonely.
And the stated (”liar loan”)…this is a valid type of loan that has been misused. The misuse is what makes it a liar loan. This is a very much needed loan for people who work for commission or who get weekly and monthly bonuses plus pay. If stated correctly, it enables these people to get loans they otherwise would not be able to get. It is for these people and these people alone. It is for people who can pay the payment. It is not for people who cannot pay the payment. It is not for people who cannot support the loan on their own income. It is not designed for Loan Officers to get more business. It is not designed to get a borrower into the house, collect the commission, and leave the borrower struggling to pay the payment.
The Loan Officer needs to be sure the borrower can pay back the debt within a certain debt to ratio. Greed abounds. Loan officers letting these loans slip through the system, knowing full well the borrower cannot pay the mortgage but telling them they can refi…(yeah, so the Loan officer can collect another commission) they refi at a higher rate and do it again and again at even higher rates. Then the borrower seeks a hard (Mafia) money loan for a six month term at 18% APR (at inflated appraised values to cover the 65%LTV) until they are forced to foreclose. Leaves a bad taste in a persons mouth for homeownership.
If you are seeking a loan, remember, there are fixed rates but those are variable fixed rates…confusing??? They come in all packages. If you are seeking a fixed rate, do not get snowballed into a loan you never intended to have. You need to stipulate over and over that you want a fully amortorizing 30 yr fixed rate and not a variable 30 yr fixed rate. Banks and loan officers steer people away from these fully amortorizing 30 year fixed, saying they are more expensive, which they are not. Banks and Loan Officers do not want to sell these because they don’t make the nicer commission from them and they won’t get a repeat customer refi-ing every 3 years.
This is your lesson Casey and YOUR ONLY lesson>DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU ARE TOLD. Gain some skills in discernment. Don’t jump on a sinking ship just because everyone else is doing it. THINK FOR YOURSELF. Think things through to the end picture. See all of it, not just the good part. Train yourself to look at the whole picture. Make intellient judgements of the people you are dealing with. Make up your mind to develop this skill. The way to start is to quit asking everyone for advice and start using your God-given intuition. Smart investors use knowledege WITH intuition. If your gut is screaming no..then listen. Just because someone leads you to to believe that illegal acts are OK, doesn’t mean it is OK. GET IT!?
One more thing. The use of Hard Money loans is not a long term solution. When I was a kid in the 50’s, people who got these loans were usually unable to pay them back due to high compound interest. When the loan came due and they didn’t pay, they usually got murdered. Gossip reflected this; “so&so got murdered at the race track for not payng back a Mafia loan.”
You won’t be murdered.
It happened all the time. Even a neighbor.
November 30th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Honestly, Dude, I think you have already firgured this out: you really should stick to what you were already good at before this enitre RE debacle…RE investing is obviously not your forte…perhaps you should concentrate your efforts on running this BLOG site, as that appears to be what you are are really good at, eh? Why don’t you go into business sellling your BLOG services/know-how to small business? I really feel for you though, there’s noting wrong with wanting to have it all now, and getting in way over your head. Do you know that the richest man in the world went broke investing in dime stores in Arkansas, and did not start the Walmart empire until he was in his 40’s…you’ve got a lot of time to make a come back young man…good luck…
December 22nd, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Call a newbie real estate investor, tell them you have a great deal for them. Lie about the property’s value. Sell it to them for a profit…be an a****** as well as a douchbag.
-OR-
Suck it up and get back in the game…
December 22nd, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Casey, Someone named a lawyer gave you some sound advice a little earlier in this blog. I’d strongly recommend you follow this guys advice.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I am Mr.Evans Kingsley I am a private loaner,I give out loans on a clear and understandable terms and conditions i give out loans at a low interest rate of 5%. Dear readers should note that this offer is for serious minded individual, firms and companies.Do not let this opportiunity pass you by.Get your loan to solve your financial problems and establishing new businesses,Interested individuals, firms and companies should please contact me via evans_kings03@yahoo.com
February 15th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Casey I saw this picture and thought about you.
http://activerain.com/image_st.....064295.jpg
Very funny. It’s a sign outside a church that reads “Stated Income Mortgage Applicants Confession Sunday 11am.” Couldn’t be more perfect! Just hilarious.
March 4th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
that would give you a heart attack if you owned it. He’s thought about borrowing even more money — $50,000 to fight fire with even more fire — to avoid foreclosure. Is this denial, insanity, foolishness or bravado? And lastly, he’s even admitted lying on his loans in order to secure his properties. Who knows where this will take him? We’ll have to see if it’s going to be to a cold, dark place the size of a walk-in closet. But instead of joining his lynch mob, passing judgement, or beating a dead horse
March 31st, 2007 at 9:58 am
You may think that doing this with 8 properties is a big deal … I did it with 20 properties, worth a total of $8.5 million! And I have a serious stress disorder now to prove it! The biggest mistake of my life was to do this. I have managed so far to stay afloat, and at one point had millions in equity, but now this has gotten so overwhelmingly stressful that I am selling them all at rock bottom prices, and am going to end up SERIOUSLY in debt. It is not an option for me to default on these many loans, because if you think you have some legal problems, think of what would happen to me if I defaulted on 20 loans (actually 40 loans, since they all have second mortgages)!
I started everything in 2001 wiith $10,000 in cash, and turned it into almost $3 million in equity by 2005. Now I will be losing it all — and going into debt on top of that. The lesson: don’t try to get a “freebie” by cheating the game. It turns out that nothing is free.
Sorry I can’t give my real e-mail address to you as required (the one I gave was not accurate; I put it down just for this message to be accepted). Like I said, it is my hope that I will be able to sell everything and just end up seriously in debt, but in case I am unable to do that, and default on some of these, I can’t give out identifying information over the internet. You, of all people should understand!