Organizing my office and sorting mail took much longer than I thought. I have been working on it on and off the entire weekend. I didn’t want to have to deal with the mess during the work week so I figure I pull an all-nighter to try to finish it. Here are some pictures:
Much better than before… now I can actually work here.
Closet is used for my clothes and storage.
Some of my educational material, nicely stacked.
There is that notice I’ve been hearing about.
Did I forget to turn off my electric account?
Encouragement from a fellow investor friend.
Ouch, I need to do something about my cell phone bill.
Everybody wants to “help”.
Here I am opening mail (finally) in my clean office.
Man do I feel productive! Now I need to see how much money I have left and try to pay as many of my wife’s credits cards as I can. And after going back-n-forth for several days, I think I finally decided on my goal. Announcement to come soon.
397 Comments
January 15th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Sorry guys, I’m a bit behind on moderation again… the previous post still has 150 comments to be released… I have a reporter to meet with this morning and then pay bills. After that I’ll moderate some more.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Good job Casey, now get to work…..
January 15th, 2007 at 9:19 am
nice hat
January 15th, 2007 at 9:19 am
“And after going back-n-forth for several days, I think I finally decided on my goal.”
Your GOAL is obvious - to climb out of the financial abyss that you’ve fallen into. Absolutely nothing else should matter to you right now, with the sole exception of saving your marriage.
What you need is a STRATEGY that will help you reach that end point - taking into account everything that might conceivably happen to you over the next few months (ranging from additional foreclosures to lawsuits and maybe even the threat of jail).
You need to be absolutely ruthless: every time you get a new idea, you must ask “Is this going to help me get over the next few weeks?” And if the answer is no, forget about it immediately.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:22 am
i find my clarity of my office space is often reflective of the clarity of my head space. glad to see you cleared things out for yourself! i just got a new office setup and it feels so good!
January 15th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Casey, you should seriously look into getting other ad revenue sources for your site.
FT
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com
January 15th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Congrats on some forward motion. !1000+ electric bill? Ouch! That’s the cost of neglecting the mail. You should have caught this at $100-200.
One question to ask yourself every time you decide how to use your time: does this move me towards my goals in a constructive way. e.g. “meet with reporter” - maybe feeds the ego and possibly fun, but it doesn’t sell your properties or pay your debt. Not an essential use of time. When you are completely over your head in debt, you need to cut back to just the essentials - not just spending but time use as well.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Casey - Image, man, Image! You’re a businessman.
Lose the hat!
January 15th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Dude -
At least blur out your acct numbers on those accts.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I know this is troll bait, but I’ll bite anyway.
You ‘didn’t forget to turn off’ the electricity. The bill says it very clearly - ‘final bill at previous address’. That’s your bill through (I assume) date of foreclosure.
BTW, TXU is ferocious about collections. Assuming their call center has no record of you contacting them about payment, they’ll turn it over to a collection agency soon. That will impact your ability to get electric service in the future - not only Texas (they share info in the southwest).
January 15th, 2007 at 9:41 am
NICE HAT!!!!!!!
January 15th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Casey - Image comment again! The last photo of you opening the bills gives the following impression:
- depressed (downward looking, shoulders drooping)
- kid (hat, need a haircut and shave)
- way behind (big stack) …
- … on important mail (registered/certified mail obvious)
That’s not the image that will get you the financial partners you need for your next project.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Interesting symbolism:
– Expensive seminar material stacked on a shelf in the closet
– Large pile of big bills on the desk
Question - I assume you’ll update your spreadsheet now that you’ve opened more (all??) of the bills? E.g. the $1K for Dallas electricity.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Wow, you cleaned your office. What do you want, a medal?
January 15th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Is http://buyingapartmentbuildings.com/ your big announcement?
Which of your (now 3) blogs will be the primary one? Are you shutting this one down?
January 15th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Casey, for your own good, please toss that “educational material” in the trash.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Another Swweeettttt Deal is going up in flames….
Muncy Drive Modesto, Ca. RIP…
When is the reality check, I mean fire sale?
Is paying 175% of retail and then losing it to foreclosure make one a real estate investor?
Just wondering….
I am interested in buying some foreclosed properties are you going to blog how the new owners of Muncy Drive complete the foreclosure sale?
www.ELToroEnergy.com
January 15th, 2007 at 10:03 am
is there any reason you need to post your verizon account #
January 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
I’ve followed this blog regularly for a long while now, but I just can’t take it anymore.
Casey, I’ve decided that in the end you will actually make it somehow. You make lots of mistakes and don’t seem to learn, but you have so much enthusiasm that if you just keep trying and trying you will eventually get lucky and something will hit.
What I can’t take anymore are the comments. I never knew people could have so much hate for someone they’ve never met. Like sheep, most people join the mob with the same lines of how stupid you are or how you need to get a job etc. One person suggests you have a psychological problem and everyone suddenly thinks you do. One person gets upset about your vegan statement and suddenly everyone focuses on that, and so on. Of course there are interesting posts by Ogg, Sputnik, Anon, Homie and others, but for the most part its the same hateful people saying the same things that you are ignoring.
With that in mind, here’s my (unoriginal) advice before I go.
1. Don’t set a 2007 goal yet. Too much is dependent on getting out of your funk the first half of the year. Set a goal for 3 months from now, and then you can set a longer term one.
2. By moderating, you have to decide between a hateful blog full of insults and lots of readers, or a small blog with few readers but less insults.
3. Be careful putting so much information up. This last post shows your name, address, and account numbers. People could call Verizon Wireless posing as you to try and cause problems, for example.
4. Don’t be greedy. Being rich isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Good luck!
January 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
im almost certain youll be posting divorce papers here soon.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:17 am
“Did I forget to turn off my electric account?”
Holy crap… another grand down the drain because you forgot??? Just give it up. Don’t even walk into a 100 unit apartment building no less buy one.
It’s OK. You’ve tried your best but it’s hopeless.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:23 am
May I suggest that instead of wasting time taking pictures of your “junk mail” that you simply throw it away.
Numerous people have already given you suggestions regarding your cell phone bill. Do you actually read any of the comments here ?
I can’t wait until you post your 2007 goals. Hopefully they will be more realistic than your last set of 2007 goals.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Please notice that I did not make a comment about that hat you are wearing
January 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
You are going to tell us your goals? I thought you already did that a few days ago.
If you don’t do drugs, I would say start now. It is terrible to see a person apparently exhibiting all the negative effects of a serious drug addiction but not having the associated upside.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Casey,
You might want to edit the image of the TXU Energy bill. It has your (or rather, your inlaw’s) Roseville address plainly visible.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:46 am
why moderate?
why talk with the reporter?
why?
just bk and blow it all out.
then shovel out the office and sell those sweeeet real estate books on ebay.
Done, finito, just waiting for four more foreclosures.
I bet your wrap gets blown up by the current first lender, too- I know I would.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Opening mail took all weekend? No wonder you are in this mess.
Something about this whole thing sounds fishy.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Casey, a clean office really does clear the mind. Now about those foreclosures and credit problems you are facing. Create stacks for each property and take on one at a time. You could do one property each day of this week. Just barrell through it and get it done.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Did “Brian” (the other one) on the orange paper pay you to leave his telephone number visible, or are you hoping everyone starts spamming him instead? You’ve usually been careful to blur out personal information (and by now everyone knows your East Roseville Parkway address is just a UPS/Mailboxes Etc.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Wow, opening mail sure feels productive!
(You are a moron.)
January 15th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Thank God your shirts are neatly hung and your books are neatly stacked. The rest is going to be easy.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Now you need to just follow through and achieve something. Stacking papers and books are all good things if they are a means to an end; not some shallow way of making you feel like you’ve made headway in solving your problems when all you’ve done is clean up a bit and actually look at your mail.
Keep it going.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:20 am
This is an improvement, young fellow. Busywork is better than no work at all. There are some rather cutting posts in response to your previous blog entry. I fear there may be a grain of truth in some of the more abrasive ones.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Well darn Ca$ey
Why did you have to enable moderation ?
http://buyingapartmentbuildings.com/
January 15th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Tim MBA:
Precious here shows us his closet and neatly hung clothes.
You still in this game?
January 15th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Casey — Are you asking to be totally ripped off? You took down AdSense because, according to you, “haters” were spamming your site. And now your are dumb enough to post your bills online? Things like this make me really wonder how real this is — or just how naive you really are. For goodness sake, at least block out your address and account numbers. — Toby
January 15th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I got to hand it to ya…you ARE brave posting this stuff on here for all to see.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
yes, because last time i checked, opening my mail sitting on a blue ball was really productive.
tell me, is organizing your clothes vital to your work?, maybe your work area, but seriously with the blue ball….
thas stupid and bad for your back
January 15th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I know that I am not a hater of Casey Serin. I am a hater of what he has done.
Money is not free and when you borrow it, you have a responsibility to pay it back otherwise society as a whole is hurt.
I believe that what Casey has done is both illegal and immoral and even though he chalks it up to being as a life experience. Which is not true it hurts ordinary folks indirectly.
Do you feel sorry for what you did? Do you feel sorry for the innocent folks you have hurt by your actions. Are you going to stop this behavoir and not borrow any more money.
I have one thing to say — Shame on you.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Casey:
You’re meeting with a reporter? Who is it and from what media (publication, television, radio, etc.).
I am a (former) PR executive. If you were my client I’d have you STOP interviews.
There is too much on this blog for you to defend. You are no longer “the poster boy” - but rather “the hunted.”
January 15th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I feel like I’m wasting my time even reading your site any more… let alone commenting.
Meeting with reporters? Spending 2 or 3 DAYS setting up a “office” in an unused bedroom in your sister-in-law’s house? What are you thinking?
It’s the FIFTEENTH of January. What have you done with the last two weeks to resolve your issues? (I’ll give you a hint, it’s antonym is something)
Have you done ANYTHING for Chris that qualifies as work and deserves $1500 or there abouts so far this month?
Now you’ve got two new blogs posted… Buy Apartments and Able Buyer… (I think both of these are VERY optimistic considering your situation) but you are aparently making no forward progress on dealing with your mountain of trash.
I’m assuming you found out from this latest BK lawyer last week that signing the $50K contract was a VERY BAD decision… My understanding is that even if BK is an option for you, it won’t discharge new debts that you created after you know the situation you were already in… so that $50K will probably follow you for a while.
Anyway, I’m really feeling stupid, sitting here logging in and wondering when you will show us that you are taking care of business. I’m not a HATER although I’ve been there before, I’m really just wondering why I’m visiting your site any more.
January 15th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Are you an “investor” or a fu***** photographer? How much valuable time did you waste trying to stage these pictures and “organize”? STOP WASTING TIME ON WORTHLESS CRAP!
January 15th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Casey,
Looks like your “getting things done” book is working.
I purchased the book after seeing it here. It’s helping me also. I especially like the point: “if an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it is defined.”
I also purchased the book “Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook”. I haven’t read much of that one yet.
January 15th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Only you could make a post about organizing and opening the mail…like it is a real accomplishment or something….Oh well….
CONGRATULATIONS!
January 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Keep on trucking Casey! Keep your faith in God, praise him in the times of feast and of famine.
January 15th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
1) The electric bill is NOT your problem anymore. The bank that forreclosed is reponsible for all utilities even those prior to the default. When they foreclosed they have obligated on all outstanding charges including “maintenece and up keep” which fall under any utilities. Don’t be pressureed to pay that.
2) Your paying way too much for cell phone. Shop around and replace your current.
3) Remember the corrupt banks in this country owned by the same criminals want everyone in debt. DO NOT worry about paying these criminals who print money for only their friends and illegal wars.
Hang in there and keep moving forward. Peace
Johnny
January 15th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
You are not an investor!!!
An investor takes his own SAVINGS and purchases capitol goods to produce something.
Your are a debtor, not an investor!!!
January 15th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
BK BK BK is the only way.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Brave huh?
I’ve always heard there is a fine line between brave and stupid. So now we know what side your name falls on, but what side do YOU fall on? I think we all know the answer.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
As to one of those photos you posted: you call them “educational materials”.
I call them “evidence”.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
To Ogg the Caveman:
Are you related to the GEICO cavemen? Dude, how do I get in touch with you? I can make you a star. Your posts here just f-ing kill.
Of course, the pinhead moderator won’t kill the moderation so anyof us can get a dialogue going.
Typical narcissist…it’s all about him.
Case, you better turn off the moderation. Those of us with IQs north of 100 are getting bored.
January 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
You know - the subtitle at the top of the page says something.
“Getting Saved”, not “Saving Myself”.
You continue to act as if some external force will fix this for you. I still wonder if there’s an “amazing rescue” card waiting to be played.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
So your goal was to clean off your desk and open mail? How is that productive? You mentioned you were going to see how much money you had left. ZERO!!! You have no money. You are a clown.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Is that a new laptop computer in your “organized office??? It must be since there is a flat screen monitor in your previous pic. Casey , you are a phoney and a thief. You have serious problems dealing with reality - what are you telling your family? Do they know the extent of the fraud that you have committed? How do you explain the lack of a job to them when they all know how freakin broke you are? Not to mention how much legal trouble you are about to face. Your poor parents - are you too smart to even listen to their advice? Somehow I don’t think they are telling you to spend the next several months looking for a 10 million dollar apartment complex for sale.
