December 9th, 2006 8:45 pm
Good Real Estate Agents, Creative Real Estate Investors and Sweet Deals
The latest episode of Flipper Nation named “The Blame Game” made me think about my experience with my team players: real estate agents, loan officers and contractors. I have much to say about all the different players. However, today I will focus on real estate agents.
To tell you the truth, I haven’t used real estate agents that much because I like to structure my own creative win-win deals directly with the seller.
I learned a bunch of unconventional buying and selling techniques in real estate investing seminars. In my experience, if a real estate agent does not understand the technique, he or she automatically assumes that it must be illegal / unethical.
Real Estate Agents = Standard
I have nothing against realtors but too often they are un-equipped to solve challenging problems for motivated buyers / sellers. That’s because real estate agents are taught in realtor school to list houses and do everything the “standard” way.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not hating on the realtors or the standards. I think rules are necessary to keep the industry in shape. I respect the fact that a licensed real estate agent had to attend and pass several real estate classes and learn real estate law. I wish they covered real estate law in my seminars.
However…
The issue here is that most real estate agents are trained to deal with a NORMAL buyer / seller. The kind of seller who has a nice home and is not in any hurry to sell. This way the seller can afford to keep the home on the market at top dollar until a highly qualified buyer comes along.
On the buying end, most realtors are trained to deal with NORMAL buyers. The kind of buyers that have excellent credit, a good job and 20% down-payment.
There is nothing wrong with that. Simply, a real estate agent is trying to make their commission in the most efficient way possible. A realtor has a family to feed and cannot afford to waste time with problem houses and looser buyers. Real estate agents by nature are trained to deal with good inventory and A credit buyers.
That’s why most real estate agents will never touch pre-foreclosure houses (like mine), especially if there are repairs needed and no equity to drop the price.
Real Estate Investors = Creative
Creative fix ‘n flip real estate investors are not much different from real estate agents. Like agents, we are paid to put together sellers and buyers and collect a profit in between. The difference is that we act as principals in the transaction.
We buy the house, fix it up and re-sell the finished product to an end user for a quick profit. (Not to be confused with buy ‘n hold investors who are in the deal long-term for cashflow and/or appreciation, although, they too shouold use creative buying techniques.)
The big difference between agents and fix ‘n flip investors is that we’re trained to deal with MOTIVATED buyers and sellers. We get paid to solve real estate problems. Solving problems takes expert knowledge and most of all creativity!
Helping Motivated Sellers…
We work with sellers who need to sell YESTEDAY and have no money or time to do repairs or no equity to drop the price. Perhaps the seller is facing foreclosure (like me) or need to relocated because of a job transfer or are selling because of a divorce or death in the family, or whatever.
In all these cases we are dealing with a seller who needs to: a sell fast and sell as-is. Only a creative real estate investors can help here. Instead of listing houses we buy houses.
Helping Motivated buyers…
We help “hungry” buyers as well. These are credit-challenged buyers who may have trouble qualifying for a conventional mortgage but would love to own. They have a dream of home ownership but don’t know how to achieve it.
If these credit-challenged buyers have some money to put down and have a stable job we can help them realize their dream! With seller financing (or lease options) we give them a chance to move into the home, help improve their credit and help them refinance into a traditional loan down the road.
Most real estate agent will not “waste their time” with a credit-challenged buyer unless they can show them a valid pre-approval. That’s why there is a need for creative real estate investors.
The Nature of a WIN-WIN deal
As creative investors we get paid to solve real estate problems for buyers and sellers.
- Priority #1: take care of the seller / buyer (their win)
- Priority #2: make money (my win)
- 1 + 2 = Sweet RE Deal!
If I am NOT doing #1 then I am letting greed drive my business and I will not be able to sleep at night. If I’m NOT doing #2 then I won’t be around long enough to help many sellers. The more people I help, the more money I make and vice versa.
My Bitter-Sweet Deals
Every single house I bought was from a motivated seller who needed a fast, as-is sale to solve their problem. That’s the only way I can buy a house at a discount, solve the seller’s problem, and still stand to make money.
I say “stand” because I obviously lost money on most of my deals. And it wasn’t because I didn’t buy below market. I failed in the fix-up and re-sell stage. True, I should have bought at a deeper discount to account for this. However, the cliché among investors “You Make Money When you Buy” doesn’t tell the full story. Besides buying you have to know how to fix and flip too. That’s what I need to improve on.
At least I was doing the right thing by solving the seller’s problem as my #1 priority. That’s the beginning of a sweet deal. All my sellers were happy to do business with me and I can sleep at night knowing I treated them fairly. (I should have collected some letters of recommendations, oh well, next time.)
This makes me want to do more deals to help more sellers (and of course make money this time). As I learn from the bitterness of my mistakes the “sugar content” on my future deals should increase.
Now some personal examples of doing sweet deals with and without a real estate agent…
Example of Using a “Creative” Agent
Salmon Falls Dr, Sacramento, CA.
This was my first ever real estate purchase back in 2002. It was a fixer-upper condo I bought for $105,000 to use as my personal residence. I was 19 and got tired of living in an apartment. With the help of a competent loan officer I used a no-money-down full-doc first-time-buyer FHA loan to get in the game. (I was only making $35,000/yr as a programmer.)
This was an out-of-state seller and who got tired of putting up the the tenants. The condo was a big mess inside. Even with no construction experience I can tell there was a lot of deferred maintenance. Seller was motivated and didn’t want to deal with evicting the tenants and doing any repairs. This is an example of a problem that needed to be solved.
The awesome realtor who I used was a referral from my parents. I had no RE experience at this time but she held my hand through the whole thing and thought me a few tricks.
She showed me how to ask the seller for a $5,000 cash-back at close for repair money. The “repair money” was fully disclosed as such on the contract and settlement statement and everything was above-board. (I’m proud of that!) The seller was happy to get rid of this thing and not have to worry about repairs.
The deal closed quickly with no problems, I got my first-ever cash-back-at-close. Win-Win! I fixed up the condo by myself with my dad’s help (Yes, I can swing a hammer), lived in it for a year and sold it for a $35,000 net gain. Sweet!
I used the same realtor on the the sale because she already proved to be creative and competent. Not bad for my first fix-n-flip deal and I wasn’t even trying to be a real estate investor at this time. (Granted such profit was only possible because of the hot California market at that time, but still…)
Example of Not Using an Agent
Calla Way, Sacramento, CA.
After I got married in 2004 I wanted to become a full time real estate investor (still feeling good from my first flip). After reading books, listening to CDs and going to seminars, I bought the Calla Way house. There were not agents involved.
I followed the instructions and found a motivated seller. It was a nice family who needed to relocate because of a job situation. I structured the deal on my own using a sweet home-cooked one-page contract.
Before that they had the house on the market with a realtor since May. The house was nice, no repairs needed, and had plenty of equity. However, the market just started to show signs of a slow down and the realtor was over-pricing the house.
By August the seller got frustrated and searched for a “private investor” online. That’s how they found me. I gave them a low-but-reasonable as-is offer and promised to close in a week. They initially refused but after a month of no activity they let the agent go and called me to see if the offer is still “on the table”.
After looking at the changing market I lowered my offer to be on the safe side. I still promised the one-week as-is no-hassle close. They agreed.
