January 25th, 2007 1:56 pm
Erin Morgan (PrLinkBiz) and Joy O’Day - NO DEAL!!
For those who have been on this blog for a while you might remember PrLinkBiz of NoLimitsLadies.com and the Phoenix investor. Here are some old posts to refresh your memory:
- Meeting Robert Kiyosaki Next Week!
- On Rich Dad TV with Robert Kiyosaki
- Back Home from Phoenix
- What Really Happened in Phoenix
- Asking Prlinkbiz to void the contract
Here is a recap of the story with a few more details:
- Via the USA Today article, Erin Morgan (aka PrLinkBiz) facilitated me getting some face-time with Robert Kiyosaki (watch the video). At first she made it seem like she wanted nothing in return, but to simply help me out, encourage me and “see me win”.
- Then there was some talk about getting hands-on help and/or doing a “mentorship” from Joy O’Day (aka Phoenix investor lady) in exchange for writing a book together or something like that. I didn’t know exactly what she had in mind but I said “sounds good” and wanted to look into it. At the same time I was talking with The East Coast mentor about doing a mentorship too but on different terms. I started moving forward and doing my due diligence on both deals so that I can choose the best one.
- Well apparently, Erin took my “sounds good, lets talk about it” as “lets DO IT NOW!”. Because the next day, she sends me this “contract” without even considering my needs and discussing the terms. Then we get on a 3-way chat online and both ladies are pressuring me to sign this contract.. NOW!
- I only had a few moments to glance at the contract before the chat and it looked like I was going to be signing my whole story away to them. That really bothered me and I was confused with the rest of the verbiage because as you can see below its very vague. I kept thinking - why is there so much pressure? I was REALLY concerned over the whole thing I was really questioning their true intentions. Up to that point I truly believed that they were looking out for my best interest (I am too trusting).
- I refused to sign the contract that night but told them I want to see them in person first. Erin give me an ultimatum at first (”you need to make up your mind by noon tomorrow”) but then reluctantly agreed to wait until I come to Phoenix.
- When I got there, I didn’t know what to think. However, because they were very nice to me and were still willing to facilitate the Robert Kiyosaki meeting I begin to reconsider my concern about their intentions. I thought, maybe they ARE really trying to help me out. And maybe the whole pressure to sign a last minute deal was a big mis-understanding on my part or perhaps I move too slow for them. I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt.
- After meeting Robert, I think I was what they call “star-struck”. I say that because I believe I was acting on pure emotions (and my already impulsive nature) when I decided the next day to just go ahead and sign this deal with Erin and Joy. Yes, I still had my concern about what the implications of the contract meant, but I sort of put that on the back-burner. I impulsively chose to trust these two ladies again and figured they are looking out for my best interest and would not screw me on this deal, even though I didn’t fully understand the implications.
- Then after I signed the deal I started to get a queezy feeling in my gut, as if I just made a terrible mistake. I proceeded to ask the ladies about what their plan was for me next. After talking for about 20 minutes I realized they don’t really have a plan!! They said that everything is still up in the air and we are going to BRAIN-STORM a plan now. There was also talk about me staying in Phoenix for a while and other crazy stuff that we never talked about before. I was under the impression that they had an actual plan for me! Right then, I remembered the offer from The East Coast Mentor and (he actually had some kind of a plan). And I thought how STUPID it was for me to rush into this deal with Erin/Joy without fully comparing both offers first. Yet another impulsive decision!!
- Right then I also realized that I never talked to my wife about all this (I just figured she would support me either way). I saw my escape. I excused myself and went outside to call my wife. She was pretty upset with me and confirmed how STUPID and IMPULSIVE it was for me to rush into this deal without meeting The East Coast Mentor face-to-face, which I was going to do right after the Phoenix trip. (The mentor even offered to pay for the trip!)
- She told me I need to rescind that contract immediately or ask them to void it one way and to give me time to think about it. I came back to the room and asked to be taken back to the hotel.
- On the way back I apologized to Erin for going back-n-forth and told her I need more time. I also asked her to VOID the contract. She REFUSED!
- I flew back to Sacramento and ended up loosing the East Coast Mentor too through all this. So I was back to square one, except for the meeting with Robert Kiyosaki, which was, of course, awesome.
- Ever since then I have been nicely asking Erin to void the contract or find a way to SETTLE IT. She has been largely ignoring me. Then finally I talked with her and offered to reimburse all the expenses her and Joy spent on me during the trip (a couple of lunches and one night at a hotel room). She said she will get back to me. She also said there is somebody who wants to buy my blog and if she gets a cut from it, we may be able to settle.
- Then there was some side fight between Yneone and Prlinkbiz / Erin which spilled over to my blog. Erin called me and ordered me to remove every comment by Yneone. I told her I’m not going to do that because I didn’t want to get in the middle of their fight. Plus I DID edit out the name “Erin Mortgage” from Yneone’s posts to protect Erin’s idenity. I told her that I keep this blog very organic. If I start deleting too many posts people will star thinking I’m spinning the story or something. So I told Erin I’m not going to touch those comments.
- That’s the last I heard from Erin. I tried to call her several more times and tried to meet when I went to Phoenix area for the second time. At least Joy has been showing me some professional courtesy and returning some of my calls and emails. Also Joy was nice enough to give me back the signed copies of Why We Want You To Be Rich
book so I can send it to Todd for sponsoring my first Phoenix trip.
- Keep in mind, this ENTIRE time I have been saying nothing but GOOD things about both Joy and Erin. Look at all my old posts and see. I really am still very grateful to Erin for bringing the whole Robert Kiyosaki thing so I continued to respect the Non Disclosure Agreement I signed with them and have not revealed any more on this blog than they allowed me.
