Here is a liabilities spreadsheet I started. It’s a work in progress, I still need to fill in a few things. My goal is to keep it up to date. You can be notified of changes via RSS by the way. Google is awesome!
UPDATED: I added assets, and income/expenses to make a mini financial statement spreadsheet. I know I know, it’s not a traditional financial statement according to the full accounting standards. But hey it has all the data I need in the way that make sense to me. Let me know if I’m missing something.
379 Comments
January 9th, 2007 at 5:21 am
OMG. Well, I can certainly understand why you have a tendency to curl up into a fetal position in a corner of your office next to the blue ball.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:25 am
“My goal is to keep the liabilities spreadsheet up to date”.
Now there’s an achievable goal.
Got any others?
January 9th, 2007 at 5:25 am
damn!
your minimum monthly is close to $23,000. 3 grand more then most estimates. you’re f*CKED! and those rates. it’s a shame you didn’t do this first eh casey? that way you could see your minimum monthly burn rate and see that your cash back ’sweet deals’ were a figment of your imagination.
I’m curious though. how much total cash back did you get? if it was 200k it should have lasted minimum 8 months b/c you didn’t put much into the properties thats for sure. you are so hosed. basically you lived the high life (well your version of it at least) for close to a year on other peoples’ money. yep that’s fraud alright. save some cash for the KY you’re gonna need it.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:41 am
It’s truly amazing how much rope those banks give to kids like you to hang yourself with. While I have no opinion of you personally, I think the American finance system will take a huge fall for lending activities like this. Unfortunately, you do not have the resources to sue them for unfair lending practices. And no one forced you to be such an idiot with the 2 million dollars. I am only 42, but when I was your age we just _barely_ qualified for ONE mortgage at 135K at 10.5% with 2 technology jobs, nominal credit debt and zero savings. And we HAD to live there to get the loan. The ‘adults’ in the banking system made SURE we didn’t get in over our heads. Your plight is in large measure the lack of adults in banking telling you ‘NO’.
File for bankruptcy and stop the hemmorhaging.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:49 am
> You can be notified of changes via RSS by the way.
Okay. I’ll bite. What’s RSS?
January 9th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Look at all those universal minimum APRs. Damn.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:59 am
I just remembered the CashCall loan.
Closing the account from which the autodrafts will be drawn without notifying the lender is not a good plan…
January 9th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Hmm.. The homes that you’ve sold where your name is still on the loan… Shouldn’t they be looking at finding alternative financing…. ? before any possible BK proceedings which may occur…. ?
January 9th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Oh my… a 23k monthly nut.. and that is, of course, with close to $0 coming in every month… just think.. in another year you’re already an additional quarter million dollars in the hole if things don’t brighten up.
I wish you luck good sir, you will need it, for sure.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:11 am
I wasn’t going to post anymore, because of you being either just intractable or too stupid to tie your shoes over the vegan thing (hint - vegan and organic have NOTHING to do with one another, you’re not living ANY kind of vegan lifestyle and it’s offensive as all hell for you to say it, though offending and angering now appears to be your goal. I suppose you having a realistic goal is a breakthrough.)
But ok, so what did you two spend $144,743.43 on? Don’t tell us repairs on the houses. We’re not as dumb as you two. What did you spend, in apparently one year, about $150,000 cash (as opposed to the mortgages where paper meets paper) on?
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Casey. Where did it go?
January 9th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Oh, and I know there’s another $30k, not counting the Countrywide, but I don’t think those are all spent. Are they?
In which case, what did you spend TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CASH (not counting the cashbacks at closing because I don’t know precisely and if you spent anything on the houses, that was probably where it came from, but that could be at least 80k more if I’m not mistaken.) on?
January 9th, 2007 at 6:17 am
You still show the Larchmont 1st at $264k. Didn’t you just unsecure $50k of that? Shouldn’t it be in your spreadsheet at $214k since you also list the countrywide promissory note in the unsecured section?
January 9th, 2007 at 6:19 am
re: CashCall.
closing the account from which the CashCall debits are to be drawn puts the loan into default - unless you make direct payments via wire transfer or western union.
BTW - once CashCall loans go into default the APR spikes to the maximum rate based on the original amount disbursed. In CA, the current max-APR on a $10,000 loan is 44.38% (!!)
January 9th, 2007 at 6:21 am
Those APRs are simply stunning. Have you not figured out EVERY decision you make is the wrong one???? Does Opposite George mean anything to you????
January 9th, 2007 at 6:23 am
Holy self-sabotage, batman!!!
January 9th, 2007 at 6:25 am
Casey, what is your plan to get out of debt?
FT
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com
January 9th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Casey,
I don’t see how you will get out of this without filing for bankruptcy. The debt itself is digging a grave. Housing inventories are increasing and it is now a buyers market in many of the locations you have homes. And since real estate is cooling down, I’m not sure how you will attack your debt. Heck, even the debt service would put many underwater in a few months.
I wish you the best but just don’t see how you can come out ahead without filing.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:33 am
*snicker*
January 9th, 2007 at 6:33 am
Obviously you’ll never declare bankruptcy and move on with your life because you’re addicted to the attention you get by being in debt.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Wow, just wow.
http://allfinancials.blogspot.com
January 9th, 2007 at 6:44 am
That’s a great question. Where is the cash back that you got from the deals? What did you do with it? How did you manage to burn through it all in such a short time while also defaulting on all your mortgages and not making credit card payments?
Exactly how much ‘cash back’ did you get from the deals?
January 9th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Yo, Casey, I am waiting for you in prison!!!
January 9th, 2007 at 6:45 am
Casey, I’m very concerned about your posting this incredibly sensitive information on line. You’re offering more than necessary to the entire world. There are things you should post on here, and things that you should keep to yourself. Be careful. Just looking after you a bit.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:47 am
Talk to an attorney!
January 9th, 2007 at 7:05 am
At least you’re not $2.2 million in debt… your $2,035,747.65 in debt.
Congratulations Casey… you made some progress.
I’m not going to hate on you today. Just do you’re best, and we’ll see what happens.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:06 am
What difference does it make doing a spread sheet? We all knew you were going down the tubes and bankruptcy was your only option. Take that spread sheet and run to the best lawyer money can buy. That, you little twerp, is honest advice.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Wow. I mean Really. The credit cards with interest rates of 32.5% made my skin crawl, but it only got worse as I scanned down the sheet. I think there is one, fail-proof way out: seppuku.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:26 am
This is really pretty amazing. It’s kind of hard to believe. You’ve talked a lot about how much CC debt you have, but seeing it all there, line-item by line-item, made me realize how badly off you truly are. Hopefully it had the same effect on you. This made me laugh:
“autodraft beginning of the month to WF checking which no longer exists”
January 9th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Why are you not in jail yet?
January 9th, 2007 at 7:32 am
A very good start. You definitely need to clean it up a lot, but this gives you a good “big picture” view of your current debt, and what it’s going to take to regain equillibrium.
I’m just confused as to why you haven’t been keeping a spreadsheet all along. I’m a year out of college working my first scary “real world” job, and I have a spreadsheet tracking all of my monthly income and expenses. I know where every penny is going and exactly how much I’ve got to sock away at the end of the month. I would never think of jumping into such a risky business as real estate without a little financial planning from the beginning.
Hopefully you’ll use this information to improve your situation, but if the previous entries are any indication, you won’t treat any of those debts as “real money.”
I know this post seems somewhat negative, but I’m still wishing you good luck.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:33 am
I like that spreadsheet - but damn, man, that interest…. Making min. payments I know you know you will be paying that for the rest of your life. Let it go; declare BK.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:42 am
Oh Casey, more busywork eh? Ever thought about cleaning up that property, moving the neighbor’s boat, making it presentable, and, oh I don’t know… actually *selling* the damn thing?
January 9th, 2007 at 7:50 am
This is a good start - i’m glad to see that you are slowly comming back to reality, one tiny step at a time. At least now, with this spreadsheet, your debt will be tangible. Your Woo Woo money is now “real”.
I was dissapointed that i didnt see Jamba Juice on there though.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Wow, what a disaster.
Your young enough to declare bankruptcy and start again.
What are you specific plans for paying off this debt. If you dont have any I would declare bankruptcy if I were you!
Paying those interest rates - you’re being suckered! You will never be rich paying those rates!
January 9th, 2007 at 7:59 am
thanks for putting that spreadsheet up for us. it really makes it easier for all of us to follow your blog and situations. we appreciate it.
you should also include a “general expenses” line. this should equate for about $2,000 of monthly expenses like gas, food, rent, etc.
overall, i’d say you’re pretty F@&^ed !!!
January 9th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Casey, I wish you no ill will, but as there are undoubtlessly many FB’s in your situation, I think that Sub-prime lenders such as NFI and CFC are in for substantial losses.
I have officially added CFC puts to my 2007 picks at the Drooling Oatmeal Invesment Club. (http://doic.net)
January 9th, 2007 at 8:20 am
36% APR !!! are you kidding me. You are in serious trouble. Did any of your guru’s teach you how to add.
Just a reminder……..
Why Parents Have Gray Hair
A father passing by his son’s bedroom was astonished to see the bed nicely made up and everything neat and tidy.
Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, “Dad”. With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:
Dear Dad,
It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Mom.
I’ve been finding real passion with Joan and she is so nice. I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, her tight motorcycle clothes and because she is so much older than I am but it’s not only the passion, Dad, she’s pregnant.
Joan says that we are going to be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood, enough for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.
Joan has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone. We’ll be growing it and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want.
In the meantime, we’ll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Joan can get better; she sure deserves it!
Don’t worry Dad, I’m 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I’m sure we’ll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren.
Your son, Chad
P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I’m over at Tommy’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that’s in my desk drawer.
I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home!
www.ELToroEnergy.com
January 9th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Casey, yes Google does rock, it is a shame you didnt just buy 2 million dollars in GOOG stock instead of those houses.
You would be sitting pretty!
heh.. hindsight…
January 9th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I’m sorry, Casey. I wish I knew how to advise you, but I wouldn’t claim to know the best course of action in your case.
If I had to venture an answer, however, I’d say see if you can, in fact, claim BK. Then go from there. Your course will differ vastly depending whether or not you can claim bankruptcy.
For motivation in business and in life, turn on your speakers and go to:
www.212movie.com
After watching it, be prepared to take action and go here:
retirein6years.gcproperties1.com
January 9th, 2007 at 8:36 am
wow. Just, wow.
Now I know why your goals were to drink juice and shower everyday. That’s alot easier to handle than trying to figure out how to pay back all that debt.
BTW: it’s not possible, in case you haven’t figured it out yet.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Congrats!
Now you know the true scope of your problem(s). That’s the first step to figuring out what you need to do. Now that you see (or should see) there is no possible way that you can pay back all that debt, talk to a bankruptcy lawyer.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Hi Casey, I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now with a lot of interest. Granted, I don’t know much about real estate, but I know about credit card debt and am proud to say that this year I will finally pay mine off because, with the help of some friends, I started a freelance design business last year that I work at after my full time job. So far it’s been successful and I am so happy for this opportunity, but when I get down about how much more I have to pay off, I confess that I visit your blog for a reality check. This spreadsheet would put me in a coma if it were my own, but I’m fascinated with your positive attitude about the whole thing. I wish you the best of luck and I also thank the commenters - they make for a very entertaining and informative read.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:41 am
File bankruptcy now.
January 9th, 2007 at 8:44 am
G’day Mates!
Ozzie Tim here.
Been on a walkabout. Fresh now.
Wow mate, that’s a true eye opener! Just for giggles and gags, let’s say Casey’s effective Federal tax rate is 28% and his California rate is 9%. In order to cover his $12,500 monthly nut, he needs to gross $19,989 a month. Toss in another $3,000 for living expenses (like rent, remember that?) and he’s an easy $25 bones a month.
Hit the turps mate!
Let’s call it 160 hours a month for the old yakka, and our mate’s gotta pull $1,563 an hour….
Crikey!
Take a squizz at a few postings back where old Caseroo needed to spend his time smart, making $100-$1,000 an hour. Hmmm. At his peak he’s good for a bone an hour, but his burn rate’s 1.563 bones/hour.
Sorry mate, you’re cactus.
Hooroo. Ozzie Tim
January 9th, 2007 at 8:49 am
what are promissory note 1 and note 2?
are these to people who are friends of yours also?
Are these to russian businessmen?
January 9th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Utah?
January 9th, 2007 at 8:59 am
All I can say is ‘ouch’.
A burn rate of $23,000 per month? I believe that is what my brother brings in on a monthly basis and he’s a doctor!
Casey, perhaps you should try taking the MCAT?
January 9th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Great — this is something that will be helpful to the BK attorney once you finally file — just print this spreadsheet out TODAY, open the Yellow Pages and find the guy with the biggest ad TODAY, and they’ll fill out the little form for you TODAY and then you can go to Macaroni Grill to celebrate - go BK, you don’t know what you’re missing!
January 9th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Congratulations on getting this done.
Now, can we see a spreadsheet of your income (rents, wages, and SWEET DEALS.)
LOOSER
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
January 9th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Property taxes $2000/month.
Phase II: add a column for asset depreciation.
$21,000/mo, $60k arears, $15k/mo declining value. BK discrahrge at 10cents on the dollar nd it is still more than you cn reasonably expect to earn.