I performed as promised and closed it in 8 days - funded on the 7th and recorded on the 8th, I think. Even though I was using a conventional 100% loan, my awesome mortgage broker was able to get everything ready ahead of time and pull off an amazing 7 day close.
The seller was happy! It was a WIN for them as they got to finally move and buy their dream home in another neighborhood. True, they sold the house at a discount and gave up some equity. However, the convenience and the speed of my buying service was well worth it to them.
It was a WIN for me because I got $30,000 cash back at close in order to have money for a few mortgage payments until I resell. I also used the money to pay off my almost $30K of credit card debt to improve my credit score so I can do more 100% loans. My conservative wife was very happy to have our consumer debt payed off! Win-Win-Win. Sweet!
I sold this house creatively as well. Again, because there were no realtors involved I was able to structure a sweet deal here too. I bought the buyer’s old house on Burdett Way and helped him get financing to buy my house on Calla Way. We did a simultaneous escrow that closed on Jan 3rd.
The buyer was very happy to be able to move up to a nicer house in a better neighborhood AND sell his old house in a so-so neighborhood all in the SAME transaction! What kind of a realtor would help him do THAT?
True, I’m still stuck with the Burdett house. And yes I did pay a little more than I wanted to. Through this experience I became friends with the buyer, his wife and his kids. I was glad to be able to help them out. It was a true win for them. And since I was able to get rid of Calla Way and secure my $30,000 gain, it was a pretty good deal for me too.
The lesson…
A creative investor can put together win-win deals with or without a realtor. But in my experience the truly creative deals happen when you work directly with the buyer/seller.
They say there is always more than “one way to skin the cat” and “you gotta think outside the box”. All true. I like to say “WIN-WIN or NO (SWEET) DEAL!”
Related Link: Real Estate
210 Comments
December 9th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
http://www.myebid.com/cgi-bin/.....ingID=2940
I bought a shirt, I hope it’s of good quality.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Not all real estate agents are created equal. Considering that my start in real estate was with the zero down, make a million late night infomercials to which I added the additional training BEFORE getting my license, I consider myself extremely capable of thinking out of the box. That very ability has benefitted my clients over and over varying from getting a bathroom installed in a “standard” transaction (Listing agent said seller’s father was a plumber and they always intended to install the master bathtub/shower and they did for my client before it closed!) to creating my own addendums to protect investor clients from shoddy work on the part of some listing agents. An agent’s caution to be law abiding might have prevented your current dilemma despite the fact you think it’s because the agent doesn’t understand!
December 9th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
are you on crack?
December 9th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
I can feel my IQ dropping as I read that post. I may be too stupid to wake up tomorrow morning.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
“I like to structure my own creative win-win deals directly with the seller”
Yes - you are REALLY good at this! A core competency for sure.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Good post, Casey. I may not agree with everything you wrote, but at least it was informative and not about silly stuff like Jamba Juice. Keep up the good work!
December 9th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
everytime I see such a story of you (’I am this, my collegues do that, and make loads of money’) I think of where you are now…. and laugh! you’re a joke Casey, admit it. unless some saint comes flying by to help you out, you will only get worse, and worse….
this post is the biggest joke I’ve seen so far.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
“I learned a bunch of unconventional buying and selling techniques in real estate investing seminars”
Yep, buying at over-market prices at peak of bubble, then sitting around and blogging while the bubble bursts is quite unconventional. You were clearly paying attention during that lesson.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
“I have nothing against realtors but too often they are un-equipped to solve challenging problems for motivated buyers / sellers”
‘challenging’ = illegal
‘motivated’ = desparate
December 9th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
“A realtor has a family to feed and cannot afford to waste time with problem houses and looser buyers”
‘looser’ - LOL!!
You are absolutely untrainable and hopeless!
December 9th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
“We buy the house, fix it up and re-sell the finished product to an end user for a quick profit.”
…and hows that workin’ out for ya, sport?
December 9th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Wow - so many delusions, errors in thinking - not to mention spelling and grammar problems…
December 9th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
“True, I’m still stuck with the Burdett house. ….. And since I was able to get rid of Calla Way and secure my $30,000 gain, it was a pretty good deal for me too.”
Huh ?!?!?!?
How’s the weather on planet unREalistic today? Sweet and sunny I bet.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Now I’m completely convinced that Casey is just writing flamebait posts to get more comments/hits on his blog.
So Casey… you decided to spend a couple of hours writing and outlining what a “sweet” deal is when you could have spent the time marketing your current houses for sale? Are you insane? The grammar and tone of your post… it’s almost as you’re facetious. I can’t tell if you’re really smart for getting people pissed (thus more web-traffic) or just really stupid.
My bet is that it’s both. You’re really that stupid where you think of yourself as a great real estate investor, and at the same time you probaby want to increase your traffic by writing something outlandish.
Casey, you wouldn’t recognize a sweet deal if it slapped you in the face.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
I think you’re still living in la-la land. You were able to “structure” these deals only because the whole mortgage-real estate complex is corrupt. Do you realize you are the stooge/sucker of the whole corrupt complex? Of course you don’t. Because here you are on the verge of bankruptcy and ruin, and you write a self-congratulatory missive on “win-win” deals. Sorry to break it to you, you lost, lose, and will lose.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
BFFChucky: “I can feel my IQ dropping as I read that post. I may be too stupid to wake up tomorrow morning. ”
Well said, well said!! I too felt my neurons doing unconventional, yet sweet, multi-dimensional phase shifts.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Casey, well written, and it’s evident you are serious about learning. I find it hard to want to digest what you’re writing though, soley based on the fact that your credentials just aren’t there yet. Keep plugging away though. The sooner you get yourself out of this hole, the sooner you can start a new, financially-clean life.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Casey, let’s see how creative you get when you are behind bars.
Any sweet deals?
December 9th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Enough, this is a fake, these stories are fabricated. He is making more money from this site than the actual real estate that he “owns”.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
What wonderful bait! I have to make myself stop for the night. Possibly your first 400-post thread?!
The Google ad-sense counters will be spinning madly.
I now understand that you are not paying to attend a class next week. You’re getting paid $50K to instruct a class on “Creative win-win sweet RE deals” - right!!?? Congrats!
December 9th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
After reading Casey newest entry, my IQ level also dropped a few notches.
That kid can sure bring in add clicks.
My comodo Fire Wall reports at least 7 different site hits when I open this site.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Does that mean you never paid taxes on the $30k you got from the Calla Way house?
I refer you to:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf
Since that happened in a prior tax year, if you didn’t pay those taxes, you are very exposed to one of the readers here reporting you to the IRS. The IRS pays _rewards_ for turning in tax cheats!
December 9th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
synchro: you must learn the intricate art of communicating with the naive yet wily native - that will be “loose, loose and will loose” in Caseyspeak. Or better yet, if you wish to quickly get the native’s attention, “totally sweet win, win and win deals.”
December 9th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
“I haven’t used real estate agents that much because I like to structure my own creative win-win deals directly with the seller.”
—————-
Just a couple questions for clarification, Casey:
1 - How do you like to structure your uncreative deals?
2 - How do you like to structure your win-lose deals?