- Then I started talking to Duane LeGate of HouseBuyerNetwork and REI.TV about advertising, sponsorships, and future possibilities. He seemed like a guy who genuinely wanted to help me as long as I “start taking full responsibility and commit to doing everything the right way”. However, he wanted me to come clean with EVERYTHING that might be a potential liability. I told him about the contract and that the ownership of “my story” may be in jeopardy. He told me he needed to see the contract before investing any money or time into my blog to prevent issues with future liability. I told him this might violate the NDA. He told me not to worry about it. I didn’t want to lose this opportunity to move towards financial stability. So I let him see that contract.
- After seeing the contract he pretty much laughed at it at the same time voiced his disgust with Erin and Joy because it look like they were just trying to take advantage of me. Yes, he said it was really STUPID of me to sign this contract and now I will have to deal with the consequences. He told me I need to get that contract voided or it might still have potential to come back and bite me in the butt. He even offered to call the ladies on my behalf. I think he tried speaking with Joy but she hung up on him.
- Duane was gone on vacation during the holidays and we just recently picked up our talks. At this point we’re ready to move forward with our sponsorship but this contract is still an open loop.
- Yesterday Duane advised me to simply post the contract on this blog and let the whole world see “how ridiculous it is” - which would in essence “call their bluff”. (loosely quoting)
Before doing that I send out one last email to both Joy and Erin to see if we can find a way to resolve this issue. Joy called me back and the first thing I heard is something about “thanks for letting me know so I can get my lawyers on this”. I ignored that statement and tried to talk to her as a person.
I once again tried to nicely explain/revisit my whole situation… again I apologized for rushing into the contract and backing out the same day… I reasoned that since no services have been performed on either side, “Why are you guys still holding me hostage with this stupid contract?”. I tried to ask her to get Erin to please give me a call and stop ignoring me.
She talked with me for a while and basically told me that “It’s not personal, its business”. She finally broke down and said something along the lines that Erin is ignoring me and basically keeping this contract in her back pocket for the future - when I become successful and actually have money to go after.
She also said that since I got Duane involved with me now they can go after both of us, because now there is “something to go after”.
After I heard all this I hung up the phone. There was no more talking about it. At this point any remains of any trust, any respect, and any “benefit of the doubt” about their true intentions completely disappeared. I rarely talk/think bad about anybody and I HATE to burn bridges. So this is out of character for me, but I’m going to make the following statement:
I am now convinced that Erin Morgan (PrLinkBiz) and Joy O’Day want nothing else but to SCREW ME and to TAKE ADVANTAGE of my situation.
Don’t mis-understand me. It’s still my fault for singing something and backing out. I am not trying to dodge my responsibility. I do deserve the consequences that I am experiencing right now.
However, I repeatedly tried to settle and own up to it. And the way I am being treated/ignored is just NOT RIGHT. This crossed over from “business” into “personal” a long time ago. So no more “Mr. Nice Guy”.
Based on Duane’s advice, here is that contract for all to see:
CASEY SERIN AGREEMENT
Tao Realty LLC, known as Joy O’Day, and Casey Serin below signed hereby enter into this Agreement on behalf of themselves, their heirs, known and owned companies, successors and assigns, and set forth following terms and conditions as constituting the Agreement in its entirety:
- The agreement shall go by the following name: Casey Serin
- The parties’ principle place of business shall be governed in the state of Arizona.
- The first day that the agreement shall begin business is: October 27, 2006
- The agreement’s operations shall be primarily in the following field or area of Promotions, Publishing, written content, E book, Web casts, Pod Casts, CDs, Motion pictures of all sort, Interviews, News Articles, Blogs, Radio, Audio, and any and all Public Relations.
- The agreement shall be capitalized as follows: Casey Serin will submit all written content, web content, future royalties, intellectual property, contacts, personal information, property information, lenders information in exchange for mentoring and guidance in his current real estate situation. Tao Realty LLC themselves, their employees, Independent contractors, Associates, owned companies, successors and assigns make no guarantees to the outcome of the current situation. Casey Serin agrees to hold harmless all parties noted above for any financial, public or personal hardship that may arise. Casey understands that Tao Realty LLC is not acting as any real estate professional, tax or law specialist. All laws and conditions are different in every state Tao Realty LLC is not presented as an expert in any form or fashion.
- Losses and gains on contributed control, capital and other property shall be Assigned as follows: Tao Realty LLC shall provide the client with effort to the fullest extent allowed by law and have full control over all media of any form involving Casey Serin. Casey Serin agrees to a non-compete position irrelevant of individual state laws for up to 10 years after the project dismemberment. All media, publications, including but not limited to advertisements; print, radio or otherwise, web sights, blogs, books etc will not release any client of Tao Realty LLC or any affiants as a client of in any manor.
The IRS’s general allocation rule and an independent contractor 1099 shall apply when applicable
- Salary, if any in the future, for the services rendered shall be determined by Tao Realty LLC.
- This agreement shall remain in effect by both parties, their heirs, known and owned companies, successors and assigns upon retirement, death or incapacity of any partner.
- Upon termination or dissolution of the Agreement, the Agreement will be promptly liquidated, with all debts being paid first, prior to any distribution of the remaining funds. All remaining fund will be the sole property and earnings of Tao Realty LLC.
- Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
So agreed, this 27th Day of Ocotber 2006.
And here is another thing I signed:
STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY
Tao Realty LLC of a nonexclusive license all copyrights arising under common law and all rights derivative therefrom, inclusive of the right to publish all or part of the submitted writing.
By Submitting the content, Casey Serin grant further permission to Tao Realty LLC to use his name and photos, also to publicize the writing, all without royalty or consideration.
This is an exclusive license. Tao Realty LLC retains all rights to Casey Serins work, including the right to publish or submit to others for publication.
STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY:
By signing this form, I am certifying that my writing is the sole creation of my own efforts and ideas. I understand that plagiarism is a crime defined as the use of another’s words, ideas or expressions without acknowledging their source. I further understand that plagiarism is grounds for immediate legal action.
I certify that all statements and information contained herein and in all my materials
submitted by me are true, correct and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I further certify that the writing was written solely by me and is my original work.
And the NDA:
NON-DISCLOSURE – CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This AGREEMENT is entered into by and between Casey Serin, Erin Morgan, and Joy O’Day as Tao Realty LLC, having a principal place of business in the state of California and Arizona (hereinafter RECIPIENT) Casey Serin and, Erin Morgan and Joy O’Day as Tao Realty LLC (hereinafter DISCLOSERS).
Witnesseth:
Whereas, DISCLOSER possesses certain confidential and proprietary information relating to any names, customers, vendors, subcontractors, software, technology, internet technology, business ventures and goals (all such information collectively referred to as “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.”)
Whereas, DISCLOSER is willing to disclose certain CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION to RECIPIENT for purposes of evaluation and/or for performing services for DISCLOSER and RECIPIENT is willing to receive such disclosure subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
Now, therefore, RECIPIENT in consideration for the opportunity to review the information presented by DISCLOSER hereby agrees to the following terms and conditions of such disclosure:
- RECIPIENT agrees it will not use, will not disclose and will hold in confidence DISCLOSER’S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, generally described above, except as expressly permitted by this Agreement, and that any product(s), technical information, programs, drawings, designs, diagrams or other documents associated therewith as well as discussions related thereto shall remain the property of and proprietary to DISCLOSER, may not be reproduced by RECIPIENT without the written consent of DISCLOSER, and shall be returned to DISCLOSER promptly upon written request by DISCLOSER.
- RECIPIENT agrees to make CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION available only to those persons within its organization as are necessary for evaluation thereof and/or for performing services for DISCLOSER, and that RECIPIENT shall inform each employee, agent or officer who receives such information of the confidential nature of the information and the conditions contained herein. Confidential information includes the DISCLOSER’S customers, and the RECIPIENT agrees that no contact with the DISCLOSER’S customers can be made or attempted without prior written consent from DISCLOSER.
- The CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION referred to herein and not excepted under any of the provisions set forth in Section 3 shall be considered confidential permanently measured from the date of its receipt, in any form, by RECIPIENT and shall extend to subsequent disclosers of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION generally referred to herein.
- This Agreement is personal to RECIPIENT and shall be governed by the laws of the state of Arizona to the extent applicable.
- If any restriction or provision contained in this Agreement is too broad to permit enforcement to the extent permitted by law or is declared to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such restriction or provision shall be modified by the court to the extent necessary for enforcement or validity, or if impossible shall be severed from the Agreement, with the remaining provisions to be enforced.
- Person(s) executing this Agreement on behalf of RECIPIENT personally warrant and represent that they have been authorized to sign this Agreement on behalf of RECIPIENT and to legally bind their respective employer.
So there you have it.
- Does this look like a win-win […] deal?
- Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to take full ownership of my story and offer nothing SPECIFIC in return?
- Is it right for them to be ignoring my repeated requests to cancel or settle?
- Is it right for them to continue preventing me from safely moving forward with sponsorships on this website?
- Is it right for them to sabotage my ability to make any money from my story in the future?
You be the judge!
Please don’t get me wrong… this is not really “about my story” in a conceited kind of way. Right now I’m in financial trouble and I need to start making money to pay the bills. At this point I don’t care about my story other than I am able to use the story to help other people and at the same time make some money on this blog through sponsorships, etc. So this is about me moving forward and digging out of this mess.
I’ve made plenty of attempts to “take responsibility” for signing this contract by trying to settle. They continued to ignore me. No more! I’m tired of playing those childish games. The whole thing is out and I’m moving forward! No deal!
And I don’t want to hear all this crap about how I deserve this because I “screwed” all my lenders with my “liar loans”. I took those loans out with FULL INTENTION to repay. Most of the cash-back money went to float the payments and towards repairs.
My intent was never to defraud ANY lenders by defaulting on these loans. I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable. I made mistakes with my deals and my repairs. The market crash also didn’t help me much. I was naive and inexperienced. My business failed. That’s it!
Go study the stories of REAL criminals and mortgage scammers and tell me how my story compares. If I knew I was committing “mortgage fraud” I would have never done it. Now all i’m trying to do is find the most honest and ethical way out of this. I’m tired of all this HATE for me!
=====
(Sorry for all this drama guys, very emotional post today. We’ll be back to my foreclosures, my wife’s credit cards, the top 5 ignored advice and other stuff in just a bit.)
349 Comments
January 25th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Hey dude, way to go! Signing the contract was stupid but at least you have some balls in publicly exposing these peoples’ true intentions. Now if only you’d start attacking and exposing your gurus, crooked mortgage brokers, appraisers and so on, we’d have some real fun with this!!
January 25th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Casey is now upset because someone tried to screw him!!!! IMAGINE THAT, our dumba$$ clown is upset.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha………(oooppppsss I feel off my chair)
I guess it is ok for Casey to rip off and defraud people but when his is taken for a ride look how fast he calls them out.
CASEY SERIN IS A LIAR, THEIF, CROOK, HAS NO MORALS AND ANY ONE THAT DOES BUSINESS WITH HIM IS A CROOK BY ASSOCATION. I can’t wait until you are put in jail.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Well, Casey, you’re lucky this time. That’s not a contract. It’s a meaningless jumble of words. Any lawyer can attack it on numerous grounds.
Ambiguity. Lack of consideration. No meeting of the minds to begin with.