Even if you could have expected 2% appreciation per month you’d still be losing ground.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Damn,, you are so F&*^ed. This is another example that there is no such thing as easy money. Your a freakin loser and I’m sorry to say that our whole generation thinks like you. I am 25 and work 10 hours a day five days a week to get what I have (house, new car, nice things). I got friends like you that want a “passive” income of around $3000 a month so they could follow other dreams. What, you think money is found on the streets? I do hope that you are brought to justice and face some sort of jail time, even if it’s only a couple of months, just to slap some sense into you.
My only advice to a professional real estate flipper like you is to talk to an attorney. Or maybe you can go to another seminar, I’m sure the guys that put on seminars love your type.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Good work, Casey.
A special commendation to Tim MBA. Your persistence paid off. I know that it’s not as in depth as you suggested, but having all that information in one place allows one to make some decisions based in information.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Oh my God, kid.
Now I REALLY hope this is all a big joke and you’re having us on.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:31 am
A smart person would have bought ONE house at a time. Not Casey…No way, he needed 6! IN ONE YEAR!!! And many of those have interest rates that are so unbelievable that I would have walked away if they offered that to me.
You have HUGE business lines you pissed away. You should also be more honest about Cashcall. THEY DO NOT lend people money at 24%. Try 75-80% my friend. Look it up on the Internet. They offer a NOTE loan to people, NOT a credit or revolving line which would make sense at 24%.
Gotcha Casey. Try to be more honest with us. THanks!
January 9th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Would like to point out a potential math issue:
CitiBank4: You are claiming a APR of 18.2%. But the math on the minimum payment works out to 32.2% (like the rest of the Citibank Cards). I would check that.
FYI: If you overpay that card by $50 per month it will take you 3 years to pay off that card. Your financial horizon has to start looking out that far so you understand how long you will be saddled with the unsecursed debt.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:38 am
While you’re at it: Check your spelling. Balloon, for example, spells with one more “L”. ReinstatEment is not spelled Reinstatment.
I can’t believe you still don’t know/are too arrogant to use the spelling checker that comes with Microsoft Office. And YES, you can do that in Microsoft Excel, too!
That, my friend, counts for your posts on this blog as well. You are just too lazy to write up your stories in MS Word first, then run the spelling checker (or realize that your errors are underlined) and then copy and paste it into your blog…
Now to the question most of us here have: How the heck are you going to make even one month’s worth of minimum payments? That’s a simple question. It would take you five seconds to answer it (”I can’t. I should file BK.”) but instead you repeat guru talk over and over again….
I’ll give you one more month.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Casey, I noticed you are not marking down minimum payments on the accounts that have been closed due to non-payment.
Are you under the impression that if they close the account it just goes away and you are not required to pay?
LOL
January 9th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Wow, you two have got a lot of credit cards. If I were you I’d pay those off first since they can be paid off quicker and you can get out from underneath having to pay interest. Then once a card is paid off destroy it.
Do you have a source of steady income now? And not some fly by the night company one of your friends made up, but the real deal. I know you don’t want to work, very few of us actually do. But you have got to clear this mess up before you can ever hope to strike it big in some venture.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:20 am
18 CREDIT CARDS MAXED OUT.
AND YOU BOTH ARE UNEMPLOYED.
I used to have a job where I worked in collections. Trust me its hopeless. You have totally mis handled this. Your goal once ‘the jig was up’ (september?) should have been to max out any other debt you could get, rent out all properties, with the ‘hidden’ intention of going BK/Foreclosure while collecting rent.
Thats what the smart people do Casey, you could have lots of cash but you are mishandleing this. Its not ethical in your mind maybe but your credit is history. You failed to have a ‘backup plan’ in case the flip failed. The short pay doesnt give you cash, its like plan C or D.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I hope you’re meeting with a lawyer this week. You’ve GOT to file bankruptcy. This is WAY out of control, and hopefully you can now see, at a glance, that it’s imperative you meet with a lawyer and file. There’s NO other way out, unless you win the State lottery, and you know that’s not going to happen. Do something GOOD for yourself and get to a BK lawyer immediately.
I also wrote you earlier about NOT posting this private stuff. Pleeeeeezzze don’t post anymore of these financials. You’re only asking for the haters to come out of the cracks, and they’re going to haunt you.
From someone who’s concerned about you.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Casey,
How much of the personal credit went for the business deals? Any ideas on the percentages?
Also, I know a portion of the mortgages include the cash back you took out. How much cash back did you take out in all?
January 9th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I just noticed the autodraft for Cashcall from a non-existent checking account.
Anyone know what Cashcall does in cases like this? They must run into this a lot…
January 9th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Casey:
Excellent work on this spreadsheet. Keep it updated and it will be a great help for your attorney and accountant, and for taxes and preparing BK filing.
Good luck with that,
UncleC (not Casey’s uncle)
January 9th, 2007 at 10:59 am
It took you how long to do this half @$$ balance sheet. You sure are a workaholic. It shows buddy. I mean it really does show. But I’ll give you a pat on the back for actually accomplishing something. And I love how it only took you 1 month to get those cancelled checks for the Utah property. Glad you finally got your ammunition. Now how much longer is it gonna take for you to pull the trigger. It’s pretty sad Casey. I have taken a glance at your old posts and you have accomplished nothing more than just accruing more debt like wasting that $2500 to pay the realtor to take off the listing for the Dallas property. Ohhhhh my GOD does this list go on and on. I would love to put them all up, but don’t want to pull a Tim from MBA. A trained monkey could have accomplished more than you did in the past 3 months. If there was a bet out there, I would definitely take the trained monkey even though he’s the favorite. Ok. Here’s the scoreboard from Casey’s Sept 12th Post, “What I Want.”
So to summarize:
1) I want to avoid foreclosure on my credit record
(Trained Monkey= 0% Success vs CS=0% Success) The trained monkey looks confused. Paperwork and calling people on the phone isn’t something he can do. The Monkey just gives up and the Dallas property gets foreclosed. But Casey on the other hand looks like a sure winner on this one. Casey has a DIL all set up with the Dallas property. OHhhhhhh no it got denied because he was just too lazy and greedy. Result is a TIE.
2) I want to avoid falling behind on credit lines / cards. Or at least avoid having a bankruptcy on my record.
(Trained Monkey=60% Success vs CS=50% Success) Both have avoided bankruptcy so far. The key to accomplishing this feat is by not doing anything. But both teams have fell behind on credit lines/cards substantially. But CS has increased his debt substantially with his “Sweet Deals” and Jamba Juice vs the Trained Monkey who’s just been living off of free fruit that he picks daily from the neighborhood trees. Winner: Trained Monkey
3) I want to get a little cash to live on.
(Trained Monkey=100% Success vs CS=100% Success) Both have been able to obtain cash. Casey has scammed his friends and inlaws with loans and got a little from Adsense. And his $3K/month job that doesn’t seem to really exist, but we’ll give him credit for. But on the other side, the Trained Monkey has been consistently an early riser and went around garbage cans and collected empty cans and bottles and cashed them in. Plus he had the climbing ability to climb trees and collect oranges and opened up a juice stand where he earned a ton of money by selling orange juice to people in the neighborhood. The trained monkey also said if it wasn’t for this 24 year old boy that always drove by in a Jetta who always was willing to pay $3.50/glass. His orange juice business wouldn’t have been the success it became. Hmmmmm…I guess this is a Tie. But some may argue toward the Monkey.
Ok…So let’s tally up the points shall we
Well…Ladies and Gentlemen. The winner is the Trained Monkey. A valiant effort from Casey. And let’s see what these two competitors have to say to each other as they congratulate one another and shake hands.
Casey - “You hang in there.”
Monkey-”No. You hang in there.”
Casey-”No. You hang in there.”
Monkey-”No….You hang in there.”
Hmmmm I guess the monkey won that one too. Good job to both competitors.
P.S. Sorry for the long post. As much as I didn’t want to pull a Tim, I gotta admit that it was really fun typing this…Hehehehehehe
No….You hang in there!!!
January 9th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Does the the flow of easy credit scare anyone else out there? I’m convinced that these “relaxed” lending standards will propel us into a severe recession or even depression. Casey is not the only one out there doing this. He might be an extreme case, but there are many more specuvestors yet to be seen.
January 9th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Be sure to add your addictive personality, problem avoidance and complacency to the spreadsheet; those are your greatest liabilities.
Signed
The cat’s meow.
January 9th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Since today was the election for the baseball hall of fame, in honor of Mark McGwire, I think when the Feds come for Casey or when his lenders come after him, he should take a line from McGwire and tell them:
“I’m not here to talk about the past.”
January 9th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Why do you have so many credit cards?!
January 9th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Craziness continues. Still reading but have little hope in 2007 that you will: 1) learn from your mistakes, 2) focus on one thing at a time and not be distracted by trivial, irrelevant details, 3) learn to spell, 4) consult and follow advice of attorneys, accountants, etc, 5) pay any part of your bills,
6) stop trying to weasel out of your responsibilities…
January 9th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Hey Casey– how on Earth did you rack up $119,000 in debt on your credit cards and personal lines? You didn’t borrow from yourself to pay those mortgages, did you? Not good, my friend. You have nearly $6,000 in payments per month! I make a quarter of a million dollars and I can’t (won’t) afford that, even though if I really wanted to pay $6K a month in credit cards, I’d be driving a Maserati, getting my suits hand-tailored for me in London and eating at Spago every night. You don’t even have a job!
Casey… why did you expect to make money by doing nothing?? Did none of your real estate investing courses include Risk Management? Why haven’t you been trying to rent these properties to stop the bleeding? If I were you, I’d be working day and night to make these properties look better… why aren’t you?
I don’t understand all the waiting around, Casey! At the extraordinary interest rates you’re paying (25-30%!!! Now THAT’s a SWEET DEAL… for the bank!), you really can’t afford it.
GOOD LUCK.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Casey,
Wow. I’m glad you finally showed us the numbers. Does it all seem real to you now? It’s long past time to throw in the towel. Declare bankruptcy, get your life straight. At least you’ll have the chance to start over again. (If you happen to go to jail, then that’s simply the consequences for your past actions.)
In your second chance, learn how to make prudent investments (i.e. read up on successful investors, not get rich quick gurus) and be patient.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Perhaps this site will help you with your finances.
http://narutofever.com/informa.....recipe.php
January 9th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
@Transitioning from Hater…
Has the Transition been completed yet? Will you ever just be Loather?
January 9th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Now let’s not be too hasty. if he files for bankruptcy, the fun ends. It’s in OUR best interests for this debacle to continue. I think casey understands that as well.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
One word:
Damn…
January 9th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Crasey is looking for love
https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=154680472742701008&postID=309338515128412916
January 9th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer - and a proper one who actually knows what he’s doing.
There is no conceivable way you can climb out of this hole without relying on a lottery win, a similar windfall, or pulling off a six-figure bank heist. None. You’re utterly deluding yourself if you think there is.
You have no assets, no income, limited education, few marketable skills and a distinct reluctance to put in hard work - and even if the latter wasn’t an issue, there aren’t enough hours in the day that will let you make even the tiniest dent in your debt: the annual interest alone must be six figures.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
yep casey….whatchya gonna do when they come for you bad boyz bad boyz. your positive attitude will come in handy in prison. ‘I have a wonderful cell mate that gives me lots of lovin….we are truely blessed’ LOL!
January 9th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Ca$ey says:
“Here is a liabilities spreadsheet I started”
You “started” ??????? Do you mean to tell us there is MORE ?
January 9th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Why did you get that $50k promissory note on the larchmont property if there’s going to be a Lien placed on it?
I don’t understand that one… can anyone explain this, since Casey probably wont.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Casey, did you moderate my last comment?
How very, very interesting.
That speaks volumes.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
aaack!!!
I just had a heart attack, and pooped myself!
thpptt!!
January 9th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Just so you know, Discover, Capital One, and Citi seem to go to suit quickly. Especially Capital One, even for amounts of $1000 or less. Expect suit within 3 months of chargeoff. HSBC you don’t need to worry about, they tend to sell charged off debts quickly. You will have to worry about who they sell it to. The others, I have not heard one way or the other. You might want to visit www.debtorboards.com and www.creditboards.com for more ideas on how to protect your cornhole.
Here is an interesting question no one has asked so far. How many phone calls are you getting per day from creditors? I am thinking it has to be 40+. What are you going to spend the new $300 dollar line of credit on?
January 9th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
holybatman,
I’d estimate you are over $500,000 in debt if you could sell all your properties right now. Where did you spend all of your money? Did you keep all those receipts from eating out etc? I bet you spent more on that kind of crap then most folks make in a year b/c of all the cash back you received. You lived like you were king…on other folks money. Definitely some jail time and no chance of BK’ing out of most of this.
Enjoy debt for the next 10-15 years.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Yeah… Casey, what IS your FICO score? I have a bankruptcy on my credit record (nasty divorce), and even a few loans/credit cards in default, but my score was about 200 points higher than I expected it to be.. I’m wondering what yours looks like?
January 9th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Where did the money go? Let’s see…real estate guru seminars, travel to buy houses he couldn’t afford, 3rd anniversery trip to Hawaii with the Mrs. (husband and I have been married for almost 16 years, worked all that time, and haven’t been to Hawaii yet, not even for our honeymoon…but then, we are debt free), also Macaroni Grill, Jamba Juice, premium “organic” foods, etc, etc. Doesn’t take much discipline to run through money…but, after all, they “deserve” it.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Don’t listen to the haters man. Just keep believing everything Robert Kiyosaki tells you. You will be vindicated!
January 9th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
What’s happening with Utah?