I can hardly wait.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Do you really think you will be able to pull yourself out of $2,000,000 in debt. The answer is no. The real estate market is far from coming back. This is just the beginning of the real estate collapse that should last well into 2009. With ARMS resetting you should see even more foreclosures in 2007. You should have declared bankruptcy after you first investment went sour. Im sure your credit score is well south of 500 now.
I think you should call up Suze Orman and ask for her advice. Im sure she would be able to do a full hour on your story alone.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
By the way those late night info commercial on buy and selling Real Estate is a JOKE. Anyone who believes that garbage is quite pathetic.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Hey why dont you contact Robert Allen , he could help you sell them lol….set up a creative selling boot camp ..just dont wear sandals - this blog is like watching a delusion in writing - its such great entertainment..why dont you set up another website to compete with flipper nation..you could call it flopper nation - better still you could go to iraq as a semi delusional chemical weapon ..serin gas
December 9th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Hey every one check this out:
http://digg.com/offbeat_news/O....._Age_Of_24
December 9th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Ummm,
Casey I don’t think you have enough experience to be criticizing real estate agents. There are plenty that focus on investor buyers and selling distressed properties. Had you used these agents in your transactions, they would have at least told you that your deals were not on the up and up.
The ethical ones would have discontinued their representation of you alltogether.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
This is one of the courses that Casey will be TEACHING at my real estate seminar this coming week. Isn’t he good? Isn’t he convincing? Come on, you got to admit it people.
I just couldn’t pass up employing Casey and putting him to work teaching at my seminars. I mean this guy really believes it. With that quality, imagine what he can sell to the rubes who sign up for my seminars.
I’m hoping that this one week, evolves into the turnaround for both Sunshine and me.
J. Whittimer Lightning
December 9th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
In my state they have Real estate fiancing as required courses, along with contracts, and real estate law…and guess what casey….all of the wraparound mortgages, creative financing, simultaneous closes, and even SUBJECT 2 is covered as STATE MANDATED.
‘
ALL of the real estate brokers in Oregon know exactly what creative REI’s do and the funny thing is….THE NAR’S code of ethics prohibit any Realtor from participating in Subject 2’s as it is unethical, illegal in some cases, and predatory.
You say you look for Motivated sellers..NO…WRONG…people like you are predators that prey on people in bad situations so you can make a fast buck. And to say your helping people out–your end buyers when you know they have a high likelihood of defaulting or never exercising their option to buy…bah..your a real piece of work casey.
and to say that realtors look for A borrowers is ridiculous. The majority of the population is not A borrowers…It is just retarded to say that agents would alienate almost the entire customer base of America. With all of the first time homebuyer programs out there, Realtors deal with people from A credit down to subprime because there are tons of programs FHA/VA etc. that people can take advantage of to become homebuyers.
Do some research before you go and spout off at the mouth again casey.
PS after reading this blog for a month or so casey really pisses me off to the point that I think violent thoughts about him for defrauding the American public, lenders, and undermining the entire loan system as well as helping drive the housing prices up to unsustainable levels.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:25 pm
Don’t put yourself into more legal hot water.
“Realtor” is a registered trademark for a member of the National Association of Realtors.
Of all the organizations in the world, this one really defends its trademark.
No need to worry yet. There’s a whole long NAR process for dealing with the media.
It boils down this is: You get five stern letters. Then they sue.
However, according to the NAR, “It has been our experience that only very rarely has resort to litigation by the Association been necessary.”
How reassuring.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
So… basically, what you’re telling is that you’re a little Uzbeki boy playing grown American men games.
No… better yet… you’re the “Dude! You’re Getting a Dell!!!” kid playing real estate games in “You’re Fired.. Get Out” Donald Trump’s world.
And you got screwed in the process.
Your Win-Win Sweet Deals involve REAL MONEY. Ms. Serin can kiss her CPA dreams goodbye, because you decided to play Santa Claus with your family’s money.
But at least you made someone else happy. Casey gets a medal!!!! HURRAY!!!!
Was it really a “Sweet” deal, or is it a stupid deal?
December 9th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
OK sir, that’s it, where’s the crack-pipe? Hand it over mister. No more crack for you! Mmmmmmkay?
December 9th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Casey:
By August the seller got frustrated and searched for a “private investor” online.
Now you’re the one who is frustrated, probably searching for private investors.
That’s how they found me. I gave them a low-but-reasonable as-is offer and promised to close in a week.
I’ll bet you’re getting plenty of low offers for a quick close, by potential buyers who consider their offers very “reasonable.” Evidently you don’t. And evidently buyers don’t care that you’re underwater.
They initially refused but after a month of no activity they let the agent go and called me to see if the offer is still “on the table”. After looking at the changing market I lowered my offer to be on the safe side. I still promised the one-week as-is no-hassle close. They agreed.
And so it goes. Buyers will continually lower their offers to you — to be “on the safe side.”
And someday you too will agree on the price, whether you want to or not.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:46 am
To “I think casey jumped the shark” who wrote:
“ALL of the real estate brokers in Oregon know exactly what creative REI’s do and the funny thing is….THE NAR’S code of ethics prohibit any Realtor from participating in Subject 2’s as it is unethical, illegal in some cases, and predatory.”
—————–
If you’re an agent, then you obviously don’t keep up with NAR guidelines. The NAR is currently organizing material for their association members to not only offer, but encourage their agents to offer “Subject To” transactions as a viable alternative to a short sale, or foreclosure. And any bank is eager for something creative to help curb or even eliminate taking back zero equity houses through foreclosure — or having to suffer a short-sale hair-cut on their loans for the next five years.
Sorry “jump the shark”. I’m not going to beat you over the head on this topic, suffice to say that not only is “Subject To” financing legal, it is the only way some sellers can save their credit. The NAR is onboard with “Subject To” because there is money to made with clients that have no alternatives.
I’m avoiding giving you a verbal spanking because of your ignorant comment(s).
Merry Christmas!
December 10th, 2006 at 12:48 am
Did you watch a lot of South Park to learn english? I’m trying to figure out your obsession with using “sweet”.
Every day your hole gets deeper.
Turn in the keys.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:26 am
haha, i love all this casey bashing - because you know what, he is making so much money off of this site right now, all thanks to you guys. meme guy suggests $24,000 a year, i would suggest a lot more. do you think he wrote ‘looser’ and added ’sweet deals’ a bunch of times for nothing? he reads every single comment to moderate this place, and is well aware of what ticks you off. his story is real, but he’s ’smart posting’, choosing keywords, phrases and an attitude to best suit his audience.
i wouldn’t be suprised if the last $4k loan at 36% interest, was in fact adsense money he is making a story about to sound even more outrageous. i also wouldn’t be suprised to hear if his job with ‘chris’ for $3000 a month was actually a job with his alter-ego as an adsense optimiser.
i am also confused as to whether casey is really stupid or really smart, but it’s certain he is making a ton of cash right now.
so the joke is actually on you guys for putting his traffic through the roof. if you truly truly hate casey as suggested by your commenting, don’t ever come back.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:32 am
While today’s blog is interesting, you appear to be disregarding your own “urgent” problems — have you forgotten that you said this JUST YESTERDAY:
“4) run an effective blog - writing a good post takes 1-3 hours…
Sometimes I wish I can just blog all day because I enjoy it and if I can spend more time responding to your questions/comments the reading experience will be even better. But I have responsibility to take care of.