It’s unenforceable. Don’t waste another penny calling these twits.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
“Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to take full ownership of my story and offer nothing SPECIFIC in return?”
Yes, because you signed a contract granting them permission.
“Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to be ignoring my repeated requests to cancel or settle?”
Yes, because you signed a contract granting them permission.
“Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to continue preventing me from safely moving forward with sponsorships on this website?”
Yes, because you signed a contract granting them permission.
“Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to sabotage my ability to make any money from my story in the future?”
Yes, because you signed a contract granting them permission.
Sorry, Casey, but that’s what a contractual agreement means. And that’s why people generally consult lawyers before signing them, especially if they contain clauses that they don’t fully understand.
But hey, lawyers are loosers who waste years of their lives with all that edyukayshun BS when they could have been chasing those sweet, sweet deals. Am I right?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Moron.
You say No Deal now, but by signing a few months ago you already made the deal.
Now you’ve broken the confidentiality portion of the agreement, good move there slick.
One way that it looks like you could get out of it is to retire. You could retire from the RE industry(which everyone wishes you would do) Do not pull a Michael Jordan and come out of retirement. Stay retired, thus ending the agreement.
Now I’m no contract attorney, but it would be worth looking into.
I think you got some bad advice on displaying the contract. While interesting to see all it will do is create more “haters” that cannot believe that you even agreed to sign this.
You do not understand business, AT ALL! No one does business just to help the other person, two people enter into business when it is mutually beneficial to both. That does not keep one party from trying to screw over the other, but hey if the other party is STUPID enough to let it happen, hey, that’s business.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Casey,
You really aren’t too bright are you. You want to break a contract so you can “sell” your same “rights” to Duane.
Answers to ?’s -
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Casey considering the thing you’ve done you’re the last person who should demand benevolent intentions from anyone. You haven’t had a win-win deal, and the way you operate guarantees a big lose on one end of the transaction.
Cut the pretense, and own up to what your doing. It also seems that you are just begging for a fight with the NLL and if the do fight back , just what are you going to do? Talk about impulsive, you’re at it again. You think Duane is going to have your back if the going gets tough? I do agree with your FU to the NLL, but we were already there, we (haters) never cared for her either. What the point of the whole melodrama.
Where’s the education you promised?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
So basically they own a worthless piece of paper from a guy that will not ever amount to anything. Ya what a real steal from them. Give me a break , your not going to make anything off this site and neither are they , so whats the big fuss about?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
No, you idiot, it’snot right for someone to screw over someone else. Like you screwed over all the lenders, the buyers of the Utah property (status anyone?), etc.
However, they were pretty upfront about what they wanted (you, your story, your profits, etc) and what they were willing to give you for it (nothing, as defined by “to be determnied later). AND YOU AGREED TO IT.
That’s the difference - you lied when you screwed over everyone else; they didn’t lie about wanting to screw you over.
Oh, I almost forgot - LOVE the revisionist history you give!
January 25th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I thought for a contract to be enforceable, both parties have to bring/give something to it.
If they haven’t given you anything they can’t hold you in the contract. However if they have offered and you refused, that’s another story.
Before you sign anything it should at least be reviewed by you, and should be reviewed by a lawyer. And remember when people are trying to force you to make a decision, it usually is a huge warning sign. Unfortunately you missed about 10 warning signs and pretty much walked off the cliff.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Answering your questions by #:
1) No it does not look like a win-win deal (sweet is stupid, stop using it - makes you sound naive and childish). But you signed it. Why sign something because these gals set you up to meet a questionable guru that you so admire.
2) No it’s NOT right they take full advantage, but then again Mr. Karma kid, it isn’t right for you to lie on loans. So basically, karma bit you hard on this. Overall, they tried to take you, you agreed in full and now you want out. Seems weak if you ask me. Don’t sign ANYTHING without consulting a freaking lawyer. ANY smart entrepreneur knows this. You claim to be gifted, why couldn’t you get over the exuberance of meeting a waste of time like Kurosaki (or whatever his guru name is) and do the right thing…and that is NOT signing such a lopsided deal?
3) It is NOT right for them to ignore your repeated requests to settle, but then again don’t you do that when you ignore the mail? I mean you’ve done this to lenders? Why get so worked up? Apparently neither of you people are very professional. For example, I return all email and requests within a DAY. But again, they were wrong not to discuss this with you.
4) Is it right for them to prevent sponsorships on this site…hmmmm…Yes and no. YOU signed the deal my little friend so basically they do have a right as outlined in the agreement you signed. Why sign something without knowing the potential risks? Oh yes, you do that regularly. No surprise (and I am NOT hating on you so give it up).
5) Is it right for them to keep you from making money on your story? Yes and no. YOU signed a deal you had no business signing and now you want out. I see this everyday in the entertainment business. People sign things and then whine when they didn’t do proper due diligence BEFORE signing the deal. Guess what? They should NOT keep you from making a few bucks selling your pathetic story which NOBODY will care about in a year from now. But YOU signed a deal. How clear do I need to be on this? YOU did this to YOURSELF. NOW TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND DEAL WITH IT.
If you don’t like it, sue them. I am quite sure a judge and jury would agree 100% with me that YOU screwed up when YOU signed this thing.
Not posting this will result in me posting this elsewhere…so allow me to “contribute” okay?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Casey,
While I am sadly not surprised that you managed to nearly sign away really the only asset you have — your story — for no consideration, I think you should draw some relief from the fact that I also feel that it is unenforceable. There is no consideration, no termination clause, nothing. I would ignore it.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Have you paid me yet? I don’t want my 500 FICO score to go any lower.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Casey: Simon Cowell said to a contestant on American Idol the other night: “sweetheart, if you want to succeed in show business, if the other person is down, kick them”.