January 9th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Cashcall Rates:
http://www.cashcall.com/General/Rates.aspx
Hey, their highest rate is only 89%! What a sweet deal for a truly sophisticated investor. Hell, at 24% this *does* seem like a sweet deal. I wonder what the default rate is going to be set at after the next autodraft fails.
Seriously, How could you borrow money from these guys? I understand how they fool unsophisticated consumers with no knowledge or education, but how did they fool you?
Sorry, forget that question.
January 9th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
G’day Mates!
Ozzie Tim here.
Came back to check on things and found 2 little mistakes from earlier got lost cause the spreadsheet was so chock a block with numbers). First: I didn’t catch that you left out debt service on the 2 closed Wells Fargo accounts, let’s say 3% of the balance per month. That’s $1,319 a month. Also missed the unsecured loans we’ll let them be 10 year notes (like the $50 bone one) and use whatever interest rate they show, or 0. New minimum for those: $962.
New monthly minimum: $14,817 without Utah property.
Toss in some living expenses and you’re at $17,817, or a pre-tax income of $339,400 a year (just to live like a school teacher).
The other error was the hourly burn rate. It actually is now $176.76 - wee within the means of someone capable of makking a smart $100-$1,000 per hour. So you really only have to work between 1.4 and 14 hours per day, depending on what level of smart you’re working.
How ’bout putting one of those little meters like they have on the national debt on your website? If you set it to show on a 24hour basis, it needs to run at about $1 a minute.
That would be a ripper to watch.
Just: sit. watch. refresh. sit. watch. refresh. sit. watch. refresh.
Hooroo. Ozzie Tim
January 9th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Hey can someone make me a loan for 50k for 10 years at 0% for $417 a month!
I wonder if CW would make a deal like that for me. I don’t have 2 mil in debt and would pay it off so doubt I would get approved.
Boogles me how our financial institutues think.
Come to think of it I actually could get a 100k loan for 30 years at 6.75% the only catch is I would have to use the funds to purchase a house.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
This must be that new math I have been hearing about. How old were you when you came over from Russia? Did you learn finance over there? Figures.
I figure you do this just to keep this thing going but for the life of me, I have never seen such stupidity in my life! Why would you sign a unsecured note from Countrywide when you know they are crooked & you don’t have a real job???
You need to file bk now!
I am so shock at how someone can be so stupid I just can’t type any more.
Just file now & put us out of your misery!
January 9th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Casey, I wish I could help you. Unfortunetly, I’m not currently offering any late night tv ‘infomercials’, writing any ‘get-rich-quick’ books, or offering any weekend high-priced ’seminars’. I know you only like to learn from those types of media.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Sweeeeet spreadsheet. It really shows the total destruction.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Filing for bankruptcy is a no-brainer unless getting nailed for fraud is a legitimate risk. I think the reason why Casey hasn’t filed yet is because he is getting legal advice that at minimum much of his debt won’t be discharged. If so, the notes and shortselling are his only option. I’m not a lawyer or a judge, but making a serious effort to get the monthly burn down to $3300 a month from all those notes and getting a programming job to seriously ATTEMPT to pay back the notes for at least six months to a year would make it easier for a bankruptcy judge to show some mercy and wipe the slate completely clean.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Take what cash you have, travel to Ceasar’s and bet it all on Black 18.
January 9th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
the real story is when the dollar drops to nothing and the Chinese call in all their loans ~
then all of america will be growing rice….
America is trillions in debt and well Casey is just a product of his enviroment..
move along folks , nothing to see here
January 9th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Gee I am starting to feel sorry for you again. But how could you do something so stuuuuupid?
January 9th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Opening that new line of credit with no intention to pay it back is the same as walking into the bank and demanding them to put all the cash in a bag.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I agree with Ron Jeremy. File bankruptcy and start out fresh.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
“Review
January 9th, 2007 at 6:45 am Casey, I’m very concerned about your posting this incredibly sensitive information on line”
Review,
Casey has nothing to worry about by posting this.
Do you think someone with Casey’s credit rating needs to worry about identity thieft? Any thief who stole Casey’s identy would be worse off than using his own bad idenity.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Im beginning to think that Crasy Serin’s plan all along was too cash-out as much money as he could, be it from cash back on home mortgages or maxing out credit cards, and then declare BK. Otherwise, can he explain what he did with all this cash?
January 9th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
“I also wrote you earlier about NOT posting this private stuff. Pleeeeeezzze don’t post anymore of these financials. You’re only asking for the haters to come out of the cracks, and they’re going to haunt you.”
I disagree. Here’s why:
– The financial summary, while very bleak, cannot be used by anyone to steal Casey’s identity or access his accounts.
– Meanwhile, it seems the only thing that motivates Casey to get something done is the kind of pressure he gets here on his blog. So if our prodding motivated him to actually spend a couple of hours with Google Spreadsheets and generate this one-page snapshot of his situation, all to the better.
(And as he has acknowledged, he’s going to need summaries like this to show to bankruptcy attorneys–he can’t just waste money and time saying “I think I’m screwed, please help, here’s a box of receipts.” This is also why he next needs to do the property spreadsheets, showing the price he paid, his loans, any balloons coming due, and _realistic_ estimates for what these places might sell for, and when. Not “Could be worth $560K if fixed up!” marketing jive, but cold, sober summaries. Personally, I would include 3 columns: prices assuming the best likely offers, assuming they close in 2 months or less, and a more pessimistic column (such as “Larchmont sells for $190K, in March”), and then a _really_ pessimistic column (foreclosures on each, 1099s issued in the amount of $400K or more for the set of properties, etc.)
This is what a bankruptcy lawyer can use to advise Casey and to prepare for the court.
If the Liabilities Spreadsheet is bad news, the Assets Spreadsheet will show the utter hopelessness of being able to sell these properties and recover from his hole. Which is what bankruptcy is all about.
(Don’t get me wrong: I’m not at all convinced Casey will be allowed to go the BK route. For reasons discussed here many times. But at least his lawyers need to see the financials laid out.)
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 9th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
let me guess if i gave you a $3000 loan you would pay $3000 on your card, take a $3000 cash advance,
pay me $1100 and claim your on your way to paying me back once you get some ’sweet deals’ and then piss away the $1900 balance on jamba juice & dinner with mrs. serin at macaroni grill….
then later you will get more cash and use it to fix your VW, more jamba juice, and who knows what else, while im still waiting for you to pay the balance!?!?!?!?!?!
CASEY WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE vDUBS???
January 9th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
@Spelling?
Couple of things:
1. Office will find that ‘Loose’ and ‘Lose’ are both valid. Therefore, Mr. Serin will never reach your expectations.
2. When Mr. Serin’s debts reach $1,000,000, then we can razz him about spelling. Spelling well and proper grammar show an attention to detail. This is not Mr. Serin’s best suit: he’s a big picture guy (which he is in a mess from which no big picture guy could ever extract himself).
January 9th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
@ Julie
I am 23. I have about $530,000. in debt.
OMG!!! When I was 23 I had a positive net worth of about $5,000 and no permanent place of residence. I was touring the country as a sound engineer. I had one credit card with a limit of about $3,000. I visited cool places, met lots of interesting folks, drank a lot, partied a lot, worked really hard, and had a great time. I did all of it earning and spending very little money.
I could not imagine saddling myself with the kind of debt you or Mr. Casey have. WHY? Couldn’t you enjoy yourself for a little while? Do you need to get rich by 25? Are you planning on bugging out on society and providing no useful function until you die?
CS will die a quick credit death: the debt bullet is lodged next to his brain. You, on the other hand, will die a slow one. The debt will bleed you, one drop at a time.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
I saved a copy of the spreadsheet. Just for the heck of it.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Screw these financial institutions Casey. It is time someone teaches them a lesson. Credit history, schmedit history. F_ _ _ K ALL OF THEM. These loans are no longer your problem. It’s their problems. Especially the idiots at the CashCall and the credit cards who are giving you these lines unsecured. Go right up to them and tell them either you give me 0% and let me fix this or you get nothing, zero. You explain to them that you have these houses and no income and they’ll wise up really quick. I did this 10 years ago and Capital One, FirstUSA, and Citibank, Discover, Chemical Bank, Mellon, agreed to it. Paid everything off and am debt free now. I had over 175,000 in credit card debt and now own a townhome.
I did it Casey, and if they say no, tell them F- You, hang up and call back later. They need you more than you need them.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Casey,
I’m glad you did this after 4 months of people asking.
Now you need to show this to your BK lawyer and see what you need to do to file BK while avoiding fraud charges.
I hope you rewarded yourself with a refreshing juice (Jamba of course) after building this spreadsheet- it must have been quite a chore.
I wish you the best of luck to get this sorted. And I am sure that this post will generate 400+ comments so get ready to moderate accordingly.
-Big Cheese
January 9th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
OGG AT LOSS FOR WORDS.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
This has *got* to be bogus. I refuse to believe that financial instituations would actually permit this level of debt. Its in no-one’s interest, and certainly not the banks’.
I call Fakey-Fakerson.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Why does everyone keep saying that CS’s monthly nut is $23K? His bottom line minimum payment is 15.5K in the spreadsheet. Granted he should pay more plus factoring in living expenses but 23K seems too high a number.
What am I missing here?
-Big Cheese
January 9th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
yo poohbear serin.
what up homefry. i wake up earlier than ju do to catch my bus to my skool yo. and unlike you’ve ive only missed the bus TWO times.
i also make more money than you. get a better job yo. i make like
4 dollah an hour!!! and i have no burn rate fo shizzle.
i can hook you up with a sweet job.
P.S. my blue ball is bigger.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Casey…wow…You will never, never be able to pay down the debt with those interest rates and no meaningful job. File BK and do it soon before you blow a gasket from the stress. Do it and start to put this past you. It’s like watching a train wreck.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
[…] Casey’s posted a spreadsheet of his financial liabilities. If he gets the urge to curl up into a fetal position in a corner of his office next to the blue ball, I can certainly understand. […]
January 9th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
To spelling:
“I can’t believe you still don’t know/are too arrogant to use the spelling checker that comes with Microsoft Office. And YES, you can do that in Microsoft Excel, too!”
You haven’t been paying enough attention. Casey DOESN’T have MS office - that’s why he was using a google spreadsheet. Maybe Google can build an open linked spell check program with all their other free software.
-Big Cheese.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Casey,
It’s reality time now. I hope putting this spreadsheet together will force you to come to your senses. I won’t comment on the debt levels. Other people have said enough.
I can’t help but comment on your income situation. If I remember correctly, you gave up a 70k a year job to go be mentored by Rich Dad in Sacramento. You set up an office and what happened? A couple posts ago, you mentioned that didn’t work out. What happened?
What is your income situation now? Are you working during the days for Chris? Are you looking for a job? Are you working on your houses?
When I first started commenting on this blog, the first thing I said for you to do if you were going to successfully fight this thing is to get a job. Get some income. Just about everyone else said the same thing.
Now where are you? I thought for sure you were flat broke like I was when I faced a similar situation. But you weren’t and you haven’t done much to sell your California properties. In three months you could have at least done some staging, painting, etc to get these properties move in ready for yourself, renters or buyers.
I also thought that since you were getting income from this blog that it was ok to be working on it. Now that the Adsense Ads are gone, you’ve neglected the blog and the potential income. I think the biggest reason Adsense cancelled you was because they assumed your clicks were fraudulent. If I worked in their auditing office, I would certainly question the high amount of income produced from a new website. That just usually doesn’t happen. Have you contacted Google to explain your situation? Have you tried to find other affiliate programs? Have you tried to sell ad space on the site? Try Adbrite.com.
I don’t mean to be insensitive to you. I know this is a huge burden. If you’re still serious about being in real estate you need to get your butt out to your homes and get them presentable. At this point you also need to move into one of them.
May I suggest moving to New Mexico? It’s predicted to have the most amount of appreciation this year in the west. You ought to really focus on selling that house by March.
Otherwise, get that bankruptcy going. Doing nothing is killing you! I know you don’t want to declare bankruptcy, but your alternate is going to be a bunch of judgments and garnishments which really sucks and will eliminate you from doing future real estate deals. You can’t even do a subject to deal with a judgment.
Did you actually send in that promissory note? Please tell me you procrastinated on this one.
This spreadsheet is proof you’ve lost this battle. How you handle this defeat will define you as a person. Focus on getting some income and declare bankruptcy. You’ll be in a much better position if you do.
Take care,
Nigel
January 9th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I’m curious why so many people are encouraging Casey to file bankruptcy. I agree that he has completely and royally screwed up, and I could see where bankruptcy might sound/look like the only option…and it very well may be. I don’t pretend to know the bankruptcy laws. But should he really get to just file and walk away from it? Maybe I’m unclear on how it all works, but to me bankruptcy sounds too “easy”.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Plan of action for 2007:
1. You need to make a spreadsheet and put some numbers into it.
2. You need to get your papers out and look at the numbers and put the numbers in the spreadsheet.
3. Then you need to add up the numbers and take a look at it and analyze those number.
4.Highlight some of the words and put the big number in bold.
5.Print out the spreadsheet and pin it up on your wall. Put one on your refrigerator.
6.Add new number to the spreadsheet and call it version 2. 7.Do this again later calling it version 3 and so on.
8.You could put all of these spreadsheets into a folder and print out a label to put on the front of the folder.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Big Cheese,
To pay the $15.5K per month in interest, Casey needs about $23K per month in pre-tax income, depending on how cheap he’s able to actually live.
-btc
January 9th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
C H E R N O B Y L
That’s the title you should put at the top of your spreadsheet.
Russian being your native language, I’m sure you can pronounce that word more properly than I can. Say it. Over and over. SAY IT!!!