“After 3 months I’m finally realizing that maybe fighting the fire and writing about fighting the fire is very hard to do at the same time. Or to borrow from a prior analogy: Watching a huge tidal wave coming at me and instead of running I am taking pictures of it. The view is good for a few minutes untill I find myself at the bottom of the ocean.”
Please: stop blogging for an entire= week — take care of your problems first. THEN tell us about them. It’s pretty clear you’re using blogging as an escape from reality (not that I can blame you), and even though you JUST SAID that you’re taking snapshots of a tidal wave… you are still there snapping off pictures at the approaching disaster. What gives?
If you’re blogging in your free time, fine — but don’t blog when you know you have work hard to solve your debt probs… and then be mystified that you don’t know where all your time went.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:55 am
And since I was able to get rid of Calla Way and secure my $30,000 gain, it was a pretty good deal for me too.
Come on, you won’t know until you’ve sold Burdett House how much of a win that was.
You need to finally stop thinking of your deals in terms of cash basis. Cash that changes hands at certain points is important from an operational perspective, that is, to keep you going. But profits (and losses) are a result of the whole deal, taking future repayments, original investments etc into account. That is, you need to look at equity.
I can’t believe even after all these experiences your writing still sounds like your confusing cash-in-hand with profit.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:24 am
Your recent entry has yet again amazed me Casey. Did your mom ever drop you on your head when you were a child?
December 10th, 2006 at 2:52 am
Yes Mr. Casey.
I wish you the best of luck when you are searching for your sweet deals.
It’s a very sweet world indeed.
Much sweater than grass wheat shot of Jamba Juice.
Swwwwweeeeeeet
December 10th, 2006 at 3:29 am
Wow. It is fun though isn’t it my fellow readers?
30k in profit
less taxes
less the time-value of the money
less expenses
this on a deal valued at what 400k? Looks like a single digit return to me. Casey still has not a clue of the risks of borrowing such large sums of money. None.
I love it that he does a #2 on all his deals.
Indeed, in deed.
suh-wheat grass in the morning
no more grammar
no more punctuation
I’m King of the World!
December 10th, 2006 at 4:37 am
I’m going to ignore the idiocy of Casey writing “instructional” posts on how to be successful in real estate deals because it’s so obvious, so I’ll stick to….
“need to improve on”?
“next time”?
“more deals”?
“future deals”?
Casey, wake up. IT’S OVER!
December 10th, 2006 at 4:45 am
Great post Casey!
I agree with most of your article considering that I have done a couple of creative real estate deals myself. You seem to find the sellers easily enough, which is usually the hard part, now you just need to fine tune your exit strategy.
FrugalTrader
http://www.MillionDollarJourney.com
December 10th, 2006 at 5:04 am
Since almost every mortgage has a due on sale clause, and a “subject to” tranfers title, the note holder is not”eager” to participate in Subject To schemes, especially since no underwriting was done on the person who acquires the property in this manner. Plus, when the new owner defaults, which they often do, the original owner is still on the hook for the original note.
“Subject To” schemes are very popular with the equity strippers and “stop foreclosure” people of the world. The ignorant homeowners will bite at anything that seems to be the panacea for their troubles.
December 10th, 2006 at 5:14 am
Casey, all I can say is that I’m happy that you don’t have a RE license. This means there’s one less incompetent agent out there.
Maybe if you had used one of these ‘normal’ real estate agents, you might have learned a thing or two about the current state of the housing market. And maybe, just maybe, they might have been able to get you a ’sweet deal’. But because you like to lump us all together, you didn’t wish to explore that alternative.
I’ve got nothing against being unconventional or thinking out of the box, but you’re doing it to such an extreme, that your reality is going crazy. And your life is being turned upside down. But keep on keeping on.
December 10th, 2006 at 5:16 am
aaackk!!
I’m still hacking on a hairball after reading that you’ve borrowed another $4,500 at … what? … 36% + 10% fee…
Thhpptt!! I thought predatory lending laws were supposed to protect uneducated, immigrant suckers like you!?!
And you’ll use the money for .. what? … don’t tell me … another scammer guru seminar?!?
I’m officially BORED now. Time to take a nap in a warm spot. Going over to play with Hobbes later this afternoon.
Forget what I said about me being here to prove that a cat with a brain the size of a walnut is smarter than Casey … he didn’t need me for that! (yneone doesn’t need me for that either… [que high-pitched clueless whiney voice] “Why would anyone trash a property???…” PLEEEEEZE!! No wonder you love Casey! You are as stupid and naive as he is!
Sputnik_the_Cat has left the building…. (and scratched up all the furniture on the way out!)
Thhhpptttt!!!!
S_t_C
December 10th, 2006 at 6:02 am
Me: Dude, what’s my tattoo say?
Casey: SWEET!
Casey: DUDE!
ME: SWEET!
I agree with the other poster….the post this morning is the one that “jumped the shark for Casey”
Over and out.
December 10th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Look at your own contradiction.
It was a good deal to extract $30,000 that you have to pay back to get stuck in a house that won’t sell and will be foreclosed upon?
A creative Realtor? Wow!
Then you never should have failed, right? Because you would only do win-win deals, right?
I’m really beginning to pray this is a hoax, because it pains me to think you’re truly this self-destructive.
December 10th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Quit trying to sugar coat your stupidity. There is nothing “sweet” about any of your deals. You equity stripped the properties you bought for living expenses and committed mortgage fraud. You are in deep s*** .
December 10th, 2006 at 6:47 am
Good morning Early Riser! Are you up and at ‘em, chasing sweet RE deals?
December 10th, 2006 at 6:52 am
There is no more $ to be made in RE for at least 5 years.
The fact that ‘most people’ now realize this means its a collective self-fulfilling property (demand dries up, prices flat or down)
Buying a house someone can’t sell means you now own a house that you can’t sell. Its pretty simple. And you are WORSE off than the guy you bought it from cuz you have to
1. make sellable($$$)
2. pay commissions/transfter costs($$$)
The reason all the sellers were happy to deal with Casey is that he was paying top dollar. There is rarely a ‘good deal’ to be had since the second you buy you have set the market price. If you really get a good deal the seller WILL HATE YOU by the time escrow closes in many cases. They know what market price is/should be and if you pay less they will resent it.
Getting a RE license and putting all your ‘flips’ into the MLS is probably the best way to do what Casey is trying. He wont do it because the seminar gurus advise to NOT get a RE license this is for two reasons:
1. many seminar people cannot pass RE exam (pathetic)
2. some semnar people afraid of being finger printed by the state (ex cons, cant pass background check)
3. Realtors subject to following state laws and cant steal homes in equity stripping/abusive land contracts/questionable wraps.
4. Judjes in lawsuits will come down very hard on licensed agents in disputes they are supposed to not be predators so more likely to lose in inevitable court cases.
5. If seminar guru tell you to get RE license virtually EVERYONE will have to take a few weeks months to pass exam meanwhile you cant sell them more ’seminar crap’. They operate on the ‘fleece the suckers NOW’ business model.
Anyway lawsuits and/or Real estate are the only way to make big money quickly nowadays. Good luck Casey.