That’s precisely what PRlinkbiz did to you. They saw what they thought was a chump, somebody who they can fly out like he’s a superstar.
Let me tell you this Casey: Simon Cowell is right. Nobody is ever looking out for YOUR best interest, ever. How you look at the world as a sugarcoated candyland is beyond me, but, people truly are out to take advantage of one another.
You want to succeed in this capitalist economy? You learn real quick to exploit others. That’s the way it works.
You’re being exploited on the price of gas, the $50k note, marketing that convinces you that wheat grass is any good for you; the seminars, the promises, the “education”.
Casey, you are like my 23 year old girlfriend in a lot of ways. She looks at the world through rosey lenses as you do. I’ve been training her to think like a pitbull that was just slapped across the jaw. Recently, she was able to get a person fired, she’s gotten a raise, and a few other bonuses. She’s playing the game as it was meant to be played.
F*** the golden rule. The silver rule: “do unto others before they do unto you”. Leave it. Breathe it. Savor it.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Oh and also, “loosing”, how many times? I think you just put it in there to distract everyone else from the actual issues.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
This is what the lenders would be saying about you if they had a blog:
* I gave Casey Serin, an unemployed 24 year old $2.2 million in loans that he has no intention of paying back. Does this look like a win-win sweet deal?
* Is it right for Casey Serin to take full ownership the property and offer nothing AT ALL in return?
* Is it right for Casey Serin to be ignoring my repeated requests to bring his loan balance up to date?
* Is it right for Casey Serin to continue preventing me from safely moving forward with payments on these loans?
* Is it right for Casey Serin to sabotage my ability to make any money from loans in the future?
The shoe is on the other foot. I don’t feel sorry for you in the least bit. Although, you can probably get out of the contract, you now know how it feels to be screwed over like how you screwed over the lenders.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
This contract is NOT ENFORCEABLE. Forget about it! There was no consideration. As an aside, it’s got to be the most poorly constructed “contract” I’ve ever seen. You now have one less thing to worry about.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I am not a lawyer, but I think that the contract is too vague and ambiguous, which may give you a chance to get out of it. Here are my *non-professional* opinions:
1.) “Casey Serin agrees to a non-compete position irrelevant of individual state laws for up to 10 years after the project dismemberment. ” - this is probably illegal or at least not legally binding. Many contracts have stuff like this, but it is in fact meaningless.
2.) “Casey Serin will submit all written content, web content, future royalties, intellectual property, contacts, personal information, property information, lenders information…” - they “own” you, but this actually may play out against them too.
3.) “…in exchange for mentoring and guidance in his current real estate situation” This is extremely vague and this is probably the part which will be in the center of the dispute.
Contact a real lawyer asap and consult with him about the contract.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
There are some conditions that make a contract unenforceable, but it has been 30 years since I took business law.
1. Fraud vitiates a contract
2. Duress
3. Incompetence
4. Underage of 18
cannot remember the rest, but I’d try #3 if I were you.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Sorry to say Casey, but that is a contract. There’s no law saying a contract has to make sense or has to have certain wording. Everything you signed will hold up in a court of law. Unfortuntately, you are worth $0.00 so it’s not like they can get any monetary judgments against you. And since your homes will be foreclosed they can’t put any liens against you. But, and a big BUT, if you ever do come out of this and they decide to sue you, you would surely lose. But then again, you wouldn’t listen to an attorney any how.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
“Is it right for Erin Morgan (Prlinkbiz) and Joy O’Day (Tao Realty, LLC) to sabotage my ability to make any money from my story in the future?”
Um, are YOU allowed to make money from your story since it was based off of fraudulent activities?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Have you shown this to your attorney?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Wow! You literally signed away your potential firstborn here.
No. It further demonstrates that you are not very good at evaluating proposed deals. You pride yourself in your dealmaking ability, without taking into account your utter inability to tell bad deals from good.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I added some more to the post to clarify my positions / feelings on this… here it is in case you missed it above.
–
Please don’t get me wrong… this is not really “about my story” in a conceited kind of way. Right now I’m in financial trouble and I need to start making money to pay the bills. Right now I don’t care about my story other than I am able to use the story to help other people and at the same time make some money on this blog through sponsorships, etc. So this is about me moving forward and digging out of this mess.
I’ve made plenty of attempts to “take responsibility” for signing this contract by trying to settle. They continued to ignore me. No more! I’m tired of playing those childish games. The whole thing is out and I’m moving forward! No deal!
And I don’t want to hear all this crap about how I deserve this because I “screwed” all my lenders with my “liar loans”. I took those loans out with FULL INTENTION to repay. Most of the cash-back money went to float the payments and towards repairs.
My intent was never to defraud ANY lenders by defaulting on these loans. I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable. I made mistakes with my deals and my repairs. The market crash also didn’t help me much. I was naive and inexperienced. My business failed. That’s it!
Go study the stories of REAL criminals and mortgage scammers and tell me how my story compares. If I knew I was committing “mortgage fraud” I would have never done it. Now all I’m trying to do is find the most honest and ethical way out of this.
I’m tried of all this HATE for me!
January 25th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I’m a regular here and have a background that is perhaps useful - I’m an author of two books, been on Oprah, been in almost every major women’s magazine and so on. I have been a spokesperson for several national campaigns with TV, radio and print interviews, use of my photo and name, etc.
First, I hope that you can rescind this contract (and get a REAL lawyer to advise you - Duane may have insights, but entertainment law is its own thing and I doubt he has relevant experience). Perhaps your out is that you signed under duress or perhaps a mental instability defense???