January 9th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Casey,
First of all, everyone else on here is a loser.
Second, your failure is a success according to my books. Maybe you need to buy more of my books to understand this. After all, people need to read at least 20 books to learn to fail.
Third, you forgot rule 1 in my books.
Please open your copy of my book Rich Dad Poor Dad and turn to page 77. Look half way down the page. You will see this:
“Rule one: You must the know the difference between an asset and a liability, and buy assets. If you want to be rich, this is all you need to know. Its rule No. 1. It is the only rule. … Most people struggle financially because they do not know the difference between an asset and a liability.”
Fourth, if you REALLY want to know how I made my millions, it wasn’t by flipping properties, or following anything in my books; it was by selling books to people like you. In fact, I am coming out with a book that will teach people like you how to make millions by selling books that show people like you how to make millions by selling books about how to sell books. It will be based on the 48 laws of Power, which I am ripping off of this website.
http://www2.tech.purdue.edu/cg....._power.htm
These are the rules that I follow when selling books to people like you.
I will leave you with this last bit of sound advice:
Remember to always avoid mutual funds and 401(k)s because they are too risky.
Always remember my net worth is between $50 million and $500 million, depending on the time of day.
The investments of the wealthy are managed well
I was able to retire at age 47, but yet I am still out there working every day selling books and doing seminars.
The rich always get richer (except of course when they get poorer)
If you have a job with a salary, you are only making the owners and shareholders rich.
College is a waste of time
And finally, I am going to leave you with the epitome of all guru “feel good buzz word phrases”-Action always beats inaction. Even if you are $2 million in debt, that beats not doing anything and being “broke”
January 9th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Some of the posters on this board are hilarious. “Run to an attorney!”
Yah, like what’s that supposed to do besides cost more money CS doesn’t have?
The real criminals here are the people who loaned this imbecile $2 million!!!
January 9th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Former District Attorney: “payed?”
January 9th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
@ Teacher….
You misunderstood my comment. I advised Casey not to post this sensitive information because of all the hateful postings that would follow. I never mentioned identity theft. Where did you get that idea? Read it again ding dong.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
OIY … Casey. After looking at those interest rates I had to have a double martini.
I am at a loss as to what to say. I am afraid I’ll choke on my olives.
If my ex husband finds your blog he will point out to me that he wasn’t THAT bad and I will never hear the end of it.
wow… those credit cards … wow.
C
January 9th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Don’t listen to the haters man. Just keep believing everything Robert Kiyosaki tells you. You will be convicted!
January 9th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Hey bro, I am really proud of you — it looks like you did a great job. I find it helpful to have a column with interest and fees: this is a key figure, and the amount that you have to focus on reducing. Work with each lender, one at a time, starting with the one with whom you are farthest behind. Listen @Shawn Michael Scott. Keep it under control — you are getting your life back. You will be on a weekly cycle of calling all of them, until you are back to a monthly cycle of sending off the amount on which you all agree. By then you will be earning money as well. I hope that you have set a date at which point you should be free of them, or at least when you will have your life back. No debt and money in the bank is priceless. I am glad that you are learning at a young age, but too bad it’s the hard way, but that is what most people do. These companies will continue pilfering America’s pockets long after they have finished with yours. Time to look out for No. 1
January 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Hello Casey.
I have been reading your blog for some time now but have waited until this moment to post.
I know you desperately want to find a solution to your problem that does not involve bankruptcy. While I think that is admirable, I think at this stage you have to begin thinking in regards to damage control.
Please take a look at these graphs:
http://patrick.net/housing/con.....2-2006.pdf
As you can see, we are in a severe downturn in several real estate markets in the country. Several of which are in areas that you own some of your properties.
I think at this stage, it is wishful thinking on your part to assume that things have “bottomed” and we are ready for a rebound. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is merely the precipace of a very prolonged and extended downturn.
So I emplore you, please seek professional assistance in this matter in the form of a good bankruptcy attorney. I realize you believe this is “giving up” on your part, but at this point, it is time to take a step back and think about living to fight another day.
This is a hole that is ever widening on a daily basis. It will not recover on its own. We have $1.5 trillion in ARMs re-setting this year. Many individuals in situations similar to yours will need to offload properties once their payments exceed their means of paying them. This is not an “if”, it is a “when”. If you continue trying to ride out this storm, it will only end more badly for you.
Note I am not a “hater” or a “hyper”. Merely someone offering constructive advice. I urge you to take it.
Good luck.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Dude! Lottery tickets are the way to go. Buy as many as you can afford. You’ll probably win if you buy enough tickets, and then you can pay back everything.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I don’t believe this poster is actually a “Former District Attorney,” as he makes some nonsensical claims:
Former District Attorney
“File bankruptcy, and pay back those personal loans immediately. Pay them back first.”
And yet then you write something which completely contradicts this “pay them back first” exhortation:
“If it can be shown in court that you showed any preference to the private lenders and payed them first, than you will have jeopardized your ability to file Chapter 7 and created some serious legal problems for yourself.”
Which is it? In fact, the court will decide who and in which order the creditors are paid back.
“I’m surprised Mr. Kiyosaki did not warn you of this before making his video. You should be suing him for libel (you could argue that he promised not to make the video public), ”
He can only argue this if in fact Kiyosaki _made_ such a promise. And since Casey knew he was being taped for “Kiyosaki Television Network” and so on, this is a claim that will be hard to prove. Ditto for Casey admissions to Jane Wells of CNBC, which admitted to all of the fraud, and which Casey himself told us all about.
“…and any quality attorney would be taking immediate action right now to provide “cease and desist” letters to any organization currently distributing video in which you publicly admit to committing fraud. ”
Now you’re really showing fundamental ignorance of the law.
Point: Many people and organiazations are the owners of the interviews Casey gave, from newspapers to t.v. networks to Kiyosaki to interviewers to bloggers with whom Casey has granted interviews.
Point: Some of Casey’s utterances are public utterances, given in public places where microphones and cameras were known to him to be present.
Point: His utterances here, which many hundreds of us have routinely archived, are not within the authority of any court to “order suppressed” or “returned to Casey” or any other such thing. Put bluntly, his words cannot be “unremembered” or “unrecorded” by those who downloaded the video interviews he referred to here on this blog, or who did “Web archives” on his bank account summaries, his spreadsheets, his very words.
Point: Any hope Casey has in evading prosecution, conviction, and prison time lies elsewhere from trying to have lawyers threaten thousands of readers and journaists and t.v. networks from distributing what they lawfully gained access to.
(Courts can’t even stop the distribution of Brittney’s crotch shot, and that was more arguably taken without her knowledge. Casey knew full well what the SF Gate reporter was capturing, what the USA Today reporter was getting, what Jane Wells was recording on videotape as Casey gave a video tour of one of his houses and talked of his liar loans and fraudulent claims that he was going to occupy his houses, and so on.
Unless Casey has a written contract saying that Kiyosaki was videotaping Casey’s confession for Kiyosaki’s personal amusement only, Casey will have an impossible time claiming he never expected it to be distributed.
(Especially not with the enthusiasm for it here on this blog.)
“You obviously have no idea how serious this is, and that is what’s most sad about all this. It is only a matter of time before your local DA (and any DA’s in counties where you submitted fraudulent loan applications) will start pursuing criminal charges against you, using the public videos of you admitting to your crimes as extremely damning evidence against you. And you WILL be found guilty.”
On this, I agree. Many of us have said so, for several months. Casey himself even blogged about “Am I going to jail?” (or similar words).
“You couldn’t have made things any easier for prosecutors.”
Yes, but you are mistaken in saying Casey should hire a passal of lawyers to send out pointless threats to hundreds of people saying they must “cease and desist” in making available what was broadcast and distributed with no complaints by Casey (and no grounds for complaints, even had he complained at the time).
I can tell you this, Mister Former District Attorney (laughter), if Casey begins sending us such letters, many of us will simply upload his interviews and blogs to sites around the world.
“I will check this site next week, and I hope to find nothing more than a quick statement saying that the blog has been removed and that you are moving on, that you have joined the church and are doing volunteer work with handicapped children 16 hours a day.”
Well, Casey, you have been told what a Former District Attorney will be “checking” up on.
Better get moving with shutting down this blog and hiring a dozen lawyers to tell CNBC they must remove all copies of the interview they legally obtained. And ordering Kiyosaki to apologize to Casey. And ordering PRLINKBIZ to reveal what it is in the contract Casey signed before the K. interview.
Oh, and one last thing. Do you think that after the heavy publicity this site got in front page articles in several newspapers, in mortgage lending newsletters, on CNBC, etc., that Sacramento area regulators and investigators were not archiving this blog and all interviews associated with it? Get real. Thousands of copies of these interviews are already safely parked on disk drives and DVDs.
What Casey tries to do now to stop the publicity would only give the story even more publicity.
(And Google has several hundred stories cited. Good luck in getting Google to remove all search references to “Casey Serin” when the evil people at Bidet Breath have not even succeeded in forcing Google to remove political views not to their liking.)
Bizarre. The shark wannabees have jumped the shark.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 9th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
On Sept 5, Casey blogged that he bought “many” of the houses sight unseen.
That’s the level of “intellect” at which he’s functioning. He’s willing to borrow lots and lots of money to buy real estate SIGHT UNSEEN.
I gotta admit, I wondered what kind of idiot actually thought that buying a builder’s model home was a good home for a flip. (I mean, the builder’s model is generally in decent shape - not much to “fix”, not much room for flipping. And if the builder couldn’t sell it, what makes Casey think he could?)
But then I re-read the part about buying sight unseen. That explains alot. How much did Casey pay some “bird dog” for finding these deals?
He congratulated himself on buying the houses below their value - saying that left him plenty of room to sell and make a profit. But since he took cash back at closing, he used all that “room” up. And his Sept 24 post says that he used the money for RE education, living expenses, and fixing the houses. Since we know he didn’t actually fix the houses, he must have dropped alot of money into RE education and living!
All in all, Casey had a pretty nice living this year, by living on borrowed money. Or stolen money, depending on how seriously you take the fraud. All without working, or even pretending to work.
Isn’t that almost the very definition of of “con man”?
If Casey doesn’t go to jail, there’s just no justice in the world.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Jerry, cashcall is FAMOUS for their relentlessness when you don’t pay them. Look it up on Google, I just did
As for the HSBC account, man are the Serin’s desperate! If they only give you $300 her credit must be shredded (poor G).
Good job, “investor” boy.
If the best you could get with HSBC is $300, that means EVEN THEY DID NOT trust you folks all that much. They are as subprime as it gets.
January 9th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
You can get a spell check extension for Firefox but Casey would probably rather get one he can buy on credit.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Casey, don’t tell me you’re a mormon and pay 10% of your gross income per month.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I’m the biggest sucker on earth and even I wouldn’t get a loan from CashCall.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
“Let me know if I’m missing something.”
1. A brain
2. Divorce lawyer
3. Bankruptcy lawyer
4. Defense lawyer
5. Psychiatrist
6. Financial sense
7. Investment sense
8. Common sense
9. View of reality
10. Morals
11. Ethics
12. True sorrow and repentence
13. A real desire to make amends
14. Work ethic
15. An idea about what is coming your way…..
January 9th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
@ Tim at Monterey Bay and @Former District Attorney
TMB, I believe you have Casey’s best interest at heart. So do I. I also believe you are a pretty bright guy, but your recent post to me really surprised me. I think you might be overlooking the fact that anything Casey posts on this blog can be used against him in a court of law. Yes, internet info. (emails, this blog, etc.) can be used in court if a judge allows it.
You also say that you’re offering to help him, and that’s great, but has Casey ever one asked any of us a specific question that he wants answered on this blog? The answer is NO. He does what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. You say this is helpful, but the most help you could provide for him would be on a private basis.
Remember, WWW stands for World Wide Web. He is posting this most confidential info. to the entire world. You need to look at the big picture here.
My thoughts were confirmed by ‘Former District Attorney’s’ posting above. He is right when he says Casey needs to stop posting this information. Former DA, I strongly agree wtih you.
Cheers.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Dude, you are just like Eddie Segoura from wikipedia. You are one of the all time troll geniuses! I give you and Eddie props for suckering in so many people. I’m amazed. You should contact Eddie and award yourselves prizes for world’s best trolls. There is one difference, though: Eddie’s trolling doesn’t cost him anything for his rewards. Your trolling appears to be costing you plenty. Is it worth it?
January 9th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Casey, One thing I don’t understand is that you stated the Burdett property is worth $260, but yet you will short sale it at $248. If you can only sell it for $248, than that is the value. Also, I don’t see the sale expenses such as agents commission and the cash back at closing your buyers will want included on the liabilities.
As you know, many of your buyers will be investors straight out of Carlton Sheets’ seminar and will ask for $30,000 cash at closing by following the seminar’s program.
Your sales expenses should be included in your liabilities since you are (trying) to sell your properties.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Hi Casey,
You need a friend, dude. Stop this blog… and get a life. Time is up! I’m seeing Mexico in your future… Tijuana? Maybe you could start over.
Quickly Rent those houses and keep as much of the rents as you can… husband the cash. Let the banks starve! Your Jetta will fit right in Mexico!
January 9th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Re: John
“Write a screenplay / reality TV show pitch about your situation, drive down to L.A., hold a few meetings, and sell the idea.”
This is a good idea but PRlinkbiz owns the rights to Casey’s story - in exchange for free lodging and organic burgers.