Have some dignity and stop being such a fool
January 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Well, I guess you’re getting down to business is some way. It’s important to know where you stand and where everything is. You’re facing the piper. All that mail and all those bills were not and will not go away. You need to face them. At least it appears that you are doing that.
Now you’ll just let every property go to foreclosure, then you’ll go BK. You have no credit, you’ll get a secured line, then a small credit line credit card and start rebuilding your life.
But you do need to get off the borrowing addiction. You borrowing has been practiced with bad or no plans for repayment. You just can’t be that irresponsible or inconsiderate. When you borrow someone lent you money. You harm people when you don’t repay.
Good luck.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
You have a bookshelf full of the complete works of get rich quick gurus…sorta makes me sick, and sorta makes me think that you are beyond all help. Maybe you can rent a dumpster? Verizon == sap waiting to get robbed. Use Virgin pre-pay.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
It looks like you just woke up from a park bench.
It took you days to organize your office? Should have taken no more than three hours. I am being honest with you Casey. You obviously piss away a lot of your time.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I missed you baby.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Believe it or not, Casey, I can understand your desire to have a neat office to work in. Every year, come tax time, I feel a similar need to straighten up and organize my desk and tax documents.
It’s good that you’re finally getting around to opening and reading your mail. Consider it one small step on a thousand mile journey to financial responsibility.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Hi Casey,
If you do start actually making money and you want to use that home office as a tax deduction, please make sure that you move your clothing out of the closet. You want to make sure that your office is 100% for business use.
Good luck!
January 15th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Good to see that you are finally doing something productive. Keep it up. It won’t be easy. As for moderating this blog, you should do it only as a “break”. Unless, of course, you are generating some sort of revenue from the visits.
Good luck.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I expect this to be another 500+ message thread, Casey.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
What happen to all the abusive comments…good to see they backed off you a little bit hope everything is progressing and going well.
January 15th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Ogg hope casey have good day sleep.
If you no want haters to find other blog, why you link to it from this blog?
January 15th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
I wish Og were here. He’d know just what to say.
January 15th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Just a friendly suggestion… while it is probably bad judgement to post photos with your address and account numbers on it, it is most certainly bad judgement to post photos with other people’s phone numbers and addresses.
January 15th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
A bit behind on moderation eh ? You know how things tend to “snowball” when you don’t take care of them ? Silly me, of course you do !
January 15th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
damn casey, that is a whole hell of a lot of guru boxes.
January 15th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Pay bills? With what? you’re all tapped out.
January 15th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Dude, you are not being “productive” no matter how you feel.
You are being active, which is a welcome change, but you’re not yet productive.
“Productive” is what happens when your actions actually produce something. Opening the mail does not make you productive.
-btc
January 15th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I have family that live close to you!
January 15th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Okay, I realize that the electric bill is just a droplet in your vast sea of debt, but still I must ask…
How the **** does a VACANT house run up a $1000 electric bill in less than a year?
My electric bill averages $100 a month for a single-family place with three people, seven computers, three televisions, two 1500 watt speace heaters, an earth-shaking sound system in the rec room, and a healthy disrespect for Reddy Kilowatt or whoever that cartoon quisling is from the electric company. Granted, the furnace and appliances are gas, but still… even with a heat pump, the Dallas place should cost almost nothing unless the thermostat was set to 80F.
Did the neighbors run their house via a 4-gauge extension cord to your circuit panel?
Was it all the grow-lights in the basement from the weed farmers who squatted “your” house?
Was it tenants you didn’t bother to tell us about???
Oh well, it was the final bill and it’s not like they can cut off the power to your in-laws. Add it to the Google spreadsheet and put it with the other “debts to be discharged… somehow”.
One more thing, congratulations for getting back to your mail. I know that sounds like sarcasm, but it is sincere - I know something of hiding from reality at times myself. It’s such a positive step that I will restrain myself from commenting about that hat in the picture of you opening mail.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Take down that picture of your Verizon account number…NOW. And $197 a month for cell service, sheesh. I pay 50 for 2 lines, and yes, I live in the Bay area.
Everything related to money that you do, whether it’s earning or spending, is absolutely moronic. You need to go to 100% cash basis now.
And toss the hat in the trash!
January 15th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Why don’t you try selling some of your properties you loser????????
You started “organizing” your office and opening mail on January 3 - must be a world record of sorts considering that it looks like all your stuff is still packed in boxes and you’re about 10% of the way into that stack of mail. Please - I beg of you - answer this simple question:
What in the @%$% do you do every day???
Obviously not shower.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Dangit, I have officially lost interest in this website! It isn’t just that it takes a while for moderation, it takes a LONG while! Why don’t you turn the moderation off and simply delete the postings you don’t like? You have probably lost a lot of your audience already and will continue to lose your audience. Waiting for my postings to show up feels like I have dial-up again with my old 5 kbs dial-up modem with my Wang computer.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Casey,
Your cell phone bill clearly shows your address and account number. Not the best thing for someone to have on a public website.
Just thought you should know.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Seriously, if you post your bills online at least hide your address.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
That is the lamest hat I have ever seen. You look like the pied piper of financial ruin.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
i enjoyed reading your blog. i sincerely hope you find a satisfactory exit to all this.
the pacific northwest is where it’s happening.
if you ever get back on your feet, that would be the place to invest
January 15th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Casey, you should block out your account numbers when you post the your bills on the internet. Someone could probably use it to assume your identity or something… at least in theory.
Hey, can you do us a favor, and post the mail you get from companies trying to “help” you? I wonder what kind of tactics they use for people facing foreclosure.
You seem a bit more focused… maybe 2007 will be a good year after all.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Do you realize it’s been twelve days since you said you were going to open the mail and organize your little office room?
How did it take you nearly TWO WEEKS to open mail that was already two or three weeks piled up?
January 15th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
we should take a pool on whether your new goal will be realistic or not. i wager you’ll shoot for something totally unttainable, and fail further.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:26 am
US Housing Crash Continues
http://tinyurl.com/444qj
January 16th, 2007 at 1:28 am
I can’t believe you can lose so much time with that blog and are not even able to open your snail mail…
And you speak about managing RE. looool
Get a nerd job. You’re not an entrepreneur, you’re a blogger that’s all.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:42 am
What’s wrong with you people?
Why are so many seemingly intelligent people rubber necking on the train wreck that is Casey’s life? It’s over, move along, nothing to see here.
Casey hit the wall long ago; I was giving him this kind of advice before he even had a blog. He can’t be reached, even by his real friends. Just let him self destruct, that’s what he has been programed to do, this isn’t your battle to fight. Really, you’re input and advice is at best masturbatory and you all should be ashamed for wasting your time here.
Want to help Casey? Leave him and this website alone, stop reading and posting!
January 16th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Casey Serin has a hard time concentrating. He’s the world’s worst real estate investor and the world’s worst certified letter opener. But Casey does two things exceedingly well: Drawing attention to himself and riling people up
January 16th, 2007 at 4:27 am
Casey
Getting organized is not working. It’s wasting time feeling productive while you just lost hundreds more in interest charges.
1) File for bankruptcy, now, today. It cannot be avoided.
2) Go get a real job, where you get this thing called a check at the end of the week
3) Admit you made terrible financial mistakes and move on
4) Stop playing “tycoon”. You failed. You lied and cheated. Time to grow up.
5) Best of luck to you. Seriously.
-Keith at housingpanic
January 16th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Dude, those wire shelves blow. Trust me, you try to put heavy shiznit on them like all your valuable motivational speaker books, and that’s gonna collapse faster than the stands at an English soccer match. You’ve already got a nice Sauder computer desk (looks like model 542 to me), get some Sauder shelves to match.
Oh, and bad hat! Bad! Bad! It looks something John Cleese would wear when he was doing that retard sketch.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Now anyone can give you a visit.
Are U stupid or what ?
January 16th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Sell your hat on ebay
January 16th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Miguel is right. You need a strategy to get out of your current mess and that strategy should be comprised of multiple interim goals that will get you to the end point.
When I was little, my Mom would give me a dollar when I hung all my clothes up and stacked my old books neatly.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:04 am
Casey,
Make a facing foreclosure chippendale calendar… you have the looks & dud’s for it (hat, rag tag clothes) and there are enough mom’s and people like yneone who have a crush on you and will shell out the $$$.
You’ve built up the personal brand but it’s of no use until you capitalize on it. It’s a liability not an asset (using RK’s terminology) like a Lamborghini collecting dust in the driveway.
-Big Cheese
January 16th, 2007 at 8:05 am
What is the update on the reporter?
BC
January 16th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Casey,
Who is the author of the book “No Down Payment” in your book collection?
January 16th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Heavens. Things are in motion for young Casey. Unfortunately, Casey has no control over these particular things.
Some of you may remember the presidential term of George H. W. Bush, father of the current president. An odd but powerful phrase was coined during the elder Bush’s time in office. That term is “plausible deniability”. It refers to circumstances and statements used to create the appearance that someone is not aware of damaging facts. This lack of knowledge can ostensibly be used as a defense if these unpleasant facts lead to problems.
Away from powerful spheres of influence, “plausible deniability” is a less potent shield. Cops see right through it. By the time they show up, detectives already know exactly what’s happened in the case of financial malfeasance. The proof is already documented.
Once things become really uncomfortable for Mr. Serin, we’ll have to follow his story in the newspapers. This blog will go away.
By the way, one of Casey’s “associates” with the 700+ credit rating is very, very close to him. That associate will face legal action also. Yes, I know this for a fact. I would spill the details here, but it would simply lead to this post being deleted by Casey.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Forget the apartment buildings; you could probably make close to $5000 in passive monthly income just from this blog if you sold advertising space and used good affiliate programs. Miguel is right, you don’t need any other goals at this time.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:53 am
This is freaking hilarious:
http://iamnotfacingforeclosure.....a-loompas/
January 16th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everybody !!!!!!!
January 16th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Yawn….so when are you officially abandonding this site (sight in Casey spelling) for the Apartment building one or the ablebuyer?
January 16th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Are you the least bit concerned about posting all that information on the WWW???? Are you not worried someone could take your information and us steal your identity?
January 16th, 2007 at 9:59 am
and no work to actually do in it….
January 16th, 2007 at 10:09 am
I am now officially bored to near catatonia.
And what’s with the slow moderation? Either give it all up entirely and focus on saving your tiny little white a$$ -or- be consistent here… You owe it to the people who keep coming back (because we are all deeply twisted people who secretly enjoy watching Hindenburg-like burning ruination like yours). More smoke & flames please.
::yawn:: ::snore::
January 16th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Work week?
You think there’s such a thing as a work week?
You think anyone in real estate gets weekends off?
Do you think anyone who is responsible for the running and maintenance of a 100+ unit apartment building gets weekends off?
What have you done over the past week that was so hard you needed a weekend to recover from it?
January 16th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Its too bad you are opening mail. If you saved 1 year of mail you could BUILD A HOUSE OUT OF MAIL.
Simultaneously this would make bold statements about recycling, foreclosure, urban planning, debt and get you in the news. I’m talking about a kiddie playhouse in the backyard here. Add on rooms as the mails stacks up. Make bricks out of them by wrapping plastic and rope around them.! awsome idea.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:49 am
It took you twelve days to clear off that desk, clean up the floor a bit, and hang some clothes? And your big ‘weekend goal’ of setting up AbleBuyer couldn’t have taken more than like 20 minutes; there’s basically nothing there.
Some thoughts on your slogan over there:
Actual investors don’t want to ‘learn with you,’ they will expect that you already know what you’re doing.
Let me repeat for the millionth time: YOU HAVE NO MONEY TO INVEST. You can’t buy anything! You are neither ‘able’ nor a ‘buyer!’
I won’t even get into ‘integrity.’
Ranting at you aside, no one will take you seriously if you’re presenting yourself as the cute, precocious kid who wants to learn and do a good job. No one in America has liked that kid since the 50’s. People want to believe that someone is confident, capable, in control, and that they already have the knowledge they need.
In your case, this means you should be finding in something you’re actually good at, like programming.
Another suggestion, regarding that nicely organized shelf of guru books: Ebay? Those ‘educational materials’ have obviously done you no good and aren’t going to start anytime soon. Sell ‘em all off, make some closet space, and maybe end up with a few hundred bucks. You’re fond of taking pictures of things and slapping ‘em up on the internet; take some shots of those books and put ‘em on the auction block next to the Muncy House. At least you’ll be the one collecting the money on the E-bay auctions! (Hell, you could try E-bay for the houses too?)
January 16th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hey Casey, Julian here,
Og showed up in the trailer park last night. He stayed with Mr Lahey(trailer park supervisor) and Randy(asst. trailer park supervisor) at the TV trailer. We found out that Og likes rum and cigarettes. I think Og has some potential in helping us “flip” some of our dope, oops, “farming” trailers. He has such a special way with words. I think we might offer Homey da clown a job too. He could be our “demographic” specialist and can stay with J-Rock at the rap trailer.
By the way Casey, where did you get that awsome hat ?????
Was it a divorce, oops “christmas” gift or what ?????(No hating here!!!!)
Good luck with your “blue” ball, investing, flipping, shortsale, synergy, six sigma, guru, promissary, starbucks, corporate credit, BK, staying up all night, jamba juice, kahua burger, veg type deal thingy’s and such. Im sure you are going to do great things…in about 10 years when you get outta jail.