Seriously though, you need to get it officially and finally killed off. And you need that in WRITING. Ignoring them based on advice from someone who is not your hired legal counsel is just plain silly and too trusting (and yes, Duane seems on the up and up so far, but that is, as you are learning, not the reason to place trust in someone’s palms, especially given your track record of not being a great judge of character).
Second, you have many many debts, and only one asset. That asset is not your “magical touch” (yeah, right), it is simply your notoriety as the poster boy for gullible investors who lost their shirts in the great bubble burst of 07. If you pull out of this and end up a success, your story will be worth a lot if you play it right. Believe me, if you want to do the publish a book, be a spokesperson, do cheesy public speaking etc. route, it can be lucrative (e.g. I still get a daily rate of $8,000 for spokesperson work, and that is 5+ years after my 15 mins of fame came and went. Some of it is not worth it - I hated the public speaking stuff because you end up hanging out with cheesy public speakers and the hangers on at self improvement conferences, and that got under my skin so quickly that I was out of the world as fast as I could be). But I digress…
Because you have the potential to have a saleable story, you should NOT sell it to ANYONE. Period. When I am a paid spokesperson, I lend my name, likeness, wise words, etc. for a very specific period and purpose. I always retain the rights to me, my writings, etc. e.g. my first book deal says “the Author grants to the Publisher during the full term of copyright and all extensions thereof the full and exclusive rights comprised in the copyright of the work…” etc. i.e. they owned the rights to one specific work for the period of that contract for US only. I could then get more $$ when my book was translated into Japanese, Chinese and Spanish - because they had not bought international rights first time around.
If you ever make it out of the quagmire and have a saleable story, get a very good literary agent (not one who you meet via any of your cheesy infomercial-esque contacts, but someone with a national reputation). Their job, for a 15% take, is to make sure you don’t go signing anything stupid that limits your ability to earn even more from your story in the future.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Ahahah… oh man, this IS a tasty piece of entertainment.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Casey, federal law states all contracts can be rescinded within 3 business days - even if signed. Since you contacted them within a day to cancel this contract why do you think you are still bound to it? I think you’ll sleep a lot better at night if you can confirm that with a lawyer. I don’t believe you’re bound to anything at this point. And that contract is so ambiguious and one-sided it will never hold up in court.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Okay… you signed a bad (for you) and poorly written contract. And this makes it unenforceable how? Deals don’t need to be win-win and certainly don’t need to be fair.
Looks to me that your $750+$750 from Dwyane belong to her as well. What you wish and what is has always been your downfall.
Warning, free advice follows. You do have an “out.” If Amy et al agree to release you from this binding contract and -pay- you some money you won’t drag them into any possible litigation. Trust me, the only thing worse than needing a lawyer is not needing a lawyer and still having to hire one.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
This is simply terrible and these two women really should be exposed for how they’ve conducted business. You need to show this contract to a good real estate lawyer (not just any real estate lawyer) and find out how it will hold up and if there’s an easy out.
People who post here need to stop kicking Casey around. Glad you’re all so perfect and haven’t made a single mistake in your life. Casey has been polite to everyone so far so I don’t quite understand the hatred some people seem to have toward him. It’s one thing to make fun of his situation but it’s entirely another to wish him continued financial decline. He’s trying to make the best out of the situation he’s in and doesn’t need to be taken advantage of any more than he already has been. It’s the real estate brokers and the lenders who are really to blame for what’s happened to him.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Hahahaha. Wow. That is one of the most poorly written contracts I have ever seen. I think it’s funny when people pretend to be big, important businessmen and women. This girl Erin is a hoot. She fancies herself some kind of financial genius, but take a look around her little blog. She flips cars (while using borrowed money), has a degree in theology (oops I forgot, they do have a contract writing class at seminary!), SPENDS HER KIDS’ GIFT CARDS ON GROCERIES, and claims she is financially independant (I’m assuming she receives child support…now that’s some true passive income!). Looking at the links on her blog, there are hundreds of like-minded individuals writing about their thrifty ways and sweet deals…that scares me. Almost makes me wish we could go back to before the Internet.
However, it doesn’t matter how much poor grammer or unbelievable clauses are included, Casey buddy, you should never have signed it. I can understand how lightheaded you must’ve felt after you met RK, but brother, you need to be completely dispassionate in your business dealings. ANY kind of contract related to your business (and this blog/your story seems to be your only business right now) needs to be reviewed by a professional. Did you contribute anything to the contract? Did you negotiate at all? Hindsight is 20/20, but you definitely should have asked more questions (what are the specifics of the “mentoring”, etc…).
I’m sure there are lawyers out there who can pick apart this contract and get you out of it, but can you really afford them? For the meantime, it looks like you’re stuck. However, since Erin and Joy aren’t really the high rollers they wish they were. I doubt they’ll take the time to go after you. Plus, you can’t get blood from a stone, right?
January 25th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
The contract is pretty much exactly what several of us (including myself, here, back at the time) speculated that it contained: an offer to mentor/help you in exchange for owning part or all of your commercial benefits (if any). Book, movie, blog, etc. rights.
And I recall distinctly saying at the time (maybe a week or two later, in mid-November, when it was being debated) that PRLINKBIZ/No Limits Ladies/etc. could simply hang on to the agreement and, at the very least, use it as a “clouding of rights” if ever a movie studio or publisher wanted to tell your story. And your words today say that this is precisely what Joy says Erin expects to do, to keep the agreement in her pocket until, if ever, it becomes worth something to invoke the terms of the contract.
As to what you got in exchange, you signed to get mentoring, vague statements of help, etc. And in fact you got guru advice, blah blah blah. Not worth a teaspoon full of spit, in my personal opinion, but Tao LLC will be able to point to this help, to your own admission that they provided you with help, and so show that you received what they offered at their end. Was it much help? Nope. But, then, the contract didn’t spell out how much help–and the precise kind–they were to provide.