Anyway, this already a reality show of the blog variety. It’s the future… only the celebrities (Casey & the Mrs.) don’t get paid the big bucks like the actors on TV. But we’ve all got a soft corner for our buddy Casey. I’ll donate, click his ads, etc within reason to help our our little buddy Gilligan er Casey get off the island where he stranded himself.
-Big Cheese
January 9th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Re: Casey is a genius on the trained monkey post:
Absolutely hilarous. Now if you can only train that monkey to sit on the blue ball and write code AND scale this up to other monkeys, bonobos, chimps and orangutangs you will be able to disrupt India’s stranglehold on the programming outsource market.
I’m in for this business plan.
-Big Cheese
January 9th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Congratulations on putting all the numbers together.
You might want to double-check those “value” entries in the real estate section of the spreadsheet, though. For example, Burdett Way is listed with a value of 260,000 although the best offer you’ve actually had on the house was 248,000 and even that one fell through.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Casey…just figured it out. You’re back in the driver’s seat. What I mean by this is that you owe so much that the banks now are hostage to you and not the other way around. You have nothing to lose at this point and they have everything to lose. Donald Trump was in a similar situation and realized that if you owe the bank enough they start to listen to you and have to play by more lenient rules.
Having said that I don’t believe you’ll have a plan to overcome this slight problem you’re facing. That I will stay tuned to learn about. In the meantime, I feel for you and wish you all the best as you work to unravel this mess.
Frank in SF
January 9th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Well, you seem to have not noticed that the FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS you’ve set aside for groceries and, excuse me, entertainment and dining out?! - plus the remarkable $300 for “tith” and donations, by which I assume you mean tithe, which I assume is bullshit for Jamba for god - that’s $700.
If you take out $200 for groceries - and considering you already mooch off the relatives quite a lot, no biggie, learn to damn cook - that’s $500 you could use to repay some of those loans. The Countrywide one perhaps. You can also get cheaper cell phones and pay another bill. You seem to have forgotten to pay anyone but you.
And all that is based on the sole income from mooching off Chris. Have you done anything for him this month? It’s the tenth, Casey, what have you done so far this month to earn $1000?
January 9th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Yeah, the values on real estate is a tricky one. I sort of am using a value that I think the property will appraise for today (conservatively) and it may sell for that much if it sits there long enough. But then again, if the market keeps dropping it may not sell at all because its not in top showing shape and buyers are few and very picky nowadays.
How do accountants handles this issues when preparing traditional financial statements? Do they use “fire sale” value or the higher appraisal / market value?
I may have to go in there and adjust the values to where I think it will sell today, minus sales costs and all. That will be a much smaller number!
January 9th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
This month I am beginning to be much more productive with my consulting job and I don’t see any problems in getting that $3,000 fee that we originally discussed.
Now I just have to load up Microsoft Money and setup the budget and categories and start tracking everything. My goal in 2007 is to track every single penny! (I also need to get my 2006 mess organized too… man… lots of work ahead!)
January 9th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Yeah I do need to look into that cell phone bill of mine. I’m paying way too much…
January 9th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Casey,
Here’s a sweat deal for you. Sealand’s for sale, and if you snapped it up you’d probably make a killing on resale.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sealand
January 9th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
First, Casey, I am impressed that your latest overall spreadsheet, just released tonight (9 Jan) gives your overall net worth at a level that is right about where we had estimated it. While it is a “gulp” or “oh sh*t!” number, it is good for you to be honest.
About your question:
“Yeah, the values on real estate is a tricky one. I sort of am using a value that I think the property will appraise for today (conservatively) and it may sell for that much if it sits there long enough. But then again, if the market keeps dropping it may not sell at all because its not in top showing shape and buyers are few and very picky nowadays.
“How do accountants handles this issues when preparing traditional financial statements? Do they use “fire sale” value or the higher appraisal / market value?”
I’m not an accountant, so I don’t know the Recommended Version. But what has worked for me in many of these spreadsheets is to do this:
– use three columns for Scenarios:
–> the Best Case cenario. Not idle dreaming, but a fairly realistic case for what could occur. As an example, that Rio Rancho sells for $470K in the next 60 days, that Burdett and Larchmont sell for 70% of your asking price, and so on. It is not likely to happen, but it could.
(There is no point in wasting one of your three columns with some unrealistic scenario where the current downturn somehow reverses itself, your properties somehow get repaired by the Real Estate Fairy, and prices are up to almost what you paid…”Best Case” here means “Best of a Bad Situation.”)
–> the Realistic Scenario. Your real estate agents’ best estimates of what the properties will actually sell for. They know the local markets. If they say Muncy will only sell for $240K, Larchmont for $230K, Rio Rancho for $420K, etc., then use those estimates.
–> the Worst Case. Not actually the worst possible case, but something pretty bad. Such as “one property sells, one is foreclosed upon upon but lender is OK, another lender is suing,” and so on. This might translate into numbers like “Larchmont, 220K, Burdett 210K, Muncy 200K, Rio Rancho 410K, Utah Unwrapped Again and Multiple Lawsuits, Angleridge HML has filed a lien against other properties.”
Put another way, your “expected payouts” on your properties form a column, with some wiggle room up and down on each value.
The point is not to freak yourself out with how bad things are, but to get “into the head of” potential buyers. Crap about “Could be worth $720K if fixed up properly” is not and was never useful to you….it just put visions of sugar plums in your head.
For the assets sheet you still need to flesh out, do a cold-hearted, abstract analysis of what each of your remaining 4 properties is actually likely to sell for. Your real estate agents can tell you the clearing prices (the price at which the properties will clear, that is, sell). From there you’ll need to estimate closting costs, commissions, etc.
As has been obvious to most of us since we started reading in late September/early October, when the publicity drew traffic to this site, the longer you hold these properties the worse things get. Borrowing more money to hold them longer has only made things much worse.
I accept that there are complicated details involving what prices the lenders (your lenders) will “accept.” You cannot just sell Burdett for $200K and wash your hands of it, for example.
This is where having someone negotiating for you, a lawyer, is advisable.
And if a bankruptcy lawyer advises you that you are now too far gone to even try to sell your properties in a semi-orderly way, as indeed may be the case, then heed his advice.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 9th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
I just some time reviewing Casey’s most recent revision to his spreadsheet.
I’m impressed.
While it doesn’t have everything I might have put into such a SS, he’s at least diligently working away crunching numbers. (Actually, the CPU is crunching the numbers, but entering them properly is 99.9% of the work.)
Casey may come out of this, with zero money for many years, but with an appreciation for number-crunching, for “running the numbers,” for analyzing the deals that others are lacking. This is the only silver lining I see.
Guys like Carlton Sheets and Robert Kiyosaki prey on the innumeracy of the populace. The financial analysts and “rocket scientists” of Wall Street and investment banks are in another league altogether.
(Actually, “rocket scientists” is just a popular name. Most of the most highly-paid analysts are from high energy physics, or pure math. They favor terms like “support vector machines” over rocket science.)
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 9th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Casey,
In your situation, it doesn’t matter how accountants handle real estate values on their finanancial statements. What matters is that you need to deal with reality. In reality, the highest offer you get on a property IS market price. It doesn’t matter what you ‘think’ a house is worth, it is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
The fact is if the highest bid on a property is $248, than that is the market price.
If you recieve no offers, that tells you that your asking price is higher than market price, which means the actual value is less.
I also find it funny and ironic that after stealing 2 million dollars from Lenders, banks, credit card companies, friends and family you are concerned about paying tithing. Kinda defeats the purpose
January 9th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Property Taxes?
January 9th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Casey,
Can you change your description to say that you are going to
“TRACK and repay every single DIRTY penny you borrowed”
?
-Big Cheese
January 9th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
“Now I just have to load up Microsoft Money and setup the budget and categories and start tracking everything. My goal in 2007 is to track every single penny! (I also need to get my 2006 mess organized too… man… lots of work ahead!)”
Your spreadsheets are a fine start, but don’t get too caught up in the trivia of accounting for minor nickels and dimes.
This is the difference between the 74th Floor, making the deals, and the 47th floor, processing the expense reports.
Your problems have lain in the “most significant digits,” the prices you paid, the phony profits you took out as “cash back,” and not having a plan to quickly sell or rent out these properties. Your ruin has not been in whether you entered a stay at the Days Inn of Albuquerque into Managing Your Money or whatever.
Yes, economize. (I have many millions, not a brag just a reality, and yet I rarely stay in hotels or motels. And I probably average less than $50 a week for all of my meals, drinks, juices, fruits, etc. Buying crap at Jamba Juice and *$ is just a waste of money. (When I was your age there simply were no such places to waste money at….coffee came out of vending machines or a diner 5 miles away and I chose not to drink coffeee. Juice came from home, in Thermos bottles, or not at all. We worked through lunch, grabbing burritos from the vending machines or a patty melt at the crummy cafeteria, and we saved our money.)
But don’t fixate on trivia. Microsoft Money is about trivia.
See the big picture. Which is what financial analysts do, using spreadsheets and tools a step or three above them, such as kernel classifiers and support vector machines and linear algebra in all of its glory.
(Go to night school and study linear algebra, matrices, vector spaces, etc.)
Consider that the “Golden Twenty Five” at Goldman Sachs each received their _baseline_ bonus. Twenty five million dollars each, for 2006, and this is before any other special bonuses were awarded. These folks are astute at calculating deals and angles and odds and the basic math.
The final revenge of the nerds.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 10th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Casey, I imagine what’s killing you on your cell phone is a) going over your anytime minutes, b) internet access on your treo, blackberry, or whatever that thing is or c) a combination of both. It might be convenient, but do you really need to send and receive so many timely emails that you have to do it on a cellular network? Cancel that service; you can still use it as a PDA. And if you’re going over your minutes, it’s much cheaper to buy a plan with more time. They won’t penalize you for increasing your minutes. You might take a hit for cancelling your blackberry or whatever it is though, but in the long run, it’ll be cheaper.
As for the tithe, I’d put it on hold. You need it more than your church and/or pastor does. God won’t love you any less. Explain it to Him, I’m sure He’ll understand.
And the $100 a month for entertainment and dining out? Oddly enough, I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea for you to take the Mrs. out for dinner once a week. Make it an occasion. Shave, and wear a coat and that tie you got for Christmas. Have your Mrs. wear some nice dress she already has. It’ll give you something to look forward to, be good for your marriage and that’s good for your morale. Look out for coupons, specials, or twofer deals. But you have to remember to BUDGET luxuries like this.
Good on you for getting some numbers on paper. Well, virtual paper, anyway. And it took courage to post it where everyone can see it. I’m not wise enough in the ways of accounting to make many suggestions on what to enter and how, except for this: The Value of your properties is what someone ELSE is willing to pay for it as is. Once you get past the rabid “Haters” here, you’re getting some good advice from some folks. Especially from Tim FMB. I recommend you at least seriously consider any suggestions from him.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:19 am
I noticed that your personal expenses don’t list the $416.67 monthly payment to Countrywide. Are you planning on backing out of it so soon?
January 10th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Casey *Another dropped thread — what’s happened with your laptop?
Also, what about the Utah situation — many inquiries about that one!
And it would be great if you would tell us about how many creditor calls/letters you’re
getting. What’s that been like?
(a fan, not a hater)
January 10th, 2007 at 12:33 am
So far, people have tended to split commenters into “supporters” (or “hypers”) and “haters” - but it seems pretty obvious to me that the biggest group doesn’t fit either of those categories.
“Realists” would be a good label for them - they’re people who are genuinely trying to offer Casey constructive advice, while at the same time they’re rather less blind to the magnitude of his problems than he is.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:39 am
Thanks for sharing the the spreadsheet. A good start.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:53 am
Dude, I have no idea why you are worried about accounting for the value of your ‘real’ (unreal-?) estate empire. That’s all out of your hands now.
You are never selling those houses. No buyer is ever going to pay enough to cover your loans, and no bank is ever going to agree to a short sale at this point. All you need to know is that when they are finally foreclosed the bank will dispose of them how it sees fit. (Probably to someone like the ‘haters’ on this blog for pennies on the dollar). Just forget about them and move on by getting your BK process rolling.
It’s obvious that you have no idea what you are doing. It’s also obvious that you will never have any idea what you are doing. Just hang up the hat, call it a day and join the ranks of the regular working folks. It’s going to happen anyway, because a federal court will most likely force this upon you so you might as well get cracking with a smile on your face.
Face facts, you are just not cut out to be an investor.I know you read these crappy books about how you can become a rich dad/huckster/whatever, but I don’t think you’ll ever have the aptitude for that. To begin with you are one of america’s eternal clowns. Always chasing the next easy money scheme; buying high then selling low. You just don’t grasp how money works: what it is or what it is worth.
You are also far to naive and lack the ability to exercise your own judgment. People who make money investing do so through: copious research (aka hard work); through the ability to act independently; and, through forming their own sound logical judgements of any given situation. They don’t do it by getting stars in their eyes and blindly following media gossip and flim-flam gurus. Let me ask you this: do you think before Warren Buffet makes an investment decision he goes “hmm…I wonder what my rich dad poor dad book says about this?” Or do you think Kirk Kervorkian goes on Tony Robbins seminars? Absolutely not. Never happens. Yet they are rich beyond belief, and all those suckers who dump money on these books and classes you are so fond of are poor. Why is that do you think?
I am going to give you the best piece of advice anyone can give you on this blog: Give up your silly dreams. Get a job and live an ordinary modest life. The pipe dream of wealth without work is beyond your reach, and you are destroying your life and family with your obsession with it. Start living a regular life, you’ll be far happier as clearly real estate, finance, accounting and the like are far beyond your ken.