Next time buy a house and then sue the guy you bought it from for a frivolus/fictional reason. Thats SOP in CA. Remember we are over run with foreigners/ out of staters ALL of whom are here to get rich quick, its rough here. No one is moving here for quality of life anymore.(opposite)
December 10th, 2006 at 7:03 am
“Solving problems takes expert knowledge and most of all creativity!”
You idiot!!! Paying through the nose for a few seminars doesn’t make you an expert at anything. Please share with us your various areas of expert knowledge.
December 10th, 2006 at 7:12 am
Hello Casey!
I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now. As a webmaster, I think you did an awesome job.
Have you ever thought that maybe web marketing might be your forte?
IMHO, you should just forget about real estate for a while as I imagine (I’m not RE investor) that it’s extremely hard to make money in such a declining market.
Just try to sell your houses as quick as possible but put most of your time into something else.
Why don’t you work on the ads on this site? You might get a better click trough rate if you maybe make them stand out in some way (like if you make them red).
Also, why don’t you start a few more blogs? You can probably make a very good living as a webmaster as you seem to have the skills for it.
Best wishes,
A fellow webmaster
P.S. Please don’t ignore this post because of the weird name and website; I’m only just trying to get a little bit of Google juice from you.
Thanks.
December 10th, 2006 at 7:24 am
If I could erase two words from human existance it would be “sweet” and “dirty”. Every time I read them on this blog I feel like screaming.
Casey, your vernacular does NOT put into anyone’s mind a business man of any kind, successful or otherwise. If you wanted to be taken seriously you would at least attempt to write and speak better than a 14 year old pot head. But then your actions are that of a 14 year old pot head as well.
OMG I just realized how you can get yourself out of this mess! Go to the people that make the “don’t use drugs” commercials, let them read your blog and listen to your rambling about more sweet deals for about 5 minutes and they will immediately sign you up to be America’s posterboy in their anti-drug campaign. Perhaps they will even sign you up for a series of commercials and you will make enough money to pay back every dirty penny.
December 10th, 2006 at 7:41 am
“The buyer was very happy to be able to move up to a nicer house in a better neighborhood AND sell his old house in a so-so neighborhood all in the SAME transaction! What kind of a realtor would help him do THAT?”
A realtor that wanted to get stuck with an underwater POS house in a bad neighborhood?
Did I get the right answer?
(They’re probably still laughing about sticking you with the Burdett house at that high price!)
December 10th, 2006 at 7:41 am
Mr. Flipper:
It seems the NAR is now even offering its members a course on the subject of “subject to” financing (though anyone can buy it).
From the blurb:
Whether you are an active or passive “Subject To” Mortgage Investor, you must know the key success areas to learn and master. Beginning investors often learn these difficult lessons the hard way.
December 10th, 2006 at 7:49 am
Casey:
I wonder: Did the other parties in your transactions actually cause you to lose — while making you think you won?
So instead of “WIN/WIN,” why don’t you try “LOSE (Win?)/WIN (Lose?)” as an approach?
This is where the other party loses something, but you lead them to believe they’re winning. You, on the other hand, win something, but make the other party think you’re losing.
Try it on for size. You could indeed lose sleep over it. But if that’s the case, then I think you’re going to have to choose between sleeping at night and real estate success.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:06 am
When “flipping” a house it is usually imperative to get rid of it quickly.
Also, why take money from the deal and pay off debt before finishing the deal. You should sell the house and realize the money and then pay the debts.
I still don’t understand why you kept buying houses. At some point you realize you’re going to lose money and bite the bullet, like a bad stock purchase.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Not really sure where you’re going with this post. What do real estate agents have to do with your deals? I’m sorry that somehow they (we) don’t have an intense desire to extensively market to a bunch of people needing unconventional financing to buy an overpriced home. One of the principles that I try to operate with is trying to help people get into a better situation for themselves. Buying an overpriced home, at an overpriced amount, in a declining market does not get my clients into a better situation.
You’ve also admited that you perhaps did not follow one of the guiding principles of a successful investor - that of profit being made at purchase time. I’m hoping your real estate college course doesn’t just give you a passing grade for just paying the entrance fees. You need to learn this stuff and remember it. You’ve also written that you need to learn the rehab portion of your investment strategy better. What have you done in the past three months to better yourself in this area. With three properties within roughly 50 miles of your home, you’ve got ample opportunity.
Good luck
December 10th, 2006 at 8:18 am
PS after reading this blog for a month or so casey really pisses me off to the point that I think violent thoughts about him for defrauding the American public, lenders, and undermining the entire loan system as well as helping drive the housing prices up to unsustainable levels.
Jumped the shark:
How could about $500K-$600K in losses “undermine the entire loan system?” If one borrower can undermine the loan system, then the loan system deserves undermining.
The market for mortgage money is set by supply and demand. There’s a lot of money flowing in — a healthy chunk of it from hedge funds and from offshore. That’s why rates are relatively low.
Evidently there’s not enough opportunity to fund conventional loans, so investors are begging to fund subprime/stated income/NINA (no income/no assets) notes. If they got skewered, too bad. They knew the risks they were assuming.
As for unsustainable prices, who cares? Unsustainable prices will certainly fall to sustainable levels. Personally, I don’t care if the price I ask for my house is “sustainable” or not. I’ll take the highest offer I can get.
If I find a buyer who is willing to pay my “unsustainable” price, and you find that price a problem, then you (or “the American public”) can pay me the difference and I’ll lower the price accordingly.
If buyers are paying unreasonable prices, then it is they who are unreasonable. This isn’t a public policy issue such as insulin for diabetics. Nobody needs to buy a house.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:18 am
Now, now, Mr. Serin: here you are in your room spending the whole morning typing away on your laptop. Didn’t we agree when you first came here that you would spend not more than one hour a day on it? If you continue like this, we’ll have to consider putting the computer behind the nurses’ desk, so that you’ll have to get permission each time you want to use it. You don’t want that, do you, Mr. Serin?
Please. Don’t be silly. We’re having a wonderful lunch today, with your favorite dessert–green jello. Then, it’s naptime. Later, you have Group. You’re making so much progress in Group when you attend. Everyone likes you. And then, late in the afternoon, Nurse Ratched will be giving a workshop on crafts. Today, you’ll be learning how to make wallets!
Did you know, Casey, that many of our former patients have learned how to support themselves making wallets, purses and keychains using the very skills they learned here? It’s a wonderful way for you to support yourself and learn how to become a productive member of today’s society. Just like an adult.
I think there’s even the possibility, down the road, that you might be able to get your own apartment, go alone to the store to buy groceries and even get a bus pass–so you can go anywhere you want in Sacramento! Without having to get permission from anyone! Wouldn’t that be a “sweet deal”!
Mr. Serin, you keep using phrases like “win-win” and “attracting success”. As long as you are here letting us work with you to get better, this is a “win-win” situation for YOU! Isn’t that great? Now, please, put the laptop away and come out to the dining hall. Your friends are waiting. I think we’re having meatloaf today. Yum! You like meatloaf.
No, you don’t have to eat the peas if you don’t want to. And no, you know that we don’t offer Jamba Juice here, but I think the orderly has some apple juice concentrate.