Tell Mrs Serin I said hey!?!?
Julian
Trailer Park flipping guru and cash flow specialist
January 16th, 2007 at 10:53 am
You’re right that was stupid to leave those phone numbers and account numbers in plain sight. I was in a hurry and kind of didn’t think much of it. But, when somebody sends you a letter in the mail with the phone number on it they may not appreciate that number shown to thousands of “nice” readers online.
Another problem is that I didn’t have Adobe Photoshop handy to do my usual blurring. I decided not to re-install it on the laptop because I don’t own a license to it. I have been slowly getting rid of my pirated software over the last several years and replacing it with paid version.
I don’t have $600 or so to replace my pirated Photoshop right now. So I used good ol’ Paint that comes standard with my Windows XP to blur out the sensitive information.
Pirating software is the same as stealing and it’s not right. In a way I’m glad I had a computer crash on the laptop because it allowed me to re-install everything fresh, organize my system and clear out the illegal programs (I think Photoshop was the only illegal one).
And to those who are really excited that they now know “where I live in Roseville” I invite you to drop by sometime.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Why did you edit my post? Was it because I belittled you? OK, I apologize, I should not have done that - I have had my own share of problems in the past on my way to success and should have been more respectful. Or you just really really did not want to hear the message of this article. If you edit this again I will know why.
http://www.reiclub.com/article.....re-acquire
100% Financing: Feeding the Desire to Acquire
by Ray Alcorn
At least once a week, someone posts to the commercial newsgroup seeking a way to finance 100% of the acquisition cost for an income property. I suppose it is fueled by the late night infomercials touting no money down deals and using pictures of Class A apartment buildings, never saying the one describes the other, but leaving a strong impression that that is the case. The way it comes across, one would believe that all you have to do to become a millionaire in real estate is to acquire the properties with “OPM”, meaning Other People’s Money, and then just sit back and collect the big fat checks they like to flash on the screen. Television is a wonderful thing. After the story is told and the product is sold, no one in the TV cast has to stick around and collect rent.
The quest for 100% financing in real estate reminds me of that joke about a dog chasing a car… what’s he going to do when he catches it? I wonder, has he thought this through? I laugh every time I see a dog chasing a car, and think how much he is just like an investor high on the “desire to acquire.” That’s the peculiar state of mind that surfaces when the target of our desires looks so good that we’ll do anything to get it, with no regard for the consequences.
The Desire to Acquire
In real estate, the “desire to acquire” is present when the investor is willing to do anything to get a deal, any deal. Convinced that once you own real estate you’re on your way to the good life, they tap their home equity, or find a seller that will owner finance, and get a bank loan on the bank’s terms, not theirs. Now they’re in a deal, but have they thought it through? Let’s take a look at what happens when you “catch” the 100% leveraged deal.
The infomercial gurus teach that if you find the right seller, then you can structure the deal so that there is no money out of your pocket, and leave the impression that there will be plenty of money in your pocket after you do the deal. More often than not, that’s not the result. Let’s say that you do find a lender that will loan 80%, and a seller that will carry 20%. In all but the rarest of cases, the combined debt payments are going to eat up all but the tiniest portion of the cash flow. It has to be this way, and I can show you why. Instead of projecting how much you’re going to make from the deal, think about it terms of the occupancy level it takes to break even. Then consider the difference between physical occupancy and economic occupancy.
Economic Occupancy vs. Physical Occupancy
Let’s face it, the deals that we look at with decent prices, motivated sellers, and opportunities for turnaround or upside are usually not the cream of the crop. If it were an “A” property, with well-screened tenants it probably wouldn’t be on the market at a price that would interest us anyway. So it’s pretty likely you’re going to inherit a less than stellar group of tenants. The first advice here is to factor delinquency into your projections to avoid a rude awakening later. Comparing the economic occupancy to the physical occupancy can be an eye-opening exercise.
Economic occupancy differs from physical occupancy, sometimes widely so. Economic occupancy is calculated as the actual cash collected divided by the total potential rents. The answer will be a percentage, and it is important, as we will see in a moment. Delinquency in apartment rent rolls is a fact of life. You are not going to collect 100% of the money due, on time, 100% of the time. It is not uncommon for even well-run apartment buildings to run a 5% delinquency rate, and poorly operated projects may run a 30% or higher rate. For calculation purposes, if the rent is past due past the due date it is not included in rent received.
In the same way, vacant apartments are also a fact of life in the apartment business. Vacancies are actually phantom expenses that only show up in an economic occupancy analysis. Together, vacancy and collection losses are typically projected to run 5% of gross income. In my experience that is a low number. In the twenty-five plus years I’ve been in this business, a more realistic figure is 5% for vacancy loss and 5% for delinquency and collection loss. In a twenty-unit complex with average rents of $416 per month, that’s equivalent to one apartment vacant for one year. Every investor quickly finds how easy it is to “tweak” these numbers on paper to make the bottom line more attractive. I prefer to err on the side of reality, and would advise that you, “Tweak at your own peril.” But we’ll use the 5% figure for this discussion, just to save the argument, and to prove the point that even using optimistic numbers a 100% leveraged deal is tough to structure.
Always Run the Numbers
Let’s use twenty-unit apartment building with potential gross income of $100,000. That works out to average rents of $416 per month. If it is a normal building, there will be about 40% expenses, ($40,000), including management, but not including vacancy and collection (delinquency) loss. Included in the expense estimate is a “reserve for replacement” deduction. This is an annual estimate of funds needed to perform capital improvements. An average figure is between $200 and $250 per unit per year. While many owners do not actually reserve the funds, some lenders will deduct the amount from the cash flow before calculating the debt coverage ratio. Other won’t, but that doesn’t mean the improvements won’t be required.
Lastly, if you use the standard projection of about 5% ($5,000) for vacancy and collection loss, then the building must have an economic occupancy of 45% just to operate (40% operating expense + 5% vacancy and collection expense = 45%). That leaves a Net Operating Income (NOI) of 55%, or $55,000. We call it NOI, but the lenders call it, “funds available for debt service.” Ever wonder why? Read on.
Most lenders require a minimum 1.25:1 debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) to fund a deal. Some are higher, very few are lower. There’s a good reason for that.
At a 1.25:1 DSCR, 80% of the NOI is used for debt service. (1/1.25=.80). In our example, the maximum debt service would be $44,000, ($55,000 x 80%), or 44% of the gross POTENTIAL rent. Add the 45% of expenses to the 44% of the debt service, and you need 89% economic occupancy to break even. That leaves 11%, or $11,000 for profit, pre-tax.
That’s with normal deal structure, and 20%-25% cash equity. At $416 average rent, the profit margin is equal to just over the annual rent on two of the twenty apartments. Or, looked at another way, if there are two vacant apartments for twelve months, and the rest of the complex operates normally, the project is going to lose money for the owner. The lender will get paid (in theory!), but the owner won’t. And that doesn’t take into account any increases in utility costs, insurance costs, property taxes, fix-up cost for a trashed apartment, or any other of a hundred things that can and do change during the year. Now can you see why the lenders are so tough on debt coverage ratios?
Pushing the Limits
So now let’s move to a deal that has 100% financing. Say you find the above building and the owner just has to get out. He’s willing to take $500,000. That’s an 11% cap rate on the $100,000 NOI, and sounds like a great deal. You’ve got a bank that will work with you on high leverage deals, and they offer to finance the deal with terms of 80% of cost, 7% rate, and twenty-year amortization. That’s probably a little low on rate nowadays, but a fifteen-year term is more typical of local banks. Further, we’re assuming you’ve got great credit, high net worth and are an experienced real estate operator and can get the best loan terms available. The seller wants out of town so bad he’ll finance the rest at 8%, with twenty-year amortization, but a balloon in three years. He wants out, but he does want his money.
The annual debt service on the first mortgage ($400,000) with the bank will be $37,214 with a DSCR of 1.47. So far, so good. The annual debt service on the second, seller held mortgage ($100,000) would be $10,037. That’s total debt service of $47,251, or 47.3% of gross potential income, and a cumulative DSCR of 1.16:1. Add 45% expense and a conservative vacancy/collection loss allowance, and the break-even economic occupancy level is increased to 92.3%. Or, stated another way, the best-case profit is 7.7%, or $7,700 per year. The most you can make is $641 per month, if everybody pays on time and nothing happens. That’s a cushion of one and a half apartments per year over break even, before any unanticipated costs or expense increases. That is a razor thin margin.
Now go back to the more realistic 10% vacancy and delinquency loss and the break-even economic occupancy becomes 97.3%. If anything outside the perfect world of the paper projection happens, anything, then you’re running negative cash flow. You’re upside down from the get-go, and few if any options to cure it. So now tell me, you’ve caught this deal, now what are you going to do with it? Can you imagine yourself a year from now being a “don’t-wanter” seller? I’ve seen it happen just that way so many times.
Is This Your Story?
I had a call a few weeks back from a fellow that bought a small apartment project we had looked at about a year ago in a town about thirty miles from our office. He wanted to sell, and called us because we are fairly well known as buyers in the market. He started describing the place and it sounded familiar, so I asked if he had bought it from “Mr. Jones”. He said yes, and I knew it was the same deal we had looked at.
I asked how much he was asking for it, and he said he was willing to take what he had in it, which was about $240,000. It had more land next door that could be developed with more units and he would include that with the deal. (We had offered the original seller $200,000, owner financing, no money down, and the development parcel next door free and clear, or $175,000 all cash. The Seller didn’t take either offer, and we walked away.)
I asked a few questions. Nothing much had changed. He had painted the place, but the rents were the same. I asked him how much he owed, and he said $240,000, twenty percent of which was financed by the Seller. He was three payments in arrears on the Seller’s note because there had been two vacancies he couldn’t get filled.
He mentioned that this was his first real estate investment and he really didn’t know what to do. I could hear the strain in his voice, and could tell he really wanted out. I said I was sorry, but I couldn’t help him. I didn’t preach this sermon, figuring he was already paying tuition for an advanced degree in the proper use of leverage. His desire to acquire was stronger than his desire to learn how to figure cash flow before jumping into a deal. He didn’t think it all the way through.
Pigs Get Fed…
If all of this doesn’t give you pause to think twice about high leverage, then consider this. If the building in our example is full, there are twenty tenants with payments due each month. That’s 240 payments due each year. That’s also twenty potential stories each month as to why you can’t get your money, 240 potential stories each year. What is the probability that of the 240 potential payment events per year, somebody won’t pay on time? That should make you wonder how well the tenants you inherit from the Seller were screened. Or did he just get warm bodies to fill the place to sell? Believe me, it happens.
Don’t get me wrong; there are situations where 100% leverage is possible and profitable. I’ve done it a number of times, but in every case there was considerable upside available, or a development opportunity that I could capitalize on to better the odds of success, such as my original offer on the deal above. We structured the two offers so that either way we could win. It had the potential to cash flow in the present, and plenty of upside in developing the property next door. We walked when we couldn’t structure the deal to win.
Someone else came along and wanted the deal bad enough to do whatever it took to acquire it. Now the Seller has a non-performing note behind a first mortgage that is barely being serviced, both secured by a property that is declining in value because of poor management and a tough market. Did anyone really win? There’s another saying that comes to mind here, “Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.” That’s a barnyard expression to describe what happens when we reach for more than we’re entitled.
I hope you can see from this discussion why high leverage is a strategy that requires the experience, capital, and resources to use it properly. Be careful when you contemplate highly leveraged deals. Figure the break-even economic occupancy rate. Know what the costs are going in. Know the market. Know your own capabilities and be able to move quickly to capitalize upside. Above all, do not tweak the numbers to support your own “desire to acquire.”
January 16th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Who would possibly steal Casey’s identity? Steal it and do what??? Pay his bills???
Me stealing Monty Burns identity will bring me more ill gotten gains. Let’s calm down everyone.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Casey, did you know that stealing software is aginst the law???
That’s it young man, I’m calling the cops.
You are in BIG trouble now!!!!!!
Run while you can.
Julian
Trailer park flippin guru and cash flow specialist
January 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I’m still tormented over the goal… maybe I should try to live goal-free for a while, like this guy talk about. I think I will use my gift card and go buy that book soon.
… back to setting up Vonage…
January 16th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Og has your PDA “thingy”.
You will be getting a call from the BSA soon…something abot software piracy…
January 16th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Hey Julian, how much for the trailer park? Whats the NOI?
January 16th, 2007 at 11:11 am
@PELEGIRL: “That is the lamest hat I have ever seen. You look like the pied piper of financial ruin.”
That’s so funny and right-on! Casey is a “pied piper,” he’s got us all hooked, for sure!
UncleC (not Casey’s uncle)
January 16th, 2007 at 11:12 am
“I was in a hurry and kind of didn’t think much of it.”
That pretty much sums up in 13 words, your current position in life.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Your next post is going to be, “Vonage refuses to give me credit without a $750 deposit. Why is that?”
And if goals are what you’ve been trying to hit for the last six months, yes, go without them for a while.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:20 am
We could work a deal for around lets say 100k cdn.(thats about a buck fifty american).
I would have to get with Mrs Lahey (she owns the trailer park) before we could do anything. Being your such a good guy and you responded to me so quickly, I wont even charge a commission on this one!!!!!!!!