You can also forget being a consultant, as you know nothing worth selling. Anyone can lie their way to bankruptcy. I don’t think people are going to pay you to find out your secret.
Of course you won’t pay a blind bit of notice to this. Will you?
BTW, have you tried unloading your properties on Seattle Eric. He’s nearly as dumb as you, so it’s worth a shot.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:16 am
“Yeah I do need to look into that cell phone bill of mine. I’m paying way too much…”
What you *need* to do is look into putting some effort into moving those properties, instead of chasing after the nickel-and-dime stuff…
January 10th, 2007 at 2:17 am
If your “assets” were really worth $1.6 million, you wouldn’t be in this mess…
January 10th, 2007 at 2:37 am
Casey and community,
Speechless. Most of the numbers are not much of a surprise. It is sad to see the downward spiral of lenders quality from banks to Cashcall and the ridiculous interest rates of 30%+. It is just so sad. The end result of all that debt is the Serin’s are living in a spare bedroom and are driving an older used car. No home. No savings. No jobs. Did G. start her tax preparers job yet?
It will be sad to see the blog go away because I’m hooked on the story. There is value in the story and that might help some in the long run. We’ve never been shown what the contract with prlinkbiz looks like, nor how binding a real lawyer would view it. Then again, if (when) CS is convicted of a crime the opportunity for profit from the story will be taken away. Totally busted.
If Casey and G. avoid prison they can still live a creative and healthy life but it will be totally different from the life they are living now. NO credit cards (a blessing), no loans of any kind (a blessing), a space at the community gardens for fresh healthy food, opportunities for cash work, regular jobs too (or three). The reality of paying back what remains after BK will take time to sink in (and it will be a sinking feeling). A few more months of blogging at most and then_ game over. sad.
January 10th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Can anybody here show me how to estimate what my taxes would be in 2007? (I know, I know, there are many factors/variables to consider, I just want something rough) Perhaps the 25% rate I’m assuming may not be accurate…
January 10th, 2007 at 5:02 am
why WHY why WHY why WHY oh why
do you feel that you have to TITHE!!!
if i lent you 1000, would you tithe that?
do you tithe 10% of your credit card limit over the phone as soon as you activate the card? do you donate 10% before paying back friends & family?
CASEY! if i robbed a bank and tithed 10% would that make it OK??? you lied and cheated and committed FRAUD?
does donating to charity
heres an article i remembered, i dont really like this guy’s advice in general but its an interesting read
My mother tithes 10 percent — but she can’t make her house payments
http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/t.....index.html
January 10th, 2007 at 5:02 am
Utah property loan issue is still being attended to… will report when I get it resolved
January 10th, 2007 at 5:08 am
Wait, if a tithe is supposed to be 10% of your income, and your income is negative, wouldn’t a tithe mean the church should give you money? You should ask your minister Maybe you could invest in another sweet deal that way.
Why no post this morning? Isn’t your early riser program working?
January 10th, 2007 at 5:23 am
As far as tithing goes I do that to, so I’m all for it and understand why you do it. However the money you have is not your money, it is other people’s money. I can’t remember the exact verse but according to the bible God always wants you to settle your debts. Then you can give him a portion of what you bring in. But that’s not until the money you have is actually your money.
January 10th, 2007 at 5:24 am
You tithe??? You tithe?????????? You disgust me. How dare you give away money when you are costing ME as a shareholder of Citibank and many other financial insitutions (through financial sector mutual fund) money because of your fraud, failure to pay etc. And don’t think that you can pay back friends and family ahead of the secured debtors.
Now I’m sure you’ll justify tithing as some religious imperative, but how about starting with the basics of thou shalt not steal and just learn how to get that right. And don’t forget - YOU DON”T HAVE EARNINGS TO TITHE! Your $3,000/mo from real estate only slightly offsets your obligations - so I see your earnings as $0 as yoru real estate alone means you are going down the toilet on a monthly basis as a “real estate investor.”
I’m angry that you have such shoddy ethics.
And as for “IOU from a friend $6,000.00 balance of 8k loan, will pay me back “as soon as he can” ” - I wonder if he is likely to pay a penny of this.
January 10th, 2007 at 5:26 am
[IMG ] 1) Dude is $2 Million + in debt, including $140k in credit cards alone. 24-year old kid got access to $2 Million + in credit, with no income, no savings, no nothing. From wiki’s “economic bubble” page: Experts argue that the cause of bubbles is excessive monetary liquidity in
January 10th, 2007 at 6:06 am
Keep on trucking Casey…..
January 10th, 2007 at 6:16 am
Casey
You need to estimate 3 components to estimate your taxes - federal income, CA income, and social security/medicare. If you want an accurate estimate, it may involve more math and spreadsheets.
You can estimate your income taxes in detail by going to www.turbotax.com and using the online service. While it says it costs something, don’t worry - you pay when you file (get something now, pay later = your kind of model), so you could enter your information and get a good estimate and then send in your return later. You can also go to www.irs.gov and get publication 505, and I’m sure there is a similar for CA.
If you are self-employed (which it sounds like you are), social security+medicare is 15.3%. If you’re not self-employed, don’t worry - while you still owe 7.65%, your employer will withhold that.
Bottom line is that even given your chumpchange employment prospects, 25% is too low, thanks to your living in CA and (I suspect) being self-employed.
But kudos to you for worrying about taxes. They won’t go away in BK, and you could add to your rap sheet if you just ignored them. In fact, given the fun that you’re going to have (income on debt discharge, etc.) down the road, you may want to visit www.irs.gov in your spare time and start reading.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:23 am
Re. the value of the houses for the spreadsheets - you should use realistic market value (e.g. Larchmont buyer backed out at $225 - so perhaps use $215) and subtract out brokerage and closing fees.
Re. Former DAs comment on fraud meaning you can’t work in real estate, fiance etc. in the future - I had forgotten that. I know the Realtor boards here won’t license people convicted of fraud if the fraud involved any financial or real estate dealings.
One way you could have lowered your cost of doing business was to get your RE license (it takes a couple of weeks and about $2000 in fees to various local boards etc.) so you could do the marketing yourself. It would have also meant you’d get the buyer agent fee on the properties you bought had you done it early enough. I saved $40,500 on my last sale of my personal property because I got my license. Wish I had done it years ago (though never intended to get into the business for other people, but my third book was going nowhere and it was easy money in a hot market - a few extra years fo $250k income was nice).
If you really want to work your way out of this, perhaps you should be spending your evenings and other non-Chris time putting a little elbow grease into the properties you are trying to sell. I may be a millionaire now, but I got here by doing a whole lot of renovation and construction myself (my mother got worried her little girl didn’t like boys after I asked for power tools for Christmas three years in a row. But really, who wants to date a girl who doesn’t have her own compound miter saw???). It’s a pity HGTV doesn’t tape Designed to Sell in your area - but the basics of clean, well maintained lawn, etc. will help move those homes.
I know I get mad/frustrated at you at times, but I do agree with the person who says that it is partly bad timing. During the RE boom, people mistook a bull market for intelligence. That’s why it looked easy to get rich quick and I can understand the temptation - though not to the degree that I’d commit fraud.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Iamfacingforeclosure.com’s Casey Serin shows the world why this credit bubble and crash will be the biggest in recorded human history
January 10th, 2007 at 6:30 am
My friend, you are dumber than we give you credit for. Your “Tithe” is ridiculous considering you have no job, and no income. Stop wasting money you don’t have.
Maybe if you tithe to the flying spaghetti monster, that would get you out of debt faster than giving your (well someone else’s) money away to a different bullsh*t cause.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Man, you are a mess. I’ve heard about you. What the H E Double L did you do with the $90k ++ that you stole from your lenders when you purchased these properties? Where’d it go? You can call it want you want, whatever makes you feel good in the fetal position. Bottomline, cash back at closing is ILLEGAL on a purchase!! It defrauds the lender, the overall system…. you are looking at several counts of mortgage fraud, conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud (for each application that you applied for but was denied with the intent to get cash or default), fed wire fraud, sheesh I could go on and on. Youre a mess dude! You went through $90k THAT fast, and now have over $30k in debt. How is it an unemployed 24 year old, with a proven failure track record has $2mm in debt? You must have lied on every single credit application you’ve completed. Im betting you’d have 16 houses and twice the debt if you could have gotten away with borrowing it, right?
You have 2 big problems with your life man- BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS is one and LIVE IN YOUR OWN MEANS is the other. You figure out the solution for those two issues and your big problems in life are over. Think about it.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Casey,
Can you add music to your website? It would spice things up. I recommend Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” as the Casey Serin theme song… Lyrics below. What do you think? It’s all good, right?
-Big Cheese
Now look at them yo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s
See the little f***** with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that’s his own hair
That little f***** got his own jet airplane
That little f***** he’s a millionaire
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchens deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s
I shoulda learned to play the guitar
I shoulda learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it stickin’ in the camera
Man we could have some fun
And he’s up there, what’s that? Hawaiian noises?
Bangin’ on the bongoes like a chimpanzee
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Get your money for nothin’ get your chicks for free
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s, Lord
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
January 10th, 2007 at 7:06 am
So based on your financial spreadsheet. You are saying that after adjusting for all the loans and current property values you are still almost 500K “under water” and sinking by about 20K per month?
Am I reading that correctly?
And you still think you have options and won’t have to declare bankruptcy?
As far as estimating your taxes, you have to add up all the money you earned from various jobs but also all the money you got as “Cash Back at Closing”… I think based on the numbers you already provided that number is going to be between $100 and $200K? When you have that number, it is likely to be 30% to 35% to you pay state and federal taxes. Plus the “loss” on the property already foreclosed, if there is a loss, will count as income to you.
Ready to get serious about BK yet?
January 10th, 2007 at 7:15 am
@ Big Cheese
ROTFLMAO
January 10th, 2007 at 7:34 am
For the last time people, cash back at close is not seller paid, it’s buyer borrowed.
No matter how he got the money, Casey borrowed it against the properties he purchased. It’s not income, therefore it’s not taxable.
That money is already calculated into the existing mortgages. Now what he did with the money, that’s a different question.
Nigel
January 10th, 2007 at 7:38 am
As far as estimating your taxes, you have to add up all the money you earned from various jobs but also all the money you got as “Cash Back at Closing”…
Thats incorrect, you wont pay tax on that cash you got at closing because it is loan proceeds, not true income. You amy be not be liable for taxes on that money but you are liable for wire fraud.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:38 am
@Stephanie J
I never would moderate you….
January 10th, 2007 at 8:20 am
6061 GUADALAJARA NE
RIO RANCHO, NM 87144
Is sitting unsold at $415,000. Please update value from $450k to $410k.
Good news. Burdett Way has no liability remember? You have listed the $50k note and the negative equity. One or the other not both.
Bad news. Larchmont is sitting unsold at $220k. Update the spreadsheet to reflect $210k not current $240k.
Minus $20,000 this morning. Good thing you are up early.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Can anybody here show me how to estimate what my taxes would be in 2007? (I know, I know, there are many factors/variables to consider, I just want something rough) Perhaps the 25% rate I’m assuming may not be accurate…
Your taxes will be minimal. 25% is probably good, maybe even over what you’ll pay even in a high-tax place like CA. At $36k of income this year (assuming you actually work every month at $3k) you’ll surely be well down in the 15% fed rate bracket + California tax.
You might even be lots lower than that if you have losses from your “investments”, though that depends on how much you can use to offset wage income and how much you have to carry over to offset wage income later.
The shocking bit will be any 1099’s you might receive, which would appear on the face to boost your income into really high brackets; however, demonstrating insolvency can take care of those. You might have to endure audits before it all settles down though, so keep all your paperwork ready for the next 7 years.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Beezer, how do you not spend $400 on groceries?
I spend $300-$400 a month on food myself. How do you cut this expense down without going on a diet?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Guys - the 10% tithe is just troll bait. NO WAY does Casey tithe today, or plan to in the future.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Tithing?
If a tithe is supposed to be 10% of what you make…
And you’re currently hemmoraging money and not “making” any…
Shouldn’t God owe *Casey* nearly 2 grand a month?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I just read an article on MSNBC about how raising the minimum wage to $7.25 affects certain people. The author rode along with a guy who makes $7.25/hour and supports himself and his out-of-work parents on his income. He’s 22. Drives a 2005 Neon. Lives in a crappy trailer. I bet he sleeps pretty well at night, though. I’ll bet he has no fear of opening his mailbox.
Here’s a link if you want to read it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16549922/
January 10th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Casey,
The ‘values’ for your properties (as others have said) are too high.
You show Muncy at $320K. C’mon - maybe $280.
You show NM at $450K. Is that it’s listed for?
You need to be more realistic here.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:35 am
@Nigel Swaby
….you’ve lost this battle. How you handle this defeat will define you as a person.
The single most lucid thing spoken to CS. Every other comment, negative or positive, speaks to this.
So far, it’s not a very positive definition.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Tim MBA,
Your efforts are positive. I have a question though.
Do you think it’s possible for CS to pull through, or are you just helping him see things as they really are and getting things in order for the future?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:41 am
I’m all for people giving to charity but what the hell are you giving out 10% of your “income” to charity? I can almost promise that Jesus won’t hate you because you shouldn’t be giving what you don’t really have.
I have this sneaking suspicion you wrote that budget down as a wish list. My guess is you aren’t pulling down 3K a month and the tithing line might have been inserted to rile the hornet’s nest.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Look,
You’ve got to turn this into a positive! Go to ant of the local real estate offices that advertise agent training and take it. Most are free (if you agree to work for the broker for a period of time after you take the exam).