Now, I have to make one quick phone call…
Yes, Dr. Mannheim, he’s coming to the cafeteria. Yes, yes,…he continues to talk about “wrapping mortgages”, whatever that means, but I think it’s harmless. No, there will be no need for medication today.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:25 am
Oh hell this just gets better and better. Just when I think “Sweet Deal Serin” is out of material, BAMO he whips out another zinger. Casey you are the BOMB! I dont know if you write your own stuff or you have a staff to make this s$#t up but its the greatest. I haven’t had this much fun since Al Gore started the internet. I really get a hoot from all the people who care so much and are tring to give you good advice. What a bunch of stooges! Keep it coming, please.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:26 am
I don’t suppose the 30K cash at close on the Calla Way deal was fully disclosed during escrow. You say it was 100% financing, which means you lied to your bank to get that “sweet” deal. You have no morals, no ethics, and clearly no business sense. Supposedly, this post shows how to be “creative” and make money in real estate. In reality, it shows how to BREAK THE LAW to make a short term gain, which didn’t really work out for you anyway. What a waste you are.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:26 am
I like this post. It’s silly!
December 10th, 2006 at 8:34 am
After reading the latest post, I an convinced this site is a scam. No one can be that stupid.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:37 am
I have been reading your blog for a couple of months now. Been trying to figure what your angle is … I mean, it’s hard to believe anyone could be this profoundly ignorant. Even someone young and uneducated…
But the penny just dropped with today’s post. You’re trying to become an RE guru, aren’t you? Today’s start is amateurish at best, but even if you get better - who in their right mind would take RE advice from you? You’re not an RE investor - you’re not even an RE speculator. You’re just an idiot.
Man, you are SO totally hosed.
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
December 10th, 2006 at 8:41 am
Well I guess 28 out of 30 days isn’t bad. Rolls eyes and shakes head.
December 10th, 2006 at 9:21 am
I think you should look into getting sponsorship from Jamba Juice. Seriously, do it.
December 10th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Turn off the moderation while you are gone for a week. We promise to be good.
December 10th, 2006 at 9:35 am
CASEY, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO WILL BE GOING TO JAIL.
WE ARE STILL IN BUSINESS, haaaaaa
December 10th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Casey, you are stupid, realtors have networks too and we’ll make sure that no one will show your houses to our clients since they’re all junk like yourself
December 10th, 2006 at 10:02 am
You couldn’t last a week Casey. Not even a week. You really are less than zero, Casey.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:03 am
structuring ‘win-win’ deals? really??? how many of those deals have been ‘win-win’? This post actually had me laughing before I read what Sputnick had to say.
RE agents are a necessary evil for beginners. No two ways about it. And anyone who has done less than five round trip (buy/sell) transactions is a beginner. . . ..
Sput-nick! Sput-nick! Sput-nick!
All other posters are just posers.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:03 am
While you’re at it, please list all the deals in which you did this - “We buy the house, fix it up and re-sell the finished product to an end user for a quick profit.”
It’s getting boring watching you act like a deluded fool.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:13 am
Ok Casey, you’ve convinced me that you’re more spun out than ever with this statement - “We work with sellers who need to sell YESTEDAY and have no money or time to do repairs or no equity to drop the price. ”
We? What is this “we” junk? Get real. You can’t even move your own bad deals. You are not an investor. You never were. You were just a clueless dreamer who got scammed by seminars, scammed the banks yourself and then instead of doing something worthwhile with all that money handed to you, got stuck holding the bag and lost it all.
Why in the world would you expect anyone to listen to advice from you?
December 10th, 2006 at 10:24 am
“* Priority #1: take care of the seller / buyer (their win)
* Priority #2: make money (my win)
* 1 + 2 = Sweet RE Deal!”
BWAHAHAHA. Oh my.
Seriously, were you just listening to one of your “Rich Dad” CDs and transcribing it onto your blog or something?
December 10th, 2006 at 10:26 am
“the sooner you can start a new, financially-clean life.”
No such thing. Although I’m sure deadbeats and former bk’ers disagree, once a person goes through forclosure or bankruptcy, it will always remain a fact. They can never say it didn’t happen. They will never be “clean”.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:30 am
seeing as Casey hasn’t logged in for the morning can mean a few things:
- he killed himself
- he got arrested
- he is actually working on his houses today
- he is busy trying to get his Utah-ppl to pay for the house
- he is sleeping.
well.. what option to you think is most likely?
December 10th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Wow Casey, I’m SO glad your snappy little system is working SO well for you! Look at all the wealth flippers like you are creating, especially with the ’sweet’ little one-page contracts that unsuspecting buyers sign, protecting you from any disclosure or recourse.
Flippers certainly create lots of value. Especially when, in their cheap rush to ’slap lipstick on the pig’ (our realtor office jargon for ‘value-building flippers’), they leave cracked water and drain pipes in walls, granite counters unsupported, and (my favorite) live cut electrical wires that burn the house down the day after the poor buyers move in.
More and more realtors in my office will no longer accept listings from flippers, as their stellar reputation of quality renovation standards do not warrant their greedy price premium.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:33 am
The NAR is onboard with “Subject To” because there is money to made with clients that have no alternatives.
You go it, like the rest of the NAR’s questionalble bubble blowing, if there is money to be made, they’ll be there! That’s why so many have called them Realtwhores.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:36 am
What.. no mention of jamba juice?
minus 100000 troll points
December 10th, 2006 at 10:56 am
You approved 40 more posts….still refusing to post the truth?
Oh… here’s one on your blog site appropriatley under R-E FRAUD–www.mortgagefraudblog.com
Tomorrow,
www.fbi.gov
Tuesday,
www.irs.gov
The internet is cool. Lots of public records on your family, friends, business records. All public knowledge. You can’t delete them.
I’m just one little clown. Imagine what the pros will do to you.
Love,
Homey
December 10th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Casey sez: “Now every realtor hates me”
But great for building blog traffic & networking.
DUDE!!!!
You know what you should do?
Go after Scientologists!!!
“Scientologists scammed me out of my wrap-around, claiming that L. Ron Hubbard told me to stop making payments”.
It would generate huge traffic and publicity if you could get them to react.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:58 am
“But in my experience the truly creative deals happen when you work directly with the buyer/seller.”
The ONLY SUCCESS you’ve had was when you did it the standard way, that first time. All your “creative” deals you’re still stuck with!
You know what the first part of “failing forward” is? Recognizing that you’ve failed. You have to learn from your mistakes. You still somehow have it in your peanut brain that you’ve done well, so you won’t learn a damn thing.
Let me give you hint Casey. You didn’t fail at this or that stage of the process, YOU FAILED AT EVERY SINGLE STAGE:
1) You bought garbage houses in garbage areas that no one with a brain wants.
2) You bought them way too expensive.
3) You lied to get them. (”thou shalt not bear false witness” Mr. Christian. You’ve broken a commandment there.)
4) You bought them all at once due to your non-Christian avarice (one of the 7 sins no?).
5) You were too lazy to get them fixed up (and there’s another!).
6) You’ve got no talent whatsoever at getting them sold.
I don’t know why I waste my breath, but I’ll say what others have said to you many, many times. You want to learn something from your failure? Learn this:
YOU SUCK AT REAL ESTATE. NEVER ATTEMPT TO FLIP AGAIN.