Julian
Trailer park flippin guru and cash flow specialist.
www.tpbusa.com…check us out
January 16th, 2007 at 11:24 am
“Another problem is that I didn’t have Adobe Photoshop handy to do my usual blurring. I decided not to re-install it on the laptop because I don’t own a license to it. I have been slowly getting rid of my pirated software over the last several years and replacing it with paid version. ”
You are so full of excuses it’s unbelievable. You have no idea how much of a bullscheissing scheister you really are.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Response to Granite Counter Flop
“Your revolution is over, Mr. Serin. Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Serin? The bums will always lose.”
I love how you used the quote from The Big Lebowski, which is one of my favorite films - too funny!
January 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Mrs Lahey said she would think about selling the park on one condition…
You will have to meet with her personally and perform a “service”…if ya know what I mean…
Based on your “level” of service, she will determine a fair market value, so work on your stamina and we will get you set up for a “closing date”. You will need to bring a “deposit” with you. I bet none of your other guru buddies can take care of you like this!!!!
BTW, Casey the cat is pregnant. Bubbles and Ricky are getting drunk because they will be uncles again.
Thanks,
Julian
Trailer park flippin guru and cash flow specialist
www.tpbusa.com
January 16th, 2007 at 11:41 am
To Casey,
NOI= Nothing On Improvement
hahahaaa
By the way, you should get the Metro PC Cellphone, only $40, unlimited
Adobe Company is investigating on your pirate softwares now. You should get a letter from attorney soon.
NOI
January 16th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Oh, let’s add theft of software to the list of charges. Of course, everybody does it, but when you are being made and example of, the DA’s like to throw in all sorts of additional charges. Piracy of software is looked down on much more these days.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Ogg glad people like him.
Clotpoll: No, that different caveman. Geico caveman talk better than Ogg.
Jill: Ogg have little to say. Ogg mostly hater, but casey do ok today. Should have opened mail long ago, but better late than never.
Julian: Ogg enjoy rum but have headache today.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Another use of the word ‘thingy’ is obviously bait for more comments. Our hero is trying to work some kind of shady deal based on comments and eyeballs since his adsense account was revoked.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Hey Casey! I just noticed that your Larchmont property is the #1 biggest loser, percentagewise, on flippersintrouble! Number one in a city the size of Sacramento is nothing to sneeze at. Way to go!
http://flippersintrouble.blogspot.com/
BTW: The NXG gold mining stock I recommended to you about a month ago is now $3.49 - up well over 10%. Based on resources, it’s still a great deal. Something to think about.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Ok, so I clicked on the link re: Goal-Free Living to see if our Casey was going off on another fluffy tangent and this is the first line I read @ that site:
“How would you like to be MORE successful, with LESS effort?”
OMG, I’m sitting here chuckling and shaking my head. I don’t know whether to give Casey a backhand, a hug, or an Adderall.
-T
January 16th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Julie:
“Why not take out student loans to pay for her college and to help pay offer her credit cards…”
Using student loan to pay old debt against law. Even Ogg know that, and Ogg only a caveman.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Thanks for hanging out with us, Og. You are a lot more fun than that geico caveman, he is so sensitive. Ricky was about to drop the elbow on him but he left and went home.
Julian
January 16th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I kind of like the hat. It’s sort of a combination between a keystone cops hat and an argyle sweater, which is pretty appropriate for a keystone investor like Casey. (Envision for a second Casey going about his investment hijinx with that dramatic silent movie piano music in the background)
Pelegirl, loved the “pied piper of financial ruin” comment. If you ever want to have a steamy blog comment love affair like Kevin and Stephanie J, just let me know.
Lastly, somebody needs to fire Jobu’s bartender. That poor guy has been asking for a refill for MONTHS.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
My guess is that some of the cash received at closings was spent on that hat . . .now I’m officially pissed.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
futurestrader,
I’m glad casey is being prag-matic over his situation.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Casey, before you pay for more software, check out the free equivalents.
I use GnuCash in place of MsMoney or Quicken, and the Gnu Image Manipulation Program in place of Photoshop.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Casey!!! Call truthorconsequences before his/her patience runs out!
Hey Julian, how’s my homeboy J-Rock in the trailer park!!! I got some spare shopping carts that Bubble can use!
January 16th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Hey ever hear of this place called Linden. They have their own currency and everything. I’m sure you could pick up an apartment building there. You could live your dream there for real! Lots of passive income, and the life of leisure awaits. They are selling things there for pennies on the dollar! I’m sure you could pick up an apartment building there. Come to think of it, we could all use a “Second Life” to live out fantasies!
January 16th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Who cares why he continues to run this blog, it seems the more people say they not watching anymore the more comments he’s getting.. Casey is good at something…marketing…
Casey, continue working on your new goals and release them when your ready…I don’t see anyone paying “admission”..Since when did this blog become entertainment, I thought it was suppose to be a blog to help people out …Nobody forced Casey to buy the properties and nobody is forcing anyone to watch…
Peace…
www.wvbuysell.com
January 16th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Actually, I am drinking heavily and the bartender is always right there for me when I’m ready.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
To Jason,
Why you don;t buy casey’s houes? since you buy foreclosure houses. I thought you’re expert like you website said.
show us your ability otherwise don;t claim you help people on your webiste
Casey
January 16th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Casey, I take my positive comments back…
You’re a class A ‘tard.
You con banks and taxpayers (the government ultimately insures it) out of large sums of cash… you buy crappy homes in bad neighborhoods to let them rot, diminishing neighbor’s property values, and you have the nerve to talk about pirate software being illegal???
I work for a multi-billion dollar corporation, and everyone copies software. No company ever stays within the limits of their license. They all share passwords for sites like wsj.com. I know a reverend who copies software with his parishioners. Everyone does it.
You are a tool. When they used to ask “what kind of a tool are you?” in those Craftsman commercials a year ago… they should have answered “I’m a Serin.”
And the hat makes you look like a lazy character from a Dr. Seuss book.
Did you have to take the short yellow buses to school when you were younger?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Casey,
Check out open source software. Gimp a good substitute for Photoshop, Open office is a great replacement for MS Office and they are free.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Housing Bubble BLOODBATH
http://www.atlanticfreepress.c.....;Itemid=81
The New York Times reported last week that “about 2.2 million borrowers that took out sub-prime loans from 1998 to 2006 are likely to lose their homes”. That translates into about 10 million people! But that, of course, is just the beginning of the bloodbath. The real fun begins when the whole, ugly ball-o-corruption starts to unwind and we get an insider’s-view of a system that is rotten to the marrow. The housing industry is saturated with fraud; the banks, the mortgage lenders, the Fed and the homeowners themselves have all played a major role in this sordid confidence game.
Consider this, for example:
In 2006 the Mortgage Brokers Association for Responsible Lending (MBARL) said that “Liar’s Loans” (those based on what you TELL the bank you are earning, rather than what you are REALLY earning) “shot up to an estimated 62% of mortgage originations…A recent sampling of 100 stated income loans by an auditing firm in Virginia (based on IRS records) found that 90% of the income statements were exaggerated by 5% or more, WHILE ALMOST 60% OF THE STATED AMOUNTS WERE EXAGGERATED BY MORE THAN 50%”!?! (Dan Dorfman New York Sun)
January 16th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
It’s typical of Ca$ey to leave us hanging. I agree with Tim from MBA, don’t bait us and then leave us wondering. I can assure you, this is the #1 reason that 95% of the comments left on this blog are “hateful”.
What is the status of the Utah property ? Have you been able to straighten that out and what is the outcome ?
All I can say is that it’s a darn shame “G” didn’t finish her degree BEFORE getting married. What was the rush on that anyway ? Really, what was the rush to get married ? Is “G” currently taking classes ? What is her major ? Does she plan to have a career after she graduates (if she does)?
You found out something “disturbing” from your bankruptcy attorney ? Why not just update us now instead of “hoping to have an update in the future” ?
And you can’t find your PDA ? WTF is wrong with you ? Please stop using the word “thingy”, it sounds gay.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
You are the Beavis of finance and investing. He is *the* perect character to play you, given that you also look like him, not just think and act like him.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
“She is not currently getting a job because she doesn’t want to get distracted”.
My goodness! Going to a JC and refusing to work?!!! I have to laugh - no offense, but I’ve been around, and the American education system (yes, I went to a JC and a 4-year college, as well as a University in Europe) is one of the easiest (”sweet” as you’d say), so “being distructed” in my book translates into “being lazy and spoiled”. I, and so many others have worked our way through college, minumum 20+ hours a week, and that didn’t get us “distracted” to graduate with honors. You bring the insults on yourself!
January 16th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
A few loose ends: (proper spelling heh?)
Utah property - I called the old lender and they said they already fowarded one payment to my new lender and I asked about the other one and they didn’t know about it. I said I have copies of deposited checks. They said to fax it to them. I haven’t done that yet because I was busy organizing my stuff and getting my faxing/scanner back up. (I know I know, bad excuse).. so I still need to do that.
Corporate Credit legality - I’m doing everything above board with that as far as I know. I’m buying a 4 year old corporation with the help of my consultants over at www.corpbrokersinc.com so that I can qualify for credit lines faster and do my real estate flipping/investing the right way - without using my personal credit. The credit lines are going to finance my investing going forward. One of the investments is going to be an unsecured note to Mr. and Mrs. Serin. I have full intentions to pay the money back. The primary goal of the corp credit is so that I can do more deals, not just to refi my personal credit.
Any more looooose ends?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Casey - someone pointed out you cannot loan yourself $$ from your corp. that you bought. Any response?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
why don’t you sell the houses to your corporation as well?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
As far as I know, there is nothing wrong with lending to myself through a corp… I ran it by a few knowledgeable people (CPAs, etc) and it seems to be OK. If I lend with the intentions to not repay thats a diff story.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Casey - that corporate credit site is nothing but a get rich quick scheme. They offer you DVD’s, CD’s, etc., on “how to start” this & that. Their prices are either $1995 or $3995 for the products. Contained in those products are forms you need to start a corp. Dude - you can start your own LLC & do the same thing for only a few hundred dollars through an atty. Why would you pay someone else thousands to provide you with info you can get for much cheaper with your own hard work?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Wow, i’m #3 in google under “Hardship Letter”!
January 16th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I really think I can help a lot of other over-leveraged people through this website if I do it right… after learning all these lessons the hard way I need to keep sharing and maybe I can make a difference
January 16th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
To my Dad..
Why are you so bitter?
Relax Peter Pan….
Let’s focus on Casey, I’m sure he would rather have 10 good comments about ideas to help him rather than 500 from haters……Who said anything about being an expert….I’ll leave that to Trump
January 16th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Oh believe me… its much more than just “books and tapes”… their 12 months of consulting that comes with the bigger package is pretty good. Use the code “casey123″ and you will save $500 by the way.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
“(*wink wink…I heart you, Miguel*)”
I’m hugely flattered, but also very happily married.
But my daughter’s middle name is Tracey, if that makes you feel any better.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
First of all, as far as I know, you can lend money from a company to yourself. I have done it.
Secondly, you aren’t going to get any substantial lines of credit on a four-year-old company with no history of credit or banking. I am assuming that this is at least a real S-corporation that has paid it’s franchise fees for the last four years. But, unless it also has had past large credit lines with good repayment histories, assets, or a banking history with a substantial cash flow, expect a starter credit line, just like you would for a person starting out. If you received a line greater than two grand I would be greatly surprised.
If you get any line at all, posting it with the account number and other sensitive information redacted would be great!
January 16th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I still gotta pay them bills before the Mrs. gets any more mad at me. It’s too bad we put her onto the utilities for some of those houses (to make it easier for her to pay, since she used to do bills for us). Now I have a couple of big overdue utility bills in her name that I don’t think I will have enough money for. Gotta take care of it before they send it to collections. As soon as my cordless phone finishes charging and I should be able to get my Vonage account up and start making some calls to creditors and lenders like I should be doing daily.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Lazy is right, for both of them. I think I am a pretty smart guy (graduated collge with a high GPA, etc.) and I started off working 35-40 hours a week my freshman year (not by choice - my boss just scheduled it that way). That was a bit much so I cut back to about 20-25 in order to keep the grades up.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
“And the hat makes you look like a lazy character from a Dr. Seuss book.”
We need to cut Casey a _lot_ of slack on what he wears while working on financial paperwork.
For one thing, function over form.
For another, California has been in the grip of a bitter cold wave for the past several days–I expect to lose some of my own citrus and avocado trees, as temperatures were below 24 F for hours at a time. I assume the Sacramento area was at least as cold as this, so Casey’s hat strikes me as a prudent way to save from having to run the heating system full time.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 16th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
“Any more looooose ends?”
WELL, YOU DIDN’T ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
All I can say is that it’s a darn shame “G” didn’t finish her degree BEFORE getting married. What was the rush on that anyway ? Really, what was the rush to get married ? Is “G” currently taking classes ? What is her major ? Does she plan to have a career after she graduates (if she does)?
You found out something “disturbing” from your bankruptcy attorney ? Why not just update us now instead of “hoping to have an update in the future” ?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Are you saying that you are paying those corporate dudes thousands for their package and consulting? If so, you should have spent that money on a good lawyer and could have gotten better help/advice.