This will let you get 3% Of your houses. If you can find someone to flip them for you, you can double end the deals. Better yet, on the ‘out’ leg of the flip persuade the new buyer to get cash back and take some for yourself outside of escrow (we like to call it squeezing the deal). If you do it right, you could see almost $150,000! (6% on the 1.6 and say 10K from each out squeeze.
You seem like you are attractive enough, so I would target young single moms. Try the 30-sometings — they’ll melt for you. If you are uncomfortable with that, get an attractive young female to dress, well, provocatively (not s***** , just hot) and have her show the properties. That’s how I do it (well, I’m female so I do it myself). I’ll be honest: sex sells. Greed sells, sexy greed sells fast!
Go for it.
Kelli
January 10th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Big shout-out to all y’all haters on CashCall:
I thought really careful before giving them my name. I don’t give my name out to trash. So t’hell witchu.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:47 am
The 3000 a month income. Is that real income or income you will make if you manage to get to work?
Also where is the guy who you hold the IOU for? When has he last paid you? Do you have a note?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Wanna know how accountants do it? Buy Quickbooks pro. It will walk you through a lot of it.
A lot of the info is available on the net and if I were you, get up early on Saturday and actually pay for a JC class vs. going to these stupid seminars. A JC Accounting class will teach you much more than the stupid scammer idols of yours PLUS it’s transferrable to a UC school which means it’s a class that will challenge you.
Oh yes, I forgot…you hate school. You bought into the idea that you didn’t need college to be a sweet investor. Shoot, I never finished, but I go back from time to time to relearn stuff and brush up on other skills. But then again, I did well for myself after HS and didn’t get into 2 mil in debt like you.
Yes, college isn’t for everyone and for you I’d feel as if it was wasted cash since you don’t listen to anybody but your neurotic, compulsive self.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Why does God need money?
January 10th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Casey should replace Gary Coleman as the spokesman for Cashcall. Look at his situation, it makes Gary’s money problems look like a walk in the park.
Cashcall: Make Casey a spokesman so when he fails to pay you back, you guys can make SOMETHING off of him. Shoot, if I saw Casey in the ads, I still wouldn’t borrow from them, but all the losers (looser in Casey talk) will flock to this company seeing it loaned money to a kid with 2.2 mil in debt and a mid 400s fico.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Hey Casey, muh ma f**** nig. They iz jivin’ about ya an’ yo’ current financial s*** over at da housing panic blog taday! Here iz some o’ what dey had ta say about you: all ye damn hood ratz..
1) Dude iz $2 Million + in debt, including $140k in credit cards alone. 24-year old kid got access ta $2 Million + in credit, wiff nahh income, nahh savings, nahh nuttin’ . From wiki’s”economic bubble” page:
Experts argue dat da cause o’ bubbles iz excessive monetary liquidity in da financial system. Excessive monetary liquidity (a.k.uh. easy credit) potentially occurs while central banks iz implementing expansionary monetary policy (ie. lowering o’ interest rates an’ flushing da financial system wiff money supply).
2) Dude iz paying 30%+ on uh lot o’ his credit cards. Oops, muh ma f**** mistake… Dude iz being CHARGED 30%+ on uh lot o’ his credit cards. Dude ain’t actually PAYING anythin’, I forgot…
3) Dude ganked all those properties an’ NOT ONE made uh profit - all iz on da way ta foreclosure. Suzanne an’ Greg Swann researched it.
4) Dude ain’t wearing da orange jumpsuit yet. Not afta national media exposure admitting his crimes. Not afta telling da world he committed raging mortgage fraud fo’ months an’ months. Not even uh letter or uh knock on da do’ yet. Nothing. Nobody cares. Nobody iz in charge. Financial anarchy iz here.
5) China an’ da hedge funds who ganked all dis here collaterized debt ain’t getting they money back. A massive financial implosion iz just around da corner…
–Darnell da realtor all ye damn hood ratz..
PS: where iz homey da clown? ya’ll is mad stupid.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:13 am
no offense casey but i do not belive you tithe monthly.
i suspect it just makes you feel better saying you do.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I’m addicted to this blog. I came back.
For the love of Mike, please turn OFF moderation so I don’t have to keep checking back for comments from you fan club.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:39 am
casey,
as for taxes…
rent those houses even if it is at a loss now.
a person who activiely participates in a rental activity may offset up to $ 25,000 of nonpassive income with that portion of the passive activity loss. that’s up to a $ 25,000 loss you could take against that income (possibly per property if you can treat each one as a separate rental activity).
also, any losses greater than $ 25,000 can be carried over to future years and deducted in full upon disposal of the activity. those losses may be able to cushion some of your tax liability you will incurr when you get that debt extinguishment 1099 when you declare bankruptcy.
(individual taxes are NOT my expertise, please consult your tax advisor regarding your activities.)
January 10th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Boy, it really must suck to have all these properties just sitting there, waiting for someone to purchase them. Here’s a tip: I was watching Bravo and they presented one of these RE shows. In this one, a flipper in Malibu picked up a sweet hillside property in drastic need of help for $2.3 million, and then flipped it to an investor for $3.2 million, giving him a profit of $900,000. Just one of these sort of deals would make you healthy, and you could then get on with your life. So why not do that?
January 10th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Folks, Casey is not the only one in a mess like this. Click here to read another story. Not quite as bad, but still a huge mess.
http://iamnotfacingforeclosure.....ing-story/
January 10th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Casey,
I feel for you, and as others have said — this isn’t a day to hate on you.
Some free advice:
1. Take this spreadsheet down and delete a lot of the information. Give the “basics” but not all the details. (Identity fraud? You’re in bad enough shape without someone getting you closer to $3 million.
2. Where did you get the “values” for the homes? If the bank will take a short-sale at $248,000 then that is the value of the house. Period. You will never see a cent more than that.
You will probably never go to prison, but your financial situation will make you wish you were there — at least they get hot meals — for years to come.
January 10th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Remember property taxes for Muncy, Burdett and NM.
“guessing… need to go through the mail”. You haven’t been doing that during the last week?
January 10th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I recommend you dig a big hole in the ground right now, rent all of your properties, collect as much cash as you can, put it in the hole. Pay none of your bills, wait for the hammer to fall. Bankruptcy, then go back to hole, dig up cash, leave country.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Why the bloody f*** do you have a 10% tithe listed??? What income do you have to tithe on you dolt! I smell mormon foolishness afoot.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
God you faux Xtian Mormon types are all so effing dumb. I’m so glad we put you all out in that little pen of a desert state.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I guessed a couple of weeks ago that he was at burn rate of $500 per day. I was off by about five grand.
20000 / 30 = 666.666
Maybe The Lord is trying to tell you something, Casey.:)
January 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
What’s missing from Casey’s financial statement is a cash flow statement.
Even from his spreadsheet above, he’s not going to be able to figure out where all of the money went.
Anybody figure this out yet? Where did he original excess amount go?
January 10th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
As a Modesto resident who keeps a close eye on the real estate market, you are on CRACK if you think the Muncy house will sell for 324K. That’s a terrible neighbourhood and the house is way overpriced. If you’re going to try and sell it fast, try lowering your price by 100K. Trust me.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
[…] Q. (verzoeking) wrote,@ 2007-01-10 12:39:00 Oh man. The Facing Foreclosure guy finally counted up all the debt he accrued in his year of real estate flipping.In twelve months, his net worth plummeted from some unspecified positive value to -$475,000.(Post a new comment) swolfe 2007-01-10 09:03 pm UTC (link) that’s pretty sick. real estate investing can get pretty scary. we haven’t bought any more houses because we’re basically at the limit that we’d be able to make the payments with regular income if all 4 of the investment houses were vacant. we feel a pinch if one is vacant and i’d be out of my mind if two were vacant at the same time.(Reply to this) […]
January 10th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Casey,
Your Muncy Drive propery just showed up as an upcoming trustee sale.
Auction sale date is shown as Jan 24th.
First loan amount is $274K (first loan only).
If you have a stack of mail, it is probably in there. So, 2 weeks until another house is gone.
This is progress! Even though it is a foreclosure, it will wipe it off!
Then just a few left!
January 10th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I think you don’t need to tithe right now
January 10th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
This story is bent & fake as you already know, Casey: YOU ARE STUPID!!!! You think you are some flash real estate investor. tut tut
January 10th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Oh yeah, in addition to income taxes, I forgot about Social Security+Medicare taxes if you’re an independent contractor, and then you have to pay that yourself (15%? ouch). Are you independent? Or are you on Chris’s payroll?
As for paying taxes on any “cash out” deals, nope. No tax due. That’s all borrowed money, and you don’t pay income taxes on borrowed money. (Exception is that you might at the time the loan is officially forgiven, but that’s not at the time you get the money in hand… see 1099 and insolvency comments for more on that.)
January 10th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I admire him. In 2003 when I finished college and got a career job I was unable to qualify for a $13,000 auto loan. So I admire how he was able to secure the amount he did with no job.
January 10th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Ogg! You’re still here! Caveman of few words, eh?
January 10th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Casey, I think your fear of BK might be ‘overrated’ because you haven’t researched just what it’s all about. This is what’s going to HELP you at this point. You’re probably thinking it’s the end of the world, but it’s not. We’re all telling you this is a GOOD thing for you, based on your circumstances. Even though you’re still going to have financial obligations, you’re going to be relieved of a lot of daily grief and additional $$. You’re losing more and more money every minute of the day. You CAN stop this train wreck and begin to re-build.
Since you’re not going to file BK tomorrow, will you just do youself and favor and begin to research what it’s all about? I think you’ll find it’s not as horrific as you’re thinking.
@ TMB, could you please shorten your postings? If you want to write several chapters a day to Casey, you can send it privately. There are lots of good opinions on here, and yours is NOT the ‘one and only correct’ one.
January 10th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
http://iamfacingforeclosure.co.....readsheet/
January 10th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
guys LAY OFF CASEY!…i honestly do not understand people posting essentially the same comment 100x every post…yes we know casey is in a crappy situation but he has DETERMINATION
and besides….Casey would be FILTHY RICH right now if he had bought a mere 12 months earlier…the only thing that separates him from “successful investors” is PURE LUCK…making money is all about RISK and REWARD…unfortunately, risk inevitably means there are some players who end up “loosers”…for every “winner” like warren buffet there are people like casey…SAME smarts, SAME determination but just BAD LUCK
Now the question is….are you AFRAID of failure, and CONTENT to SIT on the SIDELINES and get 1% “returns” at your bank? Or are you going to try to do something and roll some dice, even if that means getting some 1s?
January 10th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Don’t Listen to anyone, you will succeed because you are an entrepreneur with drive and motivation.
~:Julie:~
January 10th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Casey, it took guts to publish this so I’m giving you respec’ for that. But, why is Mrs C. getting another card when she has 9 that are maxed?
January 10th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
So Muncy goes under the gavel on the 24th?
January 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
One of the things they were talking about in RE school was that if you are an investor the EDUCTION is priceless — but getting the license opens you up to more issues. If you get a great “deal” thrown into your lap as an investor you can fleece the person without any obligation to tell them that you are doing it. But with a license, you have the Cannon of Ethics (at least in Ohio) would require you to tell them that they are under-selling the property.
Anyhow, I think you are right that some of Casey’s problems are bad luck — but he’s also compounded bad luck with some bad decisions.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
If you don’t know how to spell Tithe…
chances are you aren’t doing it…
January 10th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Christopher Frederick Graham—-
Your 3 degrees and LAME PhD don’t give you any kind of financial intelligence. I’ll bet you are an employee with a safe, secure job. You may be good at RIPPING Casey up but I’ll bet you have only passive 401k’s as your petty retirement that will soon be toast. I’ll also bet you have NO entrepreneurial experience except some “class” in college.
Casey is in trouble and he’s being forthright. He’ll most likely end up filing bankruptcy in my view but at least he put himself out there…..
Jeff Delagado
January 10th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Casey, even though reading this drives me insane, I hope you don’t stop blogging. I can’t wait to see how your story ends. Also, Tim From Monterey’s comments are worth the price of admission. Tim, you should start a blog too.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Casey probably used most of the cash from his sweet deals and credit lines to pay interest. The post mortem would surprise Casey and every frugal reader here, but that is likely the case. Another fact is that with a bad credit report, Casey and Mrs. Serin are likely unemployable. Also, facing foreclosure, renting out his houses is not likely either, since his tenants would have grounds to withhold rents. Have a nice day.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Jdelagado: I have two businesses and a day job. I have $30,000 saved for retirement. May I rip Casey?
I don’t rip him for these errors. I rip him for not saying, “I lose $20,000/mo. I will continue losing that much every month, perhaps for six months, perhaps for twelve. In the end I might owe $600,000. I really should declare bankrupcy, get a steady job, pay cash, and budget. But I’ve grown addicted to the crisis. I like taking on tough challenges. Impossible just means tough, right? Lots of people selling me easy-reader books say it is. They’re right and Average Joe on my blog is wrong.”
I’ve noticed the comments get more and more specific and more and more clear. *EVERYONE* is encouraging Casey to call this quits. He’s hurting lenders more by waiting, and there’s simply no magic escape button at that burn rate. He needs to do the humane thing but instead he’s opening $300 credit lines and tidying up his office.
I do think this spreadsheet is a good idea, cuz it’s clearly a blunt head blow. If he doesn’t see it’s time, then he really is insane.