People who succeed know what their strengths are. And they know the difference between “know” and “what I want to be true”.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Can we just find out who his lenders are and call them, and the IRS, and the FBI and have them “close on him” since he won’t do it himself and has the audacity to continue to preach? I am getting so annoyed with this schmuck! It’s also disgusting to know he continues to make whatever amount of ad money from his stinky s*** .
Watch this get moderated!
December 10th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Casey, not that it’s our business, but where are you going for a week? Also, you’re going to keep getting a lot of slack from people if you don’t spell “Loser” correctly. It’s NOT spelled with 2 “oo”s. It’s “Loser”. Just trying to save your butt here a little.
Are you considering bankruptcy now that your debt is massively accruing even more on a monthly basis?
December 10th, 2006 at 11:41 am
I’m seriously thinking of taking down all my ads… that will convince people that i’m not trolling but just trying to tell my story… yeah I will give up some revenue but its not about the money on this blog, never has been.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:45 am
By the way… the “I am Facing Foreclosure” shirts on eBid is NOT my thing. Some “entrepreneur” is trying to ride my popularity and make a buck. So if you’re buying that shirt thinking it’s going to help me out, that’s not the case. I give the guy credit for his “creativity” though. It’s probably the same guy who was trying to sell all my houses on eBid a month ago. Man, people love to leech. At least be upfront about it.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Casey is a liar from the start, that’s why we don’t like to contact him. We stay away from him.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:48 am
You haters just don’t get it.
Can’t you see Casey is a modern day Robin Hood?
He robs from the rich and gives to himself.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Now it’s time
To say good-bye
To Casey’s audacity
I-R-S
F-B-I
Why?! Becausee they like you, that’s why!
BIG H-O-U-S…. E!!!!
December 10th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Perfect. You’re supposedly in so much debt you’ll never repay it, but you care about what a bunch of strangers think, so you’ll remove one source of income.
Again. First lawyer, then shrink (for ADD diagnosis and treatment). If you’re a troll, big deal. You’re not taking any cash out of my pocket, so I don’t care.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:59 am
The FBI are all over mortgage fraud now
Oh, they certainly are. According to their site, it’s “Job #7″ (out of 10).
December 10th, 2006 at 11:59 am
Green jello, Casey.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:59 am
casey, keep the ads man, that’s not the point - just be honest about it - disclose what you’re making. you’re entitled to cash in on it, it’s your gig.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
“I give the guy credit for his “creativity” though. ”
and why didnt you think of this? I thought you were the master of creative deals… yea my a** .
@vague guru:
“He robs from the rich and gives to himself.”
that was my motto when I worked as a market maker in the option’s exchange. you thief! I shouldve TM’d that one
December 10th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
“Man, people love to leech.”
Says the guy who borrowed 2million+ from banks, friends, family and has no way of paying it back…
December 10th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
To be blunt, giving up anything that gives you revenue at this point would be foolish. Mind you, this is revenue, not cash flow, 36% APR loans are foolish. I am surprised you did not learn your lessons with the credit cards. Well, actually not surprised, but I had hoped. If the ads are giving you revenue, and cash flow that you dont need to pay back, then taking them down to satisfy the needs of a few haters would be silly. They will come back anyway. I have tried to give up this blog a couple of times and it keeps bringing me back to see the latest status of the train wreck. No one is going to leave just because they think it might be fake or you might be trolling.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
casey, why don’t you just tell us how much money you make from the ads? attach a scan of the check you received or a screencap of your account status with adsense.
you constantly avoid telling us EXACTLY how much you make from the ads. You told us you would tell us, then made up something about how google doesn’t allow you to disclose that information (which is bulsh!t) and now you say you’re considering removing all of the ads.
all you do is go off on another tangent when you’ve been asked a direct question, which has happened not only with this issue but with every other topic regarding your foreclosure mess.
i seriously hope you get arrested and sent to prison.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Hey Casey, that $4500 loan you just got is ILLEGAL as well:
“”a. If the transaction is deemed to be a loan, the California usury laws apply. That means the interest rate cannot exceed the greater of a) 10% per year or b) 5% per year plus the rate established by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on advances to member banks. As of December 2004 the federal reserve rate was 3.25%. Presumably the interest in an equity purchase situation would be calculated by comparing the buy-back amount to the purchase amount – and attributing the difference to interest. The contract could presumably designate a reasonable portion of that amount to costs and fees. Note that there is an exception for loans made or arranged by any person licensed as a real estate broker by the State of California and secured in whole or in part by liens on real property. For this reason, paying a real estate agent to handle the transaction should exempt it from the California usury laws.
b. Also, if the transaction is deemed to be a loan, the requirements set out in Financial Code Sections 4970-4979.6 to avoid a predatory loan must be met. Actually, those provisions should not apply if the right to repurchase lasts for one year or less so that it falls in the “bridge loan” category. As a result, if possible, any option to repurchase should last for no more than one year. If the right lasts for more than one year, then numerous requirements regarding the interest rate, amount of points and fees and the option holder’s ability to pay to exercise the option come into effect.”"
You can’t step out of the house without breaking laws, can you, Casey?
December 10th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Does that mean you never paid taxes on the $30k you got from the Calla Way house?
I refer you to:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf
Since that happened in a prior tax year, if you didn’t pay those taxes, you are very exposed to one of the readers here reporting you to the IRS. The IRS pays _rewards_ for turning in tax cheats!
briguy:
Prior tax year?
Think it over. No hurry.
What year is it now?
What year did he close?
Sorry. No IRS reward for you.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
“I say “stand” because I obviously lost money on most of my deals. And it wasn’t because I didn’t buy below market. I failed in the fix-up and re-sell stage.”
Nope. You paid too much. That’s what did you in. I have made my fair share of mistakes as far as management, leasing & construction, and still had plenty of success. The one mistake you must not make is to overpay. “You make your money when you buy” is right. You should listen to the guys who have been in the biz 15+ years and are still at it, and not be so quick to discard their advice as “cliche”.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Casey I understand you have gone through a lot, but I think you should also try to figure things out instead of promoting real state stuff..
Ed
http://www.happy-mind.blogspot.com
December 10th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
-
Casey - DO NOT TAKE DOW THE ADS!
1. You need the money.
2. You might as well get PAID.
3. You have blogs costs.
GOOD LUCK!!!
CF
December 10th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Casey, have a nice “trip”. I’m sure it will be a productive one. You will be in my thoughts. BTW, You should not do any blogging during that week. You really dont need the added stress as you are conducting your business. We’ll be here when you get back (believe me).
December 10th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
This should seriously be from The Onion, “Ask a real estate newbie in foreclosure how to be successful in real estate”
Casey actually thinks we come to this site to learn from him? If I wanted to learn something, I’d listen to someone who was ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL, not someone who failed spectacularly.
Casey, we only come to this site to see how long it will take you to declare bankrupty and/or go to prison. That’s it.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Dear Casey, are you Jewish by heritage and/or religion?
ברוך אתה ה’ א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו לקבוע מזוזה
December 10th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
Casey sells our information to third parties? Please post relevant information. If this guy is that much of a crook, I am not going to visit this web site anymore.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Casey rote: “Man, people love to leech”
Where are you living? Who gave you money to eat? Who then is the real leech on society?