I don’t think most folks reading here have need of their services or the $500 ‘discount’ through what is obviously an affiliate program you have joined. LOL.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
No, instead of paying out of pocket for the Corporation Credit consulting I arranged an alternative form of payment. So the only cost was the 4 year corp. Remember, that smaller high interest loan I took out? Part of that paid for the corp.
…
No that I cleared up my physical mail I need to get working on my email - several hundred emails waiting to be answered.
Sorry if you emailed me and haven’t received a response yet… I will get to ya soon.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
“…I still gotta pay them bills before the Mrs. gets any more mad at me. It’s too bad we put her onto the utilities for some of those houses (to make it easier for her to pay, since she used to do bills for us)…”
So that’s why you put her name on the bills.
And I thought it was because the utilities would
not put them in your name without a big deposit.
Silly me
January 16th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
“…Oh believe me… its much more than just “books and tapes”… their 12 months of consulting that comes with the bigger package is pretty good….”
So what do these “consultants” say to do
about your current situation?
January 16th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Casey’s hat strikes me as a prudent way to save from having to run the heating system full time.
He barely pays his rent..you think he chips in for the heat?
January 16th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
casey. i think you can do even better. the stock market is about to rally BIGTIME! take the money you get in corp credit and use it to go long SPX500 futures in a margin account. you can use the excess funds to make a downpayment on your apartment building…and if you let it all ride for a few months you will be able to get an even BIGGER building.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
What next. Gonna use your work time to cut your toenails or curl your hair.
Look for a country that won’t expedite to the U.S.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Waaah,Waaah,Waaah said:
“Look for a country that won’t expedite to the U.S.”
I think the word you’re after is “extradite”.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
-
Casey - you are the LAZIEST SOB I ever met!
RK
January 16th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
You really need to look for alternate forms of advertising for your blog. This is an untapped resource that could definitely help pay the monthly bills.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
“I don’t have $600 or so to replace my pirated Photoshop right now. So I used good ol’ Paint that comes standard with my Windows XP to blur out the sensitive information.”
Are you kidding me??? Dang Casey! Next thing you’ll post is a picture with a skeleton hanging out of your closet (literally). Stop incriminating yourself and get a good bankruptcy attorney.
http://drhousingbubble.blogspot.com
January 16th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Hi Casey. I’ve been following your site for a few months, ever since a real-estate agent I know sent it out, with a sort of detached dark humor feeling as it’s been unfolding. However, when I saw the picture of you sitting at your desk opening mail it just made me see you in a different light. Like a kid playing grown up, wearing his dad’s too big tie and suit jacket and carrying around a briefcase playing business. I do not mean this to be insulting in anyway…and you’ve definitely taken a lot of heat…but I hope you’ll start being realistic about things before you lose your family and create a completely undoable situation for yourself.
Why not try and plan out some small successes as stepping stones to the bigger ones? I can respect that you don’t feel college is for you, but it’s the extremely rare individual who can go out and create Google as their first business…or become a real-estate mogul within 1 year. You know, you tried and that’s admirable but one needs to accept failure and act accordingly when it happens. Everyone fails at some point, but being able to minimize its impact while charging ever forward is part of becoming an adult. It seems that you haven’t managed your risk or the impact of failure at all and it has now run wild. It seems very unlikely that you will be able to borrow yourself out of this hole you’re in. I would think, if there’s anything you’ve learned from this experience, that you would start seriously evaluating risk with everything you take on now. Especially in business. You will likely be better for the experience…in 10 years. Not this month though. You may want to really slow down a little, learn how to properly manage money and understand risk. I also agree with some others who have warned you about getting involved with anybody promising to help you and it seems to good to be true. For your own benefit just realize that you are red meat for the many sharks out there who love to rip people off.
I’m pulling for you, although I must admit that it’s not looking real good right now. You don’t seem to be translating your failures into actual learning experiences, which means you have a high likelihood of repeating them.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
“I, of course, don’t care about “degrees” and stuff like that. Nothing against college, I just don’t think its the ONLY way to learn a skill. Though I may go to school eventually, after I become financially free, simply for the education”
It’s statements like these that make me truly loathe Kyosaki and the koolaid he has been serving for the past several years.
In actuality, those who don’t have degrees and eventually end up with very successful lives are individuals that concentrated their efforts on creating a business. And no, I don’t mean property flippers. I mean private business entrepeneurs. People who own restaurants. People that start a dry cleaning service. People who start a company (see Gates: Microsoft, Jobs: Apple) etc. But the point is, these were not “speculators”. They were individuals that opted to pursue a goal to create a successful business. And that was achieved through many, MANY years of long, hard work.
But to make a note, those particular cases are the exception to the rule. The vast majority of individuals that achieve moderate to greater success in this world are individuals with several higher education degress. Honestly, how many CEOs exist that don’t have at least a bachelors degree in some relevant field? Nowadays, many have masters degrees.
The point is, there is no free lunch. Casey, you are looking at individuals such as successful real estate flippers or former dot com traders that struck it rich with minimal effort and you are attempting to emulate that formula. But the point is, those success stories are the anomoly, not the norm. I know many people who made millions on stock options. They weren’t business savvy. They were just LUCKY. And therein lies the difference. It was tantamount to winning the lottery. But you cannot run your life under the assumption that you will find gold at the end of the rainbow.
I know that you are inundated with suggestions about how best to achieve financial independence. And since you like reading books about people who achieved that goal, I have a suggestion for you. Read the book “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. To summarize, it is a book that statistically shows who the true millionaires of the nation are. The results may surprise you because the ultimate conclusion that these individuals discovered is that the vast majority of wealthy in this country are those that simply lived below their means for extended periods and were often private business owners. Like plumbers, electricians. It is a fascinating look at how the “rich” demographic is spread out and I encourage you to look it over.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
LOL…can you do us all a favor and stop with the plugs?
Goals, no goals…whatever. It’s all proof you can’t focus on ANYTHING.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
You don’t care about a degree but you sign up with these useless get rich quick gurus and their useless seminars?
Wow, Casey you need a priority check. I will say this…I don’t have a degree. I have gone to college but never finished. College IS overrated, BUT you need it nowadays. When I was your age you could work your way up quickly if you were smart.
I just laugh that you think a Trump or Kurosaki scammer course is more important than a degree. LOL, quit cracking me up.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Casey, you can barely help yourself, why do you think you’ll help others?
You know you have to have a license in order to give financial advise, right?
January 16th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Fongool!
“But now she refuses to let anything get in the way of her goal of getting a degree. ”
This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I was trying to tell you.. that little putana is taking you for a ride as well..Trust me my friend, she is making a list and checkng it twice and twice again! Sheesh…What do you need Casey? A BIG NEON SIGN?
I also have a feeling that the Corp. thing just might have some Predicates.
Go Heavy!
January 16th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Pelegirl
January 15th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
“That is the lamest hat I have ever seen. You look like the pied piper of financial ruin.”
I think we may have the movie title.
January 16th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the minute your coporation gets filed there will be numerous phone calls and inquires to the appropriate federal, state, and local regulatory and enforcement agencies.
No one believes a word from you………not one.
Sure, you ran the corporation scam by your CPA. Just like the other scams, right? Go ahead and try pull this new scam off. People are waiting. Don’t you think that you have perpetrated enough crimes to last a lifetime?
January 16th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Joey Bobo
January 15th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
“Casey, you should block out your account numbers when you post the your bills on the internet. Someone could probably use it to assume your identity or something… at least in theory.”
-I did steal his identity. When I came home today my electric service was disconnected, my checking account was closed and accounts receivable at Jamba Juice had left 15 messages on my voicemail. To top it all off, while riding the bus home, due to the reposession of my car, some crazy Russian chick beat me within inches of my life for no apparent reason.
Who is Carlton Sheets and why does he keep calling my home?
January 16th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Casey,
Lenders don’t care about how long a corporation has existed. They care about how long it has actually been operating and making money. Nobody’s going to give you credit just because you’ve had some paperwork on file with the state for a few years.
They’ll want to see 3-4 years of tax returns showing real income, real growth, and real stability. The fact that the original management/ownership has departed along with whatever business plan they were working on, will mean that from the bank’s perspective, it’s a completely new deal. You could have accomplished the same thing for about $150 to do the filing with the state, or maybe $1000 to get a really ironclad setup with all the right paperwork from a lawyer.
IOW, you just bought something completely worthless. The sellers are laughing all the way to the bank. The bankers will be laughing when they see your credit application.
There’s nothing illegal about a business making a loan to the owner. However, no bank is going to give out a business loan for the purpose of making a loan to the owner. Before you can borrow money from your business, you need to actually earn some money to borrow.
-btc
January 16th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Since you’re obviously not using them…..can I buy your Bruce Norris sets?
January 16th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
I don’t know why my comment was deleted. I made fun of the hat, but it wasn’t any worse than anything anyone else posted.
Anyway, just had another thought. Anybody else get the feeling that Dustin (aka Rich Dad’s son) is going to be G’s new boyfriend?
January 16th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Anyone else notice the mailing address on the electric bill is registered to “Heritage Oaks Realty”? As somebody suggested, Casey’s “Rich Dad” may have a special “arrangement” with Casey that may be making him rich after all.
Consider the possibility that somebody could conceivably say “Look, buy all of these properties and wreck your credit. Invariably all of the will go to foreclosure where our associates will pick them up at deep discounts. We have the resources to pay for the fix-ups on what are flipper poison- real crap properties. Plus the purchase price will undoubtedly be in line with current rental prices- maybe better.
New tenants (with intelligent management) will cover carrying costs until the market improves. When the market turns around and the properties are worth more than the investors paid, they dump them.
In the meantime, Casey is paid to do what he does best, be lazy. He doesn’t really have to work. He can run his credit cards into the ground. His rich dad has him on the payroll anyway and he doesn’t have to do anything but “find sweet deals”. Well perhaps Casey has already found the sweetest deal yet! Because he’s covered. Ultimately, it is understood that Casey will declare bankruptcy. It will hurt his credit for now, but he knows in a few years he can get back in the game. And until he can, he’ll be taken care of. Course this is all hyperbole…
January 16th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Iamfacingforeclosure.com
Romance Amongst Adversity (and Haters)
**All Natural Mail Enhancement & Pelegirl
**Kevin & Stephanie J
**Miguel, (T)racy
January 16th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Casey,
This is truly a strange blog. If what you write here is true, then you are incredibly incompetent.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
When is your latest reporter interview going to be published?
January 16th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
@ T
Miguel McDreamy? Too funny! Looks like this love connection wasn’t meant to be since he’s married. You remind me of Joy Behar (The View). She knows just when to throw in some humor to keep things light. Thanks for lightening up this blog.
@ Tim MB
I can see that you’re truly enjoying your retirement. Seriously. You seem very content with what you’ve done with your life. You’re now reaping the rewards from a lot of work and strategic planning.
Casey, I simply can’t believe you’ve just gotten yourself into yet MORE debt by purchasing a 4-year corp. Somebody mentioned the game of Monopoly. I truly wonder if you’re thinking all of this money isn’t real. I honestly don’t know how you can sleep at night with all the debt you’ve incurred, and continue to incur on a daily basis. Man, this is gonna bite you BAD. Good luck.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Casey Serin said
January 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
As far as I know, there is nothing wrong with lending to myself through a corp… I ran it by a few knowledgeable people (CPAs, etc) and it seems to be OK. If I lend with the intentions to not repay thats a diff story.
Casey,
The issue before has been “piercing the corporate veil” which it’s clear you didn’t quite comprehend.
It’s not about intention, it’s about performance. If you ever default, you cannot claim corporation’s bankruptcy without your own bankruptcy.
Transferring the debt to a corporation and then declaring bankruptcy can turn a normal individual bankruptcy into a personal bankruptcy AND (frighteningly) a Criminal act!
This is California Law:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/.....-5239.html
“5236. (a) A corporation shall not make any loan of money or property to or guarantee the obligation of any director or officer,unless approved by the Attorney General;”
Your “CPA” will not know tort/criminal law differentiation, this is where legal advice is crucial. I am also not a lawyer, but know enough to know that this is infinitely worse than just declaring BK yourself… this could be seen as a subversion or an attempt to defraud creditors. Classic case for the local DA to pin on you. Trust me, I had a friend when I was about your age go to prison (yes, prison term of 14 months) for doing the same thing you are doing.
Please, for the love of pete, don’t commit more crimes than you already have, and remember, ignorance of the law is no defense in CA!
John Doe
www.socalbubble.blogspot.com
January 16th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
CASEY!!
your an ignoramus!
how much did you pay for the corporation,
i bet you borrowed more than it cost (anything more than one dollar is too much) so you can get “cash back”
are you that DELUDED to think that anybody in their right mind would think that corpbrokersinc is a legitimate business
are you so out of your mind to believe that anybody would purchase their product with $500 off using a casey code?!?!??!
January 16th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Casey, I swear, if you put together a foreclosure party at one of your pre-foreclosure homes, MANY of us would fly out for the party. Someone mentioned last month you could really profit from this.
You could bring in sponsors (i.e. realtors, mortgage bankers, caterers, media, etc.) and charge them for their exposure.
** Then, you have an admittance fee for all guests, and each guest wears a nametag with their Blog name on it!!! I swear I’d come all the way from Denver to meet these funny characters on your site. It would also be nice to meet you. We don’t hate you. We just don’t like what you’re doing.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Forget about knowledge and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times better off.