(P.S. I toughed out a real estate sinkhole for over a year. But it was nowhere near this bad. And I couldn’t get a job due to a recession in my field. I ate at the food bank. Casey can get a job tomorrow! He just wants to sit home and stack Post-Its by size and color. Then an occasional Jamba Juice! Hey those mean bankers took my cash for my debt again! Oopsie I signed another document! You see, I’ve read this long enough to see the game. Everyone here has.)
January 10th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
==> RAINBOW BEAR “guys LAY OFF CASEY!…i honestly do not understand people posting essentially the same comment 100x every post…”
Think about it for a sec: Casey posts something, then over the next 24 hours 100 people each have the same reaction and post WITHOUT seeing what the others post because Casey lets the unmoderated posts pile up. Then those 100 posts all get released at the same time.
Get it now?
January 10th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Check this out Ca$ey
http://www.urbandictionary.com.....erm=looser
January 10th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
==> Review “@ TMB, could you please shorten your postings? If you want to write several chapters a day to Casey, you can send it privately. There are lots of good opinions on here, and yours is NOT the ‘one and only correct’ one. ”
Nor is your opinion. I don’t recall Tim having ever stated or implied the above.
Get a scroll wheel on your mouse.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
@RAINBOW BEAR
the only thing that separates him from “successful investors” is PURE LUCK
Oh, please, the business schools are filled with people wasting their time? The reality is that Casey fits into that fat part of the curve marked for losers, while only a few at the top make vast sums. That is the way it is in many things, from hit records to basketball. But luck? You can’t even rely on luck in Las Vegas — the casinos know that the odds are in their favor.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Check this out Ca$ey
http://www.jobstar.org/sacto/index.php
January 10th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Sell a kidney in a foreign country to someone for $3 million!
January 10th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
IT’S HOMEY TIME!!!
YO YO YO CASEY
LORDY, dee only hole bigger dan da one you be in now iz gonna be the hole in yo behind when dey puts yo butt in jail wit my cuzzin Leroy.
I seez dat anuder one of yo houses be foreclozed on. When wuz yu gonna tell da peeps about dat, neva? YEP
I seez dat yu aint be workin fo dat Chris no mo? WHY NOT
I seez dat yu aint be workin fo dat Dustin kat an his pappy? WHY NOT
Duz yu knowz dat DA man be lookin reel hard at dis here blog ebery day? FO SHO
Yu gonna tell da peeps dat Cash Call be callin yo punk azz? NOPE
When yu gonna tell da peeps about dem bankrupcee lawyas yu been talkin too? NEVA
DID DA FBI CALLZ YOU YET?
Love ,
Homey
PS. Sputnik done pooped hisself… dat funny. I hopin he got some poop lef fo dem fake azz homies shoozes.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
zomg editor, why you gotta be such a player hater?
casey, good news!!!
i aksed ms.kuo if u can have a job, and she sez dat u can get one starting at 5 dollar and hr!!!
btw, my little brother says ur his hero, and he wants to be just like you when he grows up, just without the failures and such
January 10th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
FuturesTrader (and by extension Casey, though FT seemed actually interested and Casey couldn’t care less.) -
You can easily cut your current food budget in half and eat possibly better than you do now. Disclaimer - I often spend more, because at the moment, I don’t have to be careful and will splurge on easy/ready made stuff and things I don’t need. Casey does need to be careful, and it is easy to do; I’m also a vegetarian, though you can add in meats pretty obviously in lots of places. It’s cheaper to be veg, but you end up buying more bulk so… half of one, probably. Estimated prices are what stuff tends to cost here, NYC. I buy from the farmer’s market when possible, so it may be even cheaper from a supermarket.
For $50 a week, you can buy -
a decent loaf of bread ($3)
a couple of pounds of apples ($3)
half pound of cheddar or whatever cheese ($4)
dozen eggs ($2)
5lbs carrots ($3)
head of broccoli ($2)
couple pounds potatoes ($2)
box of whole wheat pasta ($3)
jar of spaghetti sauce ($3)
lasagna noodles ($2)
ricotta cheese ($4)
quart milk ($2)
mozarella ($3)
bag of lentils ($2)
flour ($3)
butter ($5)
onions/celery ($2)
That’s $48. With that, I can make -
- a large veggie lasagna with carrots and broccoli (lasagna noodles, mozarella, ricotta, I make a white sauce, you can use the tomato) 6 large portions - you could do meat in place of veggies
- a big pot of carrot lentil soup, 6 big bowls full
- pasta marinara, like 4 portions
- baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar
- toast and eggs
- grilled cheese
- muffins
- coffee cake
- snacks of apples and cheese/carrot and celery sticks/hard-boiled eggs, etc.
It really isn’t hard. It does involve cooking, and the more baking you enjoy, the better off you are, but spending one weekend afternoon cooking 1 or 2 big things like soup or casseroles and baking and then you have the quickie meals like pasta and sauce, or baked potatoes, and easy breakfasts, lunches, snacks available.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
“Don’t Listen to anyone, you will succeed because you are an entrepreneur with drive and motivation.” ~:Julie:~
Every notice that the motards who have positive comments for Casey always have links to their own moronic websites?
January 10th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
“Tim MBA,
Your efforts are positive. I have a question though.
Do you think it’s possible for CS to pull through, or are you just helping him see things as they really are and getting things in order for the future?”
No, I don’t think Casey can “pull through,” if by pull through you mean end up financially back at zero or even ahead.
Unless real estate prices take a very sharp, very strong turn in the other direction, Casey is toast. He is in real debt of about $475-550K, by his own admissions (and some of the price corrections in his properties that others have noted, such as Robert Cote) and his monthly debt service and necessary expenses are about $20K.
He cannot climb out of this hole.
However, our nation has seen fit to allow some people to absolve themselves of their debts. This is not the place to argue with whether this is wise.
I’m not a bankruptcy lawyer, but I believe Casey’s $500K hole is not necessarily FATAL for him.
Which means he may live to fight another day. Personally, were I 24 again, and knowing that I might be debt-free by the time I was 30, despite Casey-like mistakes, I wouldn’t consider that such a bad deal.
So, yes, Casey can recover. It won’t be a picnic in the park, but it is survivable. And maybe he’ll even discover something besides ‘get rich quick’ schemes as his reason for living.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 10th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Since Modesto went into NOD 4-6 weeks before the other properties, it’s quite likely that the remaining three properties will also hit foreclosure soon.
That will alter the balance sheet a bit.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
@ Editor,
So you know TMB personally? You know his credentials? You know he knows more than a District Attorney about absolute Legal issues? Sounds like you’re buying into every single word he says, just like Casey unfortunately bought in to everything the gurus said. Has he challenged any advice you’ve given to Casey? If not, he soon will.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
“Sushi
January 10th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Casey, even though reading this drives me insane, I hope you don’t stop blogging. I can’t wait to see how your story ends. Also, Tim From Monterey’s comments are worth the price of admission. Tim, you should start a blog too.”
I’m just a bit player here. I contribute because it beats waiting for each day’s crossword puzzle and working on that.
Casey should be commenting more, in my opinion. He should realize that HIS STORY is actually potentially salable. (I know we’ve talked about this before, and speculated on PRBLINKENBLITZ’s potential share of his story, but it’s true: his story is now his greatest, and perhaps only, asset.)
Casey has captured the Zeitgeist of our times: the Uzbekistani immigrant kid in Sacramento who goes to “Dare to be Wealthy” classes from whomever (Tom Vu, Tony Robbins, Carlton Sheets, Robert Kiyosaki, etc.) and who then doubles down and doubles down and doubles down until he owns 8 properties he can’t afford to pay for.
And then he starts a blog.
Fact is, plenty of lameass scripts get bought for more than the approx. $500K he is now underwater. I could see his story being optioned for enough to get him out of this blustercluck.
–Tim from Monterey Bay Area
January 10th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Sir Casey,
We are awaiting an update on the Muncy trustee sale…
January 10th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Get a Real estate license and be a realtor.
I get about $35,000 per month. Do it like me.
#1 Broker
“We make you broke”
January 10th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Editor wrote:
‘Nor is your opinion. I don’t recall Tim having ever stated or implied the above.’
Thanks. I only say what I think, expecting nothing.
Oh, wait. All I ask is that in the movie version of this that I be played by William Hurt. I see Nigel Swaby being played by Morgan Freeman, Robert Cote being played by Dustin Hoffman, Homey Da Clown being played by Chris Rock, Yveone being played by Angelina Jolie, and Robert Kiyosaki being played by the guy who played “Sulu” in “Star Trek.”
So, who plays Casey? That’s the Big Question.
–Tim from MBA
January 10th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
A MODEST PROPOSAL.
This is the first blog I have ever paid attention to. I had no idea they could be so wildly entertaining! Even more interesting than Casey’s creative self-destruction are the posts, which range from well-researched, intelligent, patient attempts to help the lad, all the way to profane blasts of ridicule. ‘Twill be a sad day indeeds when this end, as end it must.
A modest proposal: Now that Casey has posted his financials, and continues to not respond to the posts about consulting a bankruptcy attorney, why don’t we hire one? Surely in an hour he can tell us the quick take on the lad’s predicament. Let’s say the atty is $300 per hour. Divided by 6 is only $50 each. Tim from the Monterey Bay area, Homey Da Clown, Ozzie Tim, Darnell, Ethical Realtor–why don’t we all chip in and hire the attorney, then have him post his analysis?
Best regards,
January 10th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
guys LAY OFF CASEY!…i honestly do not understand people posting essentially the same comment 100x every post
If our hero would not moderate the comments, people would know what is posted and you would see fewer repeats.
Besides,this is the only fun I have all day long: watching Casey being whacked and trying for a few strikes myself.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
This might give you some breathing room.
http://www.rismedia.com/wp/200.....12-months/
January 10th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Casey is in trouble and he’s being forthright. He’ll most likely end up filing bankruptcy in my view but at least he put himself out there…..
Casey is many things, but Casey is not forthright.
1. If this blog is true, Casey defrauded lenders and may still be in the process of doing so. Casey has withheld information from us until it suited his purposes (like the Muncy house trustee sale). Casey has made deals that may end up screwing good people (the Utah situation). Casey trolls for comments. Casey shows what he wants to show when he wants to show it.
2. If the blog is a fake or a draw for ad revenue, he is a personal fraud and I would not be surprised if he does end up back in U-stan with a bag of US dollars.
Just because he posts some numbers does not mean he’s forthright.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
RAINBOW BEAR - “Now the question is….are you AFRAID of failure, and CONTENT to SIT on the SIDELINES and get 1% “returns” at your bank?”
No the question is “Who is getting 1% “returns” from a bank when short term CD’s are well over 5% “returns”.
Hey RAINBOW BEAR, are you CONTENT to SIT on the SIDELINES and post things that make you look like a moron or troll (same difference)?
January 10th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
@Julie:
“you should try to get the 3 cards that are over the limit under the limit by writing a check from a credit card with an available balance.”
That’s just barely possible. She is $321.91 over limit total on those three and has about $920 under limit on the other ones.
@The Man:
“Hey, their highest rate is only 89%!”
Um, no. That 89% is for Alabama. If you select California from the dropdown, the highest rate is 96%, APR of 99.25%. You can get $2600 for “only” 42 payments of $216.55.
@Big Cheese:
“Casey DOESN’T have MS office - that’s why he was using a google spreadsheet.”
http://www.openoffice.org/ Reads/writes MS office formats, works on multiple different OS platforms, and is FREE.
@Casey:
1. STOP SPENDING MONEY ON THE CREDIT CARDS!!
2. Rent -$550.00. Move into one of your houses. Savings: $550.
3. Cell phones and internet -$300.00. I get a landline + DSL from SBC for less than $50/month, including all the taxes and fees. Savings $250.
4. Groceries -$300.00. On the Motley Fool boards, they’ll tell you that’s way too much for two people. You should be able to get by on less than $100/month. Savings $200.
5. Entertainment -$100.00. Drop it. You can’t afford it. Savings $100.
6. Auto gas and maintenance -$150.00. If neither one of you has a job, where are you driving to? Do you have two cars, and if so, why?
7. Tithe -$300.00. You can’t afford this either. God will understand. Savings $300.
8. Savings $0.00. This is pathetic. What will you do in an emergency? You don’t have any room on the credit cards.
Total savings: $1400/month that you can put towards debt repayment.
The Muncy/Modesto house seems to be the closest to being above water. If you go out there, get the pool cleaned up, get it ready to go, maybe you can sell that one and keep it from going through with the foreclosure. Then maybe you can build some momentum from that.
Do you know a pool cleaning company that needs a website? Maybe you can trade your mad web skillz for a pool cleaning.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE PASSING PARADE…
–As some have mentioned, given that Mrs. Serin has presumably a limited budget for activities and entertainment, and is without the burden of a job or children, exactly what does she do all day, day after day?
–Casey himself is an intelligent, ambitious young man…apparently without any financial common sense whatsoever.
Looking at the mind-boggling financial statement, what stand out most are the credit-card APRs and the CashCall loan. What kind of denial must he be in? What does he say to himself at those quiet moments at 3 am when the self-delusion dissolves and the cold reality surrounds him?
–In California a lender can only reclaim the property; the lender cannot go after the borrower personally. Does anyone know if the other states are the same? If so, then the endless posts about going bk are true–Casey would have a blank slate and a fresh start, although bad credit for 7 to 10 years.
–Where are his parents, siblings, other family members? Are they all oblivious?
–Darnell da Realtor, does Wikipedia write in Ebonics?
–Can we get that Amy the realtor to send so