Basically, you sold them rights to your story for a handful of magic beans. No fraud was involved (as might be the case with an actual offer of “magic beans,” what with our buttinsky courts interfering with stupidity). The magic beans they offered were the same kind that you’ve paid $30,000, at least, for.
Are you surprised that Tao LLC is holding you to what you signed?
Sorry, kid, but contracts cannot simply be renegged on so lightly. Sort of like swearing intent to occupy, statements of income, IOUs, and other such things.
–Tim
January 25th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
“I’ve made plenty of attempts to “take responsibility” for signing this contract by trying to settle. They continued to ignore me. No more! I’m tired of playing those childish games. The whole thing is out and I’m moving forward! No deal!”
Taking responsibility does not mean trying to get out of a contract. You could say that PRLinkBiz and Joy are taking responsibility by holding you to the contact, regardless of the legality of the contract.
This is not the same as taking responsibility of your properties by doing short sales, which is in essence, settling. Apples and oranges, my friend.
Speaking of properties, do you think your Modesto property will actually appraise for $270K? If not, is your short sale agent using his “preferred” appraiser to meet that $270K amount so the buyer will be able to get the loan? Oh, that would be fraud, by the way.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
If you are stimulated by new ideas and if you can think for yourself rather than simply accept what Casey Serin dishes out, I think you will find this letter of interest. Although my approach may appear a bit pedantic, by setting some generative point of view against a structural-taxonomical point of view or vice versa, I intend to argue that I find Casey the most tendentious person in the world. Yes, I could add that experience shows that history has once again proved me right, but I wanted to keep my message simple and direct. I didn’t want to distract you from the main thrust of my message, which is that Casey maintains that either this is the best of all possible worlds and that he is the best of all possible people or that it is better that a hundred thousand people should perish than that he should be even slightly inconvenienced. Casey denies any other possibility. I, for one, find it most unfortunate that this letter had to be written. Surely, he is not too obstreperous to realize that. Just think: Casey makes free and liberal use of chicanery, deceit, intolerance, lust, persecution, and oppression. Think about it, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me.
Whenever anyone states the obvious — that Casey can pervert any established ideology — discussion naturally progresses towards the question, “Is it possible for those who defend sinister, impetuous antidisestablishmentarianism to make their defense look more benighted than it currently is?” The answer is almost totally obvious — this isn’t rocket science, you know. The key is that I’m not writing this letter for your entertainment. I’m not even writing it for your education. I’m writing it for our very survival. Although he has tremendous popular appeal, Casey is terrified that there might be an absolute reality outside himself, a reality that is what it is, regardless of his wishes, theories, hopes, daydreams, or decrees. I note in passing that I am not concerned with rumors or hearsay about him. I am interested only in ascertained facts attested by published documents, and in these primarily as an illustration that Casey is attracted to philistinism like a moth to a candle. And I can say that with a clear conscience because Casey’s behavior might be different if he were told that his little schemes are bound to fail. Of course, as far as Casey’s concerned, this fact will fall into the category of, “My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.” That’s why I’m telling you that he should think about how his conjectures lead churlish, lackluster extortionists to persecute the innocent and let the guilty go unpunished. If Casey doesn’t want to think that hard, perhaps he should just keep quiet. So Casey thinks that the laws of nature don’t apply to him? Interesting viewpoint. Here’s another: It’s astounding that he has somehow found a way to work the words “phytopaleontological” and “macracanthrorhynchiasis” into his morals. However, you may find it even more astounding that the real question here is not, “Whatever happened to community standards?”. The real question is rather, “Is it really his impression that children don’t need as much psychological attentiveness, protection, and obedience training as the treasured household pet?” The complete answer to that question is a long, sad story. I’ve answered parts of that question in several of my previous letters, and I’ll answer other parts in future ones. For now, I’ll just say that he somehow manages to maintain a straight face when saying that he defends the real needs of the working class. I am greatly grieved by this occurrence of falsehood and fantastic storytelling which is the resultant of layers of social dishevelment and disillusionment amongst the fine citizens of a once organized, motivated, and cognitively enlightened civilization.
Casey would have us believe that there is an international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. Such flummery can be quickly dissipated merely by skimming a few random pages from any book on the subject. Many people respond to his poxy cop-outs in the same way that they respond to television dramas. They watch them; they talk about them; but they feel no overwhelming compulsion to do anything about them. That’s why I insist we arraign him at the tribunal of public opinion. Casey operates on an international scale to get on my nerves. It’s only fitting, therefore, that we, too, work on an international scale, but to create a world in which exclusionism, interdenominationalism, and allotheism are all but forgotten. Mark my words: this makes me fearful that I might someday find myself in the crosshairs of his headstrong, lousy policies. (To be honest, though, it wouldn’t be the first time.)
The hour is late indeed. Fortunately, it’s not yet too late to begin a course of careful, planned, and coordinated action. For the moment, I will concentrate on the fact that after enduring a barrage of Casey’s militant sermons, one normally experiences intense levels of stress, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety about one’s physical safety as well as one’s career. That shouldn’t surprise you when you consider that what he is doing is not an innocent, recreational sort of thing. It is a criminal activity, it is an immoral activity, it is a socially destructive activity, and it is a profoundly abhorrent activity. Casey is not only misguided but is addicted to being misguided. But that’s not the end of the story. It’s easy enough to hate Casey any day of the week on general principles. But now I’ll tell you about some very specific things that Casey is up to, things that ought to make a real Casey-hater out of you. First off, if I have a bias, it is only against vengeful hippies who sell otherwise perfectly reasonable people the idée fixe that he is the ultimate authority on what’s right and what’s wrong.