Throw away charity and righteousness, and people will return to brotherly love.
Throw away profit and greed, and there won’t be any thieves.
These three are superficial and aren’t enough to keep us at the center of the circle, so we must also:
Embrace simplicity.
Put others first.
Desire little.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
A THEORY TO EXPLAIN THE LAD CASEY
The more I read this blog, the larger the apparent gap between Casey’s perception of reality, and reality itself.
With the vast amount of well-reasoned advice that has been so patiently given, by the likes of Tim from Monterey, Miguel, et al, over and over, Casey’s latest solution to his woes is to…..
BORROW MORE MONEY AND GO DEEPER INTO DEBT!
AND TO BORROW THE MONEY TO PAY TO LEARN HOW
TO DO THIS!
Could it be just the obstinance and ignorance of youth?
Possibly…though I was not even close to being that goofy when I was 24, nor were my peers. Nore were Tim, Miguel, et al, I would guess.
And many of the posters appear to be in their twenties and thirties, and make a point of stressing their employment, diligence, and plain hard work.
There is something else at work here…something that will explain why both Mr. and Mrs. Serin are in different kinds of deep, deep denial.
If so, this takes the very concept of denial to a whole new level. Something along the lines of “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”
Mrs. Serin may be willfully ignoring the gravity of the situation by telling herself that her husband “takes care of the finances…”, as Casey said.
But of far greater import, the lad Casey seems almost pathologically averse to the most basic concept of common sense.
How did he get this way?
Here is my theory:
In contract to many of the posters, I enjoyed Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Many of the posters are missing the point–he is not a real estate guru, nor is he a flaky con man like many of the cable TV real estate gurus. The main points of his book are:
1. The huge advantages of being a business owner/entrepreneur, rather than an employee. The advantages–in taxation, wealth accumulation, etc.–are true.
2. A searing indictment of the current (public) education system, which essentially trains the captive students to be passive, robotic employees. Again, Kiyosaki is absolutely correct. He documents his own rocky road dealing with the school system.
Yes, the book is not a specific get-rich-this-way manual. It is not meant to be. And, yes, Kiyosaki has built a successful franchise out of repeating his points in different media. So what?
But I digress. My theory is that the lad Casey has read, and been duly inspired by, Kiyosaki’s teachings. So far, so good, although he clearly missed Kiyosaki’s crucial distinction between “good debt” and “bad debt”.
But here is the catch: Casey appears never to have been given, by his parents or whomever else influenced him, any instruction in the basics of being a responsible adult. Even many teenagers, eight to ten important years younger than Casey, would never behave in such a silly, grossly irresponsible way.
No, Casey’s behavior shows the maturity level of, maybe, a ten to twelve year old with ADD, let loose in a candy store
of easy credit.
Witness his ongoing fantasies about becoming financially independent in a few months!
As to why the lad Casey would have such a vacuum in his development, I have no clue, and invite speculation from the posters.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
“$5,000 monthly passive income from real estate by age 25 on September 10th, 2007… 8 months from today. That’s 5K/mo net positive cashflow after property expenses, management and debt service. (Too aggressive??)”
Um… Casey,
Please allow me to give you some of the best advice life has to offer:
“There ain’t no Coupe deVille sittin’ at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box.”
Please take this to heart.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Case History,
So your BK lawyer told you something “disturbing”. That’s good. Proof that he is a reputable advisor. Your capable and generous audience of haters and hangers-on have been trying to get similar advice into your head for the past 4 1/2 months. The shift from “woo-woo money” to “real money” has begun. Good luck. Stay positive and productive even when dealing with this frightening situation and good things may yet happen.
I would like to define some words that get thrown around on this blog and are frequently misused.
You are not an investor you are a speculator. A speculator tries to determine if a given situation or product is over valued or under valued and then exploit the difference for a profit. One can speculate in gold, rare books, paintings, real estate etc. For the last five years it was profitable to speculate in real estate. People thought it was investing. Not true. An investment takes patience, time and requires either adding value or passively waiting for value to accrue.
Many people tried speculating in real estate. Quite a few made money…early. But when a speculation goes bad it starts to look a lot like gambling. You don’t just lose, you lose it all.
so for the record:
investor = not
speculator/gambler = you
January 16th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
“Another problem is that I didn’t have Adobe Photoshop handy to do my usual blurring. I decided not to re-install it on the laptop because I don’t own a license to it. I have been slowly getting rid of my pirated software over the last several years and replacing it with paid version. I don’t have $600 or so to replace my pirated Photoshop right now. So I used good ol’ Paint that comes standard with my Windows XP to blur out the sensitive information.”
Okay, this is weird. You did have a flat-screen monitor in your previous photos. Now you have a laptop. I suspect you purchased a new laptop when your other hard drive went defunct, and we all know Photoshop doesn’t come standard with new laptops. Secondly, I seriously doubt you wouldn’t re-install it in the new laptop just to be ’safe’. You seem to have no fear. I doubt it begins with Photoshop.
Ciao!
I’m not being hateful, but I strongly suspect you purchased a shiny new laptop. It’s all good if it was a gift and all, but I sure hope it didn’t come from the $50K CW loan.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Casey, I can understand that you’re probably getting worn down by all the negative and abusive comments, but you should seriously resist the temptation to over-moderate and exclude “mean” comments.
Soon after USA Today launched you into the public eye, people started contributing endless posts of good advice, all of which you ignored. As followers of your blog became more familiar with your compulsive personality and conceit, the posts became more and more focused on personal attacks as people grew frustrated, angry, and amazed with your irresponsible and erratic behavior.
As of recent, these “hater” comments are the only amusing aspect of your site. The typical cycle for a post goes something like this: 1. Casey blogs about some idiotic thing that he is thinking or has done; 2. Supporters and new readers contribute comments that are aimed to help Casey, and “haters” and the rest of the readers lambast Casey for his stupidity; and 3. Casey backpeddles and edits his original blog entry or tries to lamely respond.
I am sure that if you try to artificially balance the comments on this site between positive and negative, interest will wane very quickly and you’ll permanently lose a very significant portion of your readership. I for one, and I’m sure most others, will quickly bail on you. The majority of us know that “good job, Casey,” is not the prevailing attitude, and when the posts reflect your over-moderation, it’ll be yawn, this is booooring, good riddance Casey! You have nothing going for you - I love watching the trainwreck happen before my eyes, but I definitely will lose interest quickly when the comments suspiciously start weighing-in on what a pretty and productive train wreck it is.
P.S. Why does commenting not work when I have zonealarm on–is this infested with spyware?
January 16th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Californians
So as not to be outdone by all the redneck, hillbilly, and Texan jokes, somebody had to come up with this.
You know you’re from California if:
1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.
2. You make over $300,000 and still can’t afford a house.
3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.
4. Your child’s 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.
5. You can’t remember . . . is pot illegal?
6. You’ve been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.
7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.
8. You can’t remember . . . is pot illegal?
9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.
10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.
11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.
12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
13. You can’t remember . . . is pot illegal?
14. It’s barely sprinkling rain and there’s a report on every news station: “STORM WATCH.”
15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers.
16. It’s barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal????
18. Both you AND your dog have therapists, psychics, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons.
19. The Terminator is your governor.
20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver’s license. If you’re here illegally, they want to give you one.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
About the personal info on the bills and ID theft……
The question is who would WANT to steal your identity? What harm would it do, destroy your credit?
January 16th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Who on earth would pay to sponsor this blog? Do they not know that >80% of the people that come here think you are a moron? or a mormon? or both?
How many of us “Haters” would ever visit your sponsor’s site? (I’ll give you a hint it rhymes with “hero”)
January 16th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
@ Tim MBA and Legion
Sorry, guys, but I think the Doofus Hat is appropriately in the line of fire. Mention of the recent low temperatures in No Cal is fine and good, but do you think–do you really think–that our resident Host and Ding-a-Ling donned that risible hat in order to conserve on utilities bills?
Casey treats money cavalierly, almost with disdain, much as he treats people. People are there to be used and to be lied to (when it serves his interest; I presume he can be quite charming to them when it serves him); money is a tool to that end. Or maybe it’s vice-versa–we’ll leave that to C-Boy’s future analyst to figure out, and I’m not referring to a securities analyst.
In any event, I doubt that he contributes a freaking kopeck to the utilities bill at his relative’s place where he is mooching a room (maybe, somewhere in one of his posts way back when, he stated honorably and forthrightly his INTENT to pay a portion of the utilities. Where do you think that has ended up? Hey, it might have even been one of his GOALS!!..so we know it’s going to happen)
The problem with the Dipstick Hat is that it reinforces everything about Casey that is driving his audience to distraction. He should be appearing business-like and disciplined, even to his audience. But he presents himself as a character out of one of the Bad News Bears movies.
We know his problems and in the beginning, many of us were willing to look past them to the solution. But C-Boy remains as firmly entrenched in his problems as the day he started this abortion of a blog. He is slovenly in his approach to his “business”, his approach to his debts and his approach to life. The Dipstick Hat merely reinforces that.
On a separate topic: as they used to say about some general a long time ago, “Often wrong, but never in doubt!” Many of the posts here have been excellent (unlike the Host’s) but many are also wrong, either to a greater or lesser extent and, on this blog, self-restraint seems to be considered a vice.
I am a professional. I know a lot about some areas and very little about others. I wouldn’t know Tim MBA’s alpha particles if they bit me in the rear. Before arriving at Chez Casey, I didn’t know much about real estate investing (I use the term “investing” loosely here). Computer programming might as well be Sanskrit for me. As they say, it’s dark and dirty work, and I’m glad there’s someone out there to do it.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a corporation loaning money to its sole shareholder. Note the word “inherently”. How about “nothing wrong PER SE”. Get the point? In certain situations, such a loan might well be a prudent investment for the corporation, if evidenced by a note, bearing a fair market value rate of interest, and provisions for enforcement.
Note the phrase “prudent investment”. If the shareholder is a fleabag, with a lousy credit record, either the interest rate is going to have to be sky high, and the shareholder is actually going to have to pay it so that what appears to be a loan really IS a loan (as opposed simply to looting the corporate treasury), or the corporation should not make the loan.
But most jokers out in The World take statements like mine and run, quickly, to the racetrack. And they are aided enormously by the ridiculous 800-DIAL-A CORPORATION outfits. They treat a corporation as a pawn in a shell game, a toy with which they can further get over on creditors. They treat it as a mere arm of themselves when it suits them, but seek to hide behind the corporate structure when it comes to liability. Liability for anything-for debt; for personal injury; for performance of contracts.
In that case, the skeptical commenters are right on. The law will not protect a shareholder who disregards the separate legal existence of the corporation. This is the much bruited-about “piercing the corporate veil” issue. And in C-Boy’s case, where he has absolutely nothing to back his note, and where his corporation would not–in a million years, on this planet or any others–loan the money to an unrelated person in his shoes and with his credit rating–well, hell, he’s just up to his old games.
DISCLAIMER: no one should take this as legal advice rendered to any particular person or for any situation. Get your own freaking lawyer, and pay him or her some good money to get some good advice tailored to your own facts.
This disclaimer is not, one commenter to the contrary notwithstanding, humbug or fluffery. This is a society in which people try to get others to take responsibility for their own screw-ups–does the C-Boy come to mind? (”that sux!”) and the members of my profession have gotten used to people trying to invent attorney-client relationships where none was ever intended.
So, friends, if you come to this blog to get good, careful, considered legal advice, get a grip on life. And then ask a lawyer friend for some good referrals, to competent, ethical practitioners. Good professional advice will cost you something, a concept our resident Uzbeki/Khazakh/ Russian host doesn’t yet grok.
In your own ways, many of you have made the same point: life is not a freebie; you have to work hard; you have to study; you don’t master the practice of law by picking up a NOLO Press book; you don’t master the art of investing by attending a Kiyosaki or Carleton Sheets seminar; and you have to LISTEN to people who know what they’re talking about.
There’s a certain guy in the Sacto area who has not yet heard all this.
January 16th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Q: “Why are so many seemingly intelligent people rubber necking on the train wreck that is Casey’s life?” - Dustin, AKA Screech, AKA Dirty Sanchez, AKA Rich Dad’s son.
A: Because its F’ing hilarious.
January 16th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
@BT98
“The point of going to college is not to feel successful, rather, it is to find a good paying 9-5 job and bring home the baccon.”
Irony! I demand you see it, sir/madam.
Anyway, Casey is right that college is generally useless insofar as making one more productive/a better person.
Real estate is not the only bubble the Retarded States of America.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Man I gotta stop reading this blog. Like Tim from MB said, Casey isn’t listening to any kind of sound, reasonable, level headed advice here.
For some inexplicable reason I was hoping that there would be some sort of improvement in poor Casey’s situation. Just a bit of progress to latch on to. But, alas, Casey is not doing anything that is going to resolve this long running play anytime soon. Unless of course you count any of the following as progress:
* Getting more high interest loans
* Setting up potemkin village front companies to con banks out of more money
* Planning multi-million dollar investment schemes with possibly imaginary investment partners who are probably just teenage kids playing a prank
* Cleaning work area, organizing, opening mail, showering, drinking juice, getting up early, and other things most people take as daily life and not necessarily as goals
Time to cut my losses here and never come back to this site. But who am I fooling. I’m going to do what Casey has a devil of a time doing and that is being honest with myself. I’ll be back again because man alive some of these comments are a laugh riot.