December 10th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
Buying a house below-market doesn’t guarantee you’ll be in the clear. Your problem is that the market changed, and no one was willing to pay as much as you did for the house.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Casey,
I think your definition of a motivated buyer isn’t accurate. I haven’t come across a desparate buyer in the same sense of a desperate seller. Well, besides you that is.
Buyers usually have many options: to rent, sub-lease or even stay in a hotel given CA’s property market! I will admit that while the market was rising frantically over the last 3 years potential buyers were getting worried about the cost of not making a move. Now that the market has peaked and is on the decline there is no more pressure for a buyer to make a move quickly.
Therefore your argument of making a win-win-win-win-win-win deal starts to become win-lose fairly quickly in the current environment.
Remember what I said earlier? The wrap around Utah guys are screwing you now but if they give you a reach around it becomes a win-win. Everybody’s happy. Right Casey?
I’m trying to resist, but it seems like you really want me to become a hater. Don’t be like that, man.
-Big Cheese
December 10th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Anybody want to explain why “flipping” isn’t just “ripping-off”? I mean, suppose I buy a house for $X, and then do $Y of work on it. Isn’t the house worth $X+$Y? Why do people think it’s worth $X+$Y+$Z???
Oh, and Case, I’ve just trademarked “sweet.” Every time you use it, you owe me a fiver.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I am forming a discussion group on Yahoo called iamfacingforeclosure.com
Everybody is welcome.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.co.....reclosure/
December 10th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
A light bulb for me has sudden come on. Before his last post, Casey was a source of amusement and folly. Now, he has dropped his guard and shown himself to be the vile little twit that he actually is. To quote:
“It’s probably the same guy who was trying to sell all my houses on eBid a month ago. Man, people love to leech. At least be upfront about it.”
How rich! Casey Serin, the guy who has singlehandedly redefined lying, deception, and mortgage fraud… seems pissed that someone is trying to make a buck off him. HA!
In reality, Casey is a young sociopath, playing his game very well. He has no real sense of shame, no real remorse; he has nothing actually going for him but blatant manipulation of people and situations for his amusement and benefit.
His self-destruction is inevitable; he really needs to be locked up before he causes more harm to society.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
-
“FREE CASEY!” T-Shirts will sell much better - especially when you’re in the klink.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Hey Casey, that $4500 loan you just got is ILLEGAL as well:
Could be:
The California Finance Lenders Law is contained in Division 9 of the California Financial Code, commencing with Section 22000. Effective July 1, 1995, the Personal Property Brokers Law, Consumer Finance Lenders Law, and Commercial Finance Lenders Law were consolidated without substantive change into the California Finance Lenders Law (AB 2885, Chapter 1115, Stats. 1994). The regulations under the California Finance Lenders Law are contained in Chapter 3, Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, commencing with Section 1404 (10 C.C.R. §1404, et seq.).
Finance lenders and brokers, by number of licensees and dollars of loans originated, are the largest group of financial service providers regulated by the Department. A finance lender is defined in the law as “any person who is engaged in the business of making consumer loans or making commercial loans.” A finance lenders license provides the licensee with an exemption from the usury provision of the California Constitution.
Or maybe not.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
How come you never ask me for advice? All I hear is faint rumblings from your buttocks.
If you would only ask, I would tell you how to make it rich, quick! Just ask, and I’ll tell you the secrets of my success.
Not everyone can be a blue ball, you know…
December 10th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
LULZ!
Casey seZ:
“To tell you the truth, I haven’t used real estate agents that much because I like to structure my own creative win-win deals directly with the seller.”
FYI, so far most of your schweet dealz have turned out lose-lose. You use a lot of fancy words picked up from your mentor morons to basically describe how much “value” you’re creating for other people and the market.
Meanwhile you’re still screwed up against a wall like the drywall you didn’t inspect. So yeah, you really helped out a lot of people there by gobbling up worthless properties. All at your own expense.
Like your prlinkbiz friend who brags about her $500 flips that take months to complete and are on borrowed money. Suckers with no money of their own to invest, creating less income than someone working the drive-thru at Burger King. Woo-hoo!
Hey maybe that could be you new mentor. From RK to BK. What’s minimum wage up to these days? $5.50/hr? Dude you could’a been up $12,000 with your BK mentor. Instead you’re down the hole for $2.2million with your RK mentor.
Sue the RK bastard and get a job at the BK drive-thru. My percentage for all this free advice will be a double whopper with cheese every time my Benz pulls up. Silver hardtop convertible, not so pimpin’ factory rims. Extra ranch dressing on the side.
Cheers!
December 10th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Tomorrow I have to wake up and do another day in my cardiovascular anesthesiology rotation. I got out of work on Friday LATE (6:00PM) mainly because the first case was a Aortic Valve Repair, Transesophagel Echocardiogram, AND a frickin’ off pumb coronary artery bypass graft! And then to follow, a long-a** boring AV Fistula!
One of my tenants is starting to get upset I can tell because we haven’t fixed her heater yet. We’re working on it, but to diagnose and get estimates takes time. Plus we want to do it right.
When I read Casey’s blog, I think, damn. I’m lucky to be in anesthesiology! But I also think Casey is a smart dude and 100% can get out of this - maybe even unscathed. There’s something about his spirit that makes me think this guy has the power to be a two-millionaire. I say “two-millionarie” because these days one million isn’t that big of a deal.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
Let me understand this. You basically TRADED houses with your buyer, and you’re saying that you “secured your $30,000 gain.” The word “creative” isn’t the right one to describe your thinking, here.
In the first place, you didn’t GAIN $30,000 with the cash back when you first BOUGHT the house. You increased your DEBT $30,000. This might be where you’re confusing yourself (to the point that the rest of us wonder if you’re just playing us and making this whole outlandish story up). Cash back at closing, leaving the legal and ethical questions aside, means you’ve been LENT MORE MONEY which you have to repay.
Second, all this might have even worked out for you if you’d STOPPED HERE and focused strictly on fixing the house up to sell. You could even have lived in it until you sold it.
Everyone knows (or most know) that a house is only “worth” what someone will pay for it. If nobody else wants the house, then YOU have to pay for it. That’s why most people don’t buy several houses at once without having a job. That’s why people fix up houses before they try to sell them–to make them more appealing to more people.
That’s why most rational people save up money for a down payment instead of taking out loans for more than the purchase price of a house. They don’t want to be held responsible for more debt than they have to, JUST IN CASE THEIR PLANS DON’T WORK OUT.
No “plan” for the future is certain to work out. That’s why people buy insurance. That’s why you don’t have 28/30 days success at being an early riser, but 6/8. That’s why you need to see a lawyer now if you want to survive, instead of looking for “creative financing” to save you.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
If Casey’s takes down the ads, it would be the stupidest thing he has ever done (and that’s saying something). I don’t think even Casey is that dumb, especially when he is so desperate for cash.
Let’s face it, Casey may have failed at a lot of things, but this blog is one thing he has done that has been successful. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Casey is already making more from this blog than he is working for Chris.
I’m sure the reason he doesn’t disclose the adsense revenue is because then he can’t play the “I’m so desperate” card. Plus, I’m sure a lot of people (especially his lenders) would be pissed to find out he’s making $4k/month by bragging about his crimes and not sending them a single dirty cent.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:35 pm