Chopper
January 16th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
From Casey’s site. As usual, my comments in bold. Casey Serin January 16th, 2007 at 12:56 pm When we got married she took a break because we moved around and her parents withdrew their support. They only offered to pay for her school while she is living in their home. You have been married how long? No school and no job for all that
January 16th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Cool chapeau!
January 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Casey,
What is your alternative plan?
Do you have a plan in place should the corporate financing not happen?
Even if it worked out you need to put an alternative plan in place how to pay up your bills (it’s the middle of the month and loan processing takes some time, assume 2 weeks at the very minimum).
Good luck.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I’m an attorney so I’ve been curious what you’ve meant by “4 year corporation.” I now see that the corporate credit company you’ve been mesmerized by for the past month (look over here Casey, it’s shiiiiny) probably established a bunch of corporations, let them age, then sold you one of the corporations based on the premise that it’s an established businesses and can therefore secure a line of credit based on history. Two problems. One, I think that you’ve been scammed by these folks. You were led to believe that you weren’t being charged for their services and information, and your only cost was purchasing the corporation. Second, I think the logic behind the “4 year corp” is flawed because, as pointed out earlier by another post, credit (especially business credit) is usually extended based on a history of transactions (or the credit worthiness of principals), not merely based on the fact that an entity has existed for a period of time.
Thus, it appears you’ve been duped yet again, this time by the corp credit folks into thinking you were getting something for nothing, when in truth, you got nothing for something (my guess is a lot of something - even though you stated that a “portion” of your loan went to pay for the corp, my guess is you’re fibbing for fear of ridicule and that ALL of the loan went towards this). WAKE UP! What is wrong with you? I’m not being flippant when I say you really need to seek psychological help and break this cycle of self-destructive behavior. No one cares what problems you have, only that you’re held accountable, so you’d best take care of your problems ASAP, because no one and no thing will do it for you despite how much you may wish this to be!!! Your use of quasi-business language (e.g., “4 year corp”- what the hell is that?) and erratic behavior is laughable. Yes, we’re laughing at you, not with you.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Here we all are…
Bursting your little bubble.
Raining on your parade.
Stomping on your sandcastle.
Poor little waif–boyish wheaten hair, vulnerable in his little argyle knit hat. Almost appeals to my nurturing side.
Almost.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
And BTW, why does my Anti-spyware program keep blocking access to eu-soft.net whenever I’m on your page???
January 16th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Now I think that Casey needs de-programming. He has been put into a trance by the cult of get-rich schemes. He cannot break out of this mindset by himself.
I think Casey has insecurities about being a provider. I, too, messed up starting out in life, but fortunately I wasn’t married. The pummeling that Casey gets here everyday is building character. He may fall flat on his face more than once in life.
Casey, you should poke yourself with a pin whenever you think about borrowing money. I hope life forces you to scramble for cash soon in order to pay for groceries. Then you will discover your earning capacity. That would be an excellent outcome.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE PASSING PARADE
……This is a first–A poster, T, has a thing for another poster, Miguel? How can that be when you don’t even know what he looks like? And aren’t you curious what she looks like?:)
……To those irritated by the tardiness of the blog postings…is it any surprise Casey handles his blog the way he handles his finances???
January 17th, 2007 at 12:20 am
“(I, of course, don’t care about “degrees” and stuff like that. Nothing against college, I just don’t think its the ONLY way to learn a skill. Though I may go to school eventually, after I become financially free, simply for the education).”
Perhaps I’m wrong, but you don’t strike me as the type who favours intellectual development for its own sake.
And if I’m right, this is yet more proof that you’re doing things precisely the wrong way round. Again.
The real tragedy is that you’re so poorly educated that you have absolutely no idea how poorly educated you are - as demonstrated by the fact that you favour “education” by overpriced snake-oil gurus spouting drivel over a proper college degree that might actually teach you the basics that you desperately need to learn before attempting any more business deals.
And the second tragedy is that not only would this approach have been infinitely better in the medium-to-long term, it would almost certainly have been vastly cheaper too. (This is what’s known as “a good investment”, the recognition of which is one of the fundamental business skills you have yet to pick up.)
Of course, you don’t necessarily need a college education - but the alternative is NOT going it alone from the start: it’s hanging around people who actually work in your chosen field, preferably in some kind of internship/apprenticeship situation where you can get an insight into the actual day-to-day process, and absorbing everything they can teach you in connection with real-world situations.
And then, when you’ve sufficiently mastered all the relevant elements and have built enough of a reputation of your own to make it feasible, you strike out on your own. How soon you’re ready to do that depends on how quickly you master the fundamentals - fundamentals that not only have you not come close to mastering, but many of which you don’t even recognise as being issues in the first place!
(Until they rear up and bite so many chunks out of your a** that you might as well junk the blue ball as you won’t be able to sit down without screaming.)
January 17th, 2007 at 12:34 am
@ Tim (the idiot): “For example, what did the bankruptcy lawyer you said you were meeting with actually advise you to do?”
Dude, are you totally dense? Casey clearly spelled out for us two pieces of his advice. First, that he was now going to just let the houses go to foreclosure, which would wipe out all his secured debt. Second, that he was NOT going to file BK any time soon because of the risk of BK fraud charges. How did you miss this? That’s what the lawyers advised him and he’s doing it.
UncleC (not Casey’s uncle)
January 17th, 2007 at 1:34 am
I think Casey secretly wants people to steal his identity, that way he can argue that he didn’t take out all those loans. That might actually be the smartest move yet.
January 17th, 2007 at 2:15 am
of credit to bring your situation under control. Then divorce her, and leave her with 50%. Keep on doing this, and you can parcel out 50% of your debt burden per marriage/divorce. Do this before you get any uglier than you already are. [IMG ] Full article at iamfacingforeclosure.com
January 17th, 2007 at 4:52 am
casey why dont you explain how this corporate thing works…
i mean this is all legal mumbo jumbo stuff that has to do with laws and open public information…so im sure its not copyrighted by corpbrokersinc?
why dont you explain it in detail…
what exactly do you get out of all these plugs, remember your real estate college didnt want to be on your blog becasue of all the haters?
can you explain why this situation is different
can you explain why this ‘company’ is willing to help and exactly what are the costs involved….
do you plan on tithing 3000 of the 30000 you plan on loaning ourself?
how does your friend feel about you tithing money before paying a debt to him?
hows that vdubs doing?
January 17th, 2007 at 5:00 am
and please throw away all those guru semiar materials,
thats not a reference library and its certainly not a sign of education.
if i went to some dates house and her bookshelf was filled with selfhelp feelgood books id run away fast,
those books are saying the wrong things about you, but subconsciously you still believe that they are good things.
if i had a bong and a skull candle with a weedleaf on it sitting on my mantle, would anybody think i was a serious businessman, your showing off your drugs and addiction and stupidity right there in your bookstacks, they are not even books they are binders full of fluff and general basic information spread out over many pages to bulk up and ‘justify’ the cost
casey, can you cut 2 holes in that hat and pull it down over your face, you might money more easily if you walked into a bank and asked politely, it will be just like a liar loan, and the mask will make it easier to justify not paying it back since they would not know your identity, but knowing casey youll leave a overdue utility bill, half a jamba juice, your macaroni grill gift card as you exit, not realizing that you also tried to promote your ablebuyer website to the guy in line in front of you…
January 17th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Remember trash day is one day later this week. You’re welcome.
January 17th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Do you ever wake up and say, “Yikes!!”
January 17th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Please tell us what the “something distrubing” you heard from a Bankruptcy Attorney?
January 17th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Casey,
What is a 4 year corporation?
January 17th, 2007 at 7:52 am
@ John Doe 5:29
Sec.5236 is part of California Nonprofit Corporation Law, which typically does, yes, provide for a level of supervision by the Attorney General. I am tempted to acknowledge that anything Casey does–oops, I’m beginning to hate, here–will be nonprofit, but in truth I think he would try to run it as a profit-making venture. And I don’t think (although I could be wrong) that he would be so audacious as to apply for tax exemption on the ground that he complied with all the requirements of CA nonprofit law.
But hey–what I am concerned about? Casey’s dealing with an 800-DIAL-A-CORPORATION outfit, and surely they would not steer him wrong.
January 17th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I still wanna know the “disturbing” news that the BK lawyer told you.
January 17th, 2007 at 8:30 am
I don’t know if it’s the same for undergrad since I didn’t get loans for it, but student loans might help Casey see The Value of a Good Education. People commented before that you can’t use student loans to pay other bills, but this isn’t entirely true.
Depending on whether you’re a full or part time student, that affects how much money you can take out. From that, you must pay school bills first. However, the money that’s left is at your discretion, generally for your living expenses. However, when I took mine out, I asked them what I could use it for, they said basically anything. So I paid off my credit card and lumped my debt into the much-lower interest student loans. Granted, my card was like $1.5k, so not really anything to raise much of a stink about.
One of the nice things is, if you only get the subsidized loans, the government pays your interest while you’re still in school, which is a huge help. I minimized my borrowing so that I didn’t take out more than I needed, but we know Precious won’t be doing that.
Low interest rate, ten years to pay it back, often with many generous government programs to help… our boy may be college material yet!
January 17th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Goooooooooooooood morning Casey!!!!!!!!
Im an early riser today.(11:00am et)
Og is comming to stay at the trailer park for good. He said California wasnt for him.I have made him my Asst Trailer Park Flippin Guru. If you want to come up here to one of my classes, I will let you in for free!!!
My first class is on how to by a trailer from a crack-head.
This is a newbie course and you will fit right in.
After you ave mastered this course and do a couple of deals we can start you on part 2, How to selll the trailer back to the same crackhead and make a profit.
Julian
January 17th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Everybody, the comments are funny again! Keep up the good work.
Casey-
There are four ways to aquire money in this country:
1. earn it (for suckas)
2. steal it (for playas)
3. inherit it (for rich dad sons)
4. win it (for flippas)
Obviously, 1 and 3 are out for you, and 4 is not happening right now. Thus it’s time for option 2 for the win-win!
Now, based on past performance, you are probably going to need a few pointers. Try to keep these things in mind:
- remember to put your hockey mask on before you go into the bank, not after
- ATMs will not “give you the money” no matter how long you point a gun at them
- the pointy part of the gun faces forward
- no networking with tellers and customers no matter how badly you want them to birddog sweet deals for you
- it’s really not a “robbery” as long as you intend to pay the money back
- limit the Jamba Juice heists to one per week
Hope this helps!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:09 am
@Rob BBB
“The alternative is to be a 9 to 5 cuber and that’s not a pretty life.
Rob, there is something in between being an “9 - 5 cuber” and creating the debt mess in which CS finds himself. Which is prettier? You decide.
This “not-a-pretty-life-9-5-cuber” crap is the sales pitch on which the get-rich-quick program leeches lead you down the primrose path, take your money and run.
Once again I say it. The ‘haters’ have offered Casey solution after solution to solve his immediate problem. The ‘lovers’ have offered support and a pat on the head, but no direction to actually do anything.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Consider the possibility that somebody could conceivably say “Look, buy all of these properties and wreck your credit. Invariably all of the will go to foreclosure where our associates will pick them up at deep discounts. We have the resources to pay for the fix-ups on what are flipper poison- real crap properties. Plus the purchase price will undoubtedly be in line with current rental prices- maybe better.
Yeah but with this idiot spilling the beans daily on his blog it would be pretty easy to catch em..then again, Casey isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the tool chest, or they could just get rid of him..make him disappear etc…
January 17th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Rob BBB said
“I doubt Robert Kiyosaki or Donald Trump have master degrees and they are a couple of the richest people in the U.S.”
You don’t get a masters degree in college, you get it in graduate school. Kiyosaki one of the richest people in the US? That depends on the time of day of course as he even states he ranges from 50 million to 150 depending on when he is asked. Are you crazy or just plain ignorant. If you went to college, you may actually be able to research this kind of stuff instead of spouting off stupid comments as if you actually knew something
January 17th, 2007 at 9:25 am
@Pelegirl
Mama mia, good post! I know her girls HAVE to be working her over. I think she’s been playing ostrich for too long. Hopefully they will be able to get her head out. Man, I miss a power bill like that and no Zitti for me.
So uh, what exit are you from ?
Go Heavy!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:27 am
“Another problem is that I didn’t have Adobe Photoshop handy to do my usual blurring”
And you used to work in software?
You’re running Windows Casey. You could load those image captures into Microsoft Paint and simply black out the offending lines! SHEEESH!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Wow, casey you do look like a little boy sitting there in your daddy’s office. I almost feel sorry for you until I start thinking about the things you have done and said. Then I just get pissed off.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Isn’t it Romaaaantic……? said:
“Romance Amongst Adversity (and Haters)
**Miguel, (T)racy ”
What do you take me for….some kinda homewrecker? My McDreamy is a married man!! My adoration is geniune and pure. Stop trying to turn it into something seedy and tabloid-ish.
Entitlement said:
“@ T
Miguel McDreamy? Too funny! Looks like this love connection wasn’t meant to be since he’s married. You remind me of Joy Behar (The View). She knows just when to throw in some humor to keep things light. Thanks for lightening up this blog.”
Finally…..somebody “gets” me.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Sh@t!! I spelled “genuine” incorrectly!!
January 17th, 2007 at 9:49 am
ipfreely said:
“And BTW, why does my Anti-spyware program keep blocking access to eu-soft.net whenever I’m on your page???”
This is scary cause two weeks ago my credit card info was used fraudulently to purchase prepaid cell phones Europe.
January 17th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Hmmm… many people are right here. Casey doesn’t want to take free good advices from the people here unless it’s a paid advice from a get-rich seminar guru. I am now aspired to be a seminar-guru.
Casey,
I know how you can get out of your current situation. All it take is $1999. What do you get for $1999? You’ll get a guide on how to get out of your current situation. Then, you’ll get a guide on how to be a millionaires. The guide contains many many wonderful advices from experienced investors. I have found many of these advices from a site called iamfacingforeclosure.com.
Once you read my guide, you will be know how to get out of your debt, then start your journey to be part of the riches. Imagine, for only $1999, your return can be many times that if you make millions. $1999 will be one of the wisest investment you’ll make.
Hurry, and email me, so I can forward you my off-shore bank account where you can transfer $1999 to.
– Yours Truly,
A seminar Guru
———————————————————
Disclaimer: the above is meant to be a joke.
Casey, do you see your problem going to the seminar gurus?
I give you false hope and promises to your problems and desire. Yet, I am vague on the detail on how you do it until you spend $1999. yet, the information you will receive can be found somewhere easy (ie advices given at your site).
I still wish you good luck, but wise up. Then do. Dreaming and look to the future is for planning. Focus and act on current situation will make the dream come true.
January 17th, 2007 at 10:05 am
aaack!!
Wouldn’t you just s*** a brick if the doorbell rang at ol’ apartment #140, and upon opening it you saw - standing on your doorstep:
Stephanie J.
Ogg the Caveman
Miguel
Tim from the Monterey Bay
Jobu (holding a martini)
Homey the Clown
…and of course, me - Sputnik_the_Cat - making a giant poop on your welcome mat!!
thhhppttt!!!!!
S_t_C
January 17th, 2007 at 10:10 am
@ipfreely
Casey is really just grasping for straws here. His pain just barely began.
What comes next?
-He can’t get the $50K biz loan.
-Chris won’t pay him 3K for doing nothing
-kicked out of in-laws
-divorce
-jail/finger chopped off or both
All for the greed and laziness.
BT
January 17th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I wonder if Casey’s like a friend of mine; if things are going well for him (or if he just wants to present himself as succeeding), he’s all smiles and very talkative. If things aren’t going well, he clams up. No new posts and little moderation might mean that all these people that we’ve said might someday take umbrage have finally come to call…?
A week left on Muncy, Clarice. tick tock, tick tock.
January 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
TO the person who provided the link to CA Corporate code, thank you for that… looks like what I am doing is shady, I going to investigate into that. I can still back out of this thing. I’m trying to take advantage of every LEGAL and ETHICAL opportunities I can to get out of my mess but I don’t want to get into GRAY area like I did before. I really need to be getting more legal advice on all this stuff, not just running it by people, but actually pay for quality legal advice (takes $$ but it is probably going to be WELL worth it if it saves me from serious trouble)
January 17th, 2007 at 10:54 am
God Casey, don’t be a tool! The link to the CA code is accurate as I OWN a C-Corp in this state.
Gee, it doesn’t take much to know that you CANNOT do that. NOT the way you are trying to do it.
When you first mentioned this, it sounded shady. Why are you so in love with the easy way out? Legal & Ethical???? Why do you not realize this stuff BEFORE posting it? Do you post this stuff just to see if your readers will challenge you?
I sometimes wonder if you care about legal and ethical? If you did, you’d never get involved with this to begin with.
January 17th, 2007 at 10:56 am
“Intend to repay…”
Casey says that his proposed new loan, the one he gets by having his shell corporation first borrow money and then lend it to Casey as a personal loan, is not fraudulent if he _INTENDS_ to pay it back.
Well, there are legal standards about what he _knows_ or _should have known_. “Scienter” is one word worth Googling.
One such definition, from http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/s006.htm
“SCIENTER - Knowingly. Having the requisite knowledge of the wrongness/illegality of an act or conduct; guilty knowledge; knowing the impropriety/illegality associated with doing certain acts. This is often an element of liability or guilt that must be proven before a judgement or conviction can be obtained.”
Also worth Googling are the varous definitions and rulings about “prudent man” rules.
A prudent man would know that a lender is not going to lend money to a corporation for a “business plan” that essentially consists of “then lending the money to the only member of the corporation, who will use it to repay other personal loans.”
A prudent man would know that the very U.S. laws which separate _corporations_ from _individuals_, in terms of liabiity, have a huge number of strings attached. These strings include: rules about the Board of Directors, rules about timely accounting and tax filings, rules about not commingling corporate and personal accounts, rules about reporting to various agencies, etc.
A prudent man would know about the various legal proceedings and convictions in cases where the aforementioned rules and strings were violated. A prudent man would know about how the “corporate veil” (the protections granted to a corporation) can be “pierced” (the protections taken away).
A prudent man would know that when bankruptcy is entered into, there are various rules stipulating the order in which lenders are to be paid, and/or restrictions imposed by the judge in the case on who gets paid first, etc.
Simple English Translation: That “loan” that CaseyCo gets from some lender–fat chance!–and then lends to Casey Serin will never be repaid. It doesn’t matter that Casey says he “intends” to repay it, as when he inevitably enters bankruptcy proceedings there will be all sorts of limits on whom he repays, in what order, and so on and so forth. CaseyCo gets in line along with various other lenders. And since Casey is already insolvent for all intents and purposes, with a negative net worth of at least $500,000, CaseyCo will never be repaid, the lender to CaseyCo will thus not be repaid, and any Prudent Man would know this.
Q.E.D.
P.S. I agree with the comments several days ago that Casey may _possibly_ get a small line of credit without the good folks at Staples, or Home Depot, etc. figuring out who he is and what CaseyCo is all about. He may even get a couple of corporate credit cards, with Lines of Credit approaching a few thousand dollars on each.
But there is no way a bank is going to lend CaseyCo fifty or a hundred thousand dollars without some established business and without doing background checks on the principals in CaseyCo. Whoops.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 17th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Due respect, young sir, but nothing will save you from serious trouble. Your best hope is that the punishment is light. Pray to receive only probation and an order of restitution. Prepare to drain your parents’ resources for your defense. It will cost many thousands of dollars. Maybe you have some cash stashed away somewhere. If so, you’ll need it all. Keep it handy, but not where a warrant can reach.
January 17th, 2007 at 11:01 am
P.S. Casey - Do you not realize that if you buy a shell corp to get credit, there isn’t a creditor in the world that isn’t going to ask you any of the following:
1) name 3 or 4 credit references…I.E. - YOU need to have been doing business with folks that have extended the corp money.
2) D&B…If you apply for credit with me, I will check your D&B credit history. Alarm bells will sound once I see that your corporation has not done ANYTHING the last few years.
3) You will get asked about your yearly gross revenue. If this is a shell, they will most likely be ZERO. Why would I be interested in this as a lender?
4) They will want a personal guarantee. Outside of maybe Staples or somebody like that, you will NOT qualify based on your stated FICO score.
5) If you fudge ANY of the above to get the loan, you will have committed the company to a fraudulent transaction. Your protection from liability would disappear faster than the value of your homes. If you are stressed about money now, just wait until you are accused of co-mingling of personal assets and fraud. THAT won’t be fun.
Oh well, do as you please since you could care less what any of us so-called haters think. Trust me, I am not a hater as I am NOT jealous of you or your messed up world one little bit.
I do not revel in your situation, either. I feel bad for you, but you don’t care so why should I?
January 17th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Sorry guys, I’m busy putting together a short sale package for Muncy property and its urgen so maybe we can save that one from foreclosure… and then I have a meeting with my local Rich Dad to discuss some possible deals… will get back soon to moderation and latest updates on doing short sales on the rest of my properties, via a realtor ‘cuz I’m tired of fighting those things on my own and trying to find buyers to take over payments, no money and no time for that right now…
January 17th, 2007 at 11:15 am
It good that you see corporate loan is “shady”, but why you need read CA corporate code to see that? Entire point was to hide fact that loan is for own personal use from lender.
If you lie to make deal, deal not ethical. If you hide things from other party because they no do deal otherwise, deal not ethical. Not need law to know that.
Even Ogg know this deal “shady”, and Ogg only a caveman.
January 17th, 2007 at 11:23 am
WHY WE FOLLOW CASEY….
“We laugh more at the deluded than we celebrate the talented,”
just like these repeat-recidivist-rejects who keep auditioning for american idol…
‘….In case you’ve lost count, that’s a total of 11 auditions. “I don’t have the Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera voice,” says Sawyer, 22, “but I do have the personality that will charm America.” Either he’s right, or he really can’t take a hint….’
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16...../newsweek/
January 17th, 2007 at 11:24 am
“Pipelining” and the Dangers of Putting the Cart Before the Horse
We in the computer industry like “pipelining.” This is starting a logically-later activity before a logically-earlier activity is actually completed. You may have heard that your Pentium 4 processor has a “15-stage pipe.” Or whatever.
Pipelines can “stall,” when delays or unexpected events clog or divert the earlier stage. “Turbulence” and “bubbles” are obvious metaphors which are the bane of computer architects.
Pipelines are of course common all around us. Jamba Juice pipelines the making of their drinks–that is, they don’t first take an order, then buy the oranges, then cut them up, etc. That would take days (months if “grow the oranges for the customer” was not pipelined-out of the equation!).
Nearly all human activity has various kinds of pipelines running. (Aside: these are the kinds of abstractions people ought to be taught to think about.)
As this relates to Casey, he is already “moving on” beyond his 2006 adventures (he seems bored by Muncy, Burdett, the Utah property, foreclosures, etc.). He seems “done” with his underwater, upside-down properties. (But not done enough to simply put all of them in the hands of a competent bankruptcy attorney and ask him to do what he can to resolve the issues in the best possible way. Casey is bored with the 2006 stuff, but still has fantasies about borrowing money to somehow turn them into winners. Very strange.)
He’s already acquiring a shell corporation, which I am informally calling CaseyCo. And with plans to use it to borrow more money which he can then use to pay off money he has already borrowed. A true shell game, in my opinion. A corporate shell game.
But he cannot pipeline his dealings the way he thinks he can. Because he is not yet “done” with the business from 2006.
To be utterly concrete: When he is forced to declare bankruptcy (with mixed results), the debts acquired via lending himself money through CaseyCo will be affected.
So what should he do? First, my opinion and that of many others here, is that he should “forget about real estate and find something else to do in his life.” Maybe full-time Web design, PHP programming, whatever.
Second, he needs resolve the issues from 2006 before having grandiose schemes about buyingn apartment buildings, creating networks of shell corporations, attending more guru training.
(An ex-GF was once a psychobabbler, an MFCC. She was the one who told me about the psychological condition associated with “grandiosity.” Dreaming is fine, but it needs to be kept tethered to reality.)
Third, if Casey is dead-set on continuing in real estate, he will need to do a bunch of things to ensure that his 2007 deals are not tainted by the lingering effects of the 2006 fiascos. In particular, bankruptcy proceedings will place all sorts of limits on how he repays loans (if he can repay them at all…my math still says he is $500K underwater, and bankruptcy will remove only part of this debt).
What most individuals do in this situation is “lay low and try to climb out of debt and emerge from the nightmare in 6-8 years.” We’ve even heard from some people here who did just this.
This laying low and carefully rebuilding assets (and credit, though credit rating is often the least of one’s worries) is the best way to ensure that “later stages of the pipeline are not “stalled” by unresolved events earlier in the pipeline.”
There may be a time for CaseyCo to rise from the ashes of Casey’s 2006 nightmare, but not until the lingering effects–which have yet to even crest, actually–are resolved.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 17th, 2007 at 11:47 am
“I don’t want to get into GRAY area like I did before.”
Mortgage fraud is not a gray area. the fact that it’s illegal and unethical is black and white to everyone but you.
January 17th, 2007 at 11:49 am
“TO the person who provided the link to CA Corporate code, thank you for that… looks like what I am doing is shady, I going to investigate into that. ”
Well, here’s a link to help your investigation:
http://iamfacingforeclosure.co.....te-credit/
A huge proportion of the 212 comments explain in considerable detail exactly why this scheme will almost certainly be regarded as fraudulent. The last comment was posted on December 21st, nearly a month ago.
So how come you’re telling us NOW that you’ve only just realised this? Despite the fact that you moderate every comment? Did you really not read any of them at the time - or just think that they were all “haters” being “negative” and ignore them?
More to the point, how could you NOT realise that this scheme was probably fraudulent? As far as I can see, you were proposing to purchase a four-year-old corporation, open up as many lines of credit as possible, and then loan the money to yourself for settling credit card debts. Many people, including me, pressed you for more details (such as: what was the corporation’s official function and main source of income?) because that bald summary made the scheme so blatantly illegal that even you must have been aware of the likely pitfalls.
But this is yet more evidence that you are TOTALLY and UTTERLY unsuited to a business career without getting the basic education that you blithely seem to think is unnecessary. It’s painfully obvious to anyone reading this blog that you don’t understand finance, you don&