What does Casey have to say about all of this? The answer, as expected, is nothing. His theatrics are like an enormous faddism-spewing machine. We must begin dismantling that structure. We must put a monkey wrench in its gears. And we must give our propaganda fighters an instrument that is very much needed at this time, because I want to live my life as I see fit. I can’t do that while Casey still has the ability to interfere with my efforts to derail his gloomy little schemes.
In asserting that factionalism is a viable and vital objective for our nation’s educational institutions, he demonstrates an astounding narrowness of vision. If Casey has spurred us to turn his overbearing nostrums to our advantage, then Casey may have accomplished a useful thing. Heinous heathenism is the shadow cast on society by his demands, and as long as this is so, the attenuation of the shadow will not change the substance.
Although we can occasionally tie the retailers of scornful new claims to older fabrications, there is unfortunately no shortage of new rumor. Forgive me for boring you with all the gory details, but what really irks me is that Casey has presented us with a Hobson’s choice. Either we let him terrorize our youngsters or he’ll prevent the real problems from being solved. It would be bad enough if his representatives were merely trying to break the mind and spirit, castrate the character, and kill the career of anyone whose ideas he deems to be pestilential. But their attempts to tell us how to live, what to say, what to think, what to know, and — most importantly — what not to know are just plain gruesome. One may very well question whether his grunts assume that because they look a certain way or come from a certain background, they have a right to control, manipulate, and harm other people. Still, most people will eventually be convinced that we cannot allow what I call effrontive politicasters to pass unnoticed. An equal but opposite observation is that the unalterable law of biology has a corollary that is generally overlooked. Specifically, his declamations reek of prætorianism. I use the word “reek” because you shouldn’t let him intimidate you. You shouldn’t let him push you around. We’re the ones who are right, not Casey.
It is well known that I haven’t the foggiest idea why Casey wants to poke someone’s eyes out. But when it comes to his proposed social programs, I certainly assert that we have drifted along for too long in a state of blissful denial and outright complacency. It’s time to end Casey’s control over the minds and souls of countless people. The sooner we do that, the better, because he plans to perpetuate inaccurate and dangerous beliefs about male-female relationships. The result will be an amalgam of foul irrationalism and prolix jingoism, if such a monster can be imagined. He has, at times, called me “slimy” or “pugnacious”. Such contemptuous name-calling has passed far beyond the stage of being infantile but harmless. It has the capacity to address what is, in the end, a nonexistent problem. To be quite frank, Casey appears to have found a new tool to use to help him manipulate public understanding of despotism. That tool is diabolism, and if you watch him wield it, you’ll really see why he is firmly convinced that I’m too brainless to chastise him for not doing any research before spouting off. His belief is controverted, however, by the weight of the evidence indicating that Casey’s intent is to prevent us from asking questions. He doesn’t want the details checked. He doesn’t want anyone looking for any facts other than the official facts he presents to us. I wonder if this is because most of his “facts” are false.
I, for one, attribute the social and psychological problems of modern society to the fact that the reasons that Casey gives for his opuscula clearly do not correspond with his real motives. Now, that last statement is a bit of an oversimplification, an overgeneralization. But it is nevertheless substantially true. Your guess is as good as mine as to why he wants to give rise to the worst classes of deranged, selfish busybodies there are. Maybe it’s because he plans to equip garrulous blowhards with flame throwers, hand grenades, and heat-seeking missiles. The natural result of his philippics is an intolerance that, in the long run, tends to fragment the nation into politically disharmonious units. This applies first and foremost to a terrorist organization under whose bitter brand of boosterism the whole of honest humanity is suffering: Casey’s army of short-sighted good-for-nothings.
Here’s some news for you: Casey would feel an intense schadenfreude if his belief systems made me walk around with a mountain of pain and suffering welled up inside me. Interesting, isn’t it? What you may find even more interesting is that I would like to register my strong objection to his memoranda. That’s self-evident, and even Casey would probably agree with me on that. Even so, he attracts litigious, harebrained cheapskates to his junta by telling them that he has the authority to issue licenses for practicing militarism. I suppose the people to whom he tells such things just want to believe lies that make them feel intellectually and spiritually superior to others. Whether or not that’s the case, Casey parrots whatever ideas are fashionable at the moment. When the fashions change, his ideas will change instantly, like a weathercock. To end on a more positive note: The scantiness of Casey Serin’s abstract knowledge directs his sentiments more to the world of obscurantism.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Casey,
I dont blame you for getting tired of all this hate. When I read your blog, I have to admit there is much opportunity for humor or disbelief in many of your actions but this does not bring me to hate. I dont know why it would unless I was a victim personally of your actions, or am jealous. Which I think a lot of hateful commentors are, I think deep in their hearts they feel had they tried these same liar loans they either wouldve been successful, unlike you or wouldve been arrested immediately unlike you.
But when I read your day to day posts I get the feeling that you are out there somewhere in California completely flailing & lost on what to do. I suspect that you are very naive and immature in spite of your real estate knowledge that can sometimes make you appear more mature and experienced.
I also worry that you might have an undiagnosed psychiatric issue that needs to be addressed. Undoubtedly there has to be depression associated with this situation you are in, but I strongly suspect there is more. I will pray for you, and those around you that see this train wreck amongst them to gain the strength they need to help you see it and what you need to do to rise above it.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
“If I knew I was committing “mortgage fraud” I would have never done it.”
Get this through your thick skull, you DID commit mortgage fraud, whether you intended to do so or not. In the eyes of the law, that is all that matters. And that makes you a “REAL criminal.”
“I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable.”
Stop it. You sound like a child who does something wrong and then says, “But everyone else is doing it.” I can’t wait to read about you getting arrested.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I’m with you on that, Kevin (#26).
I don’t even have the words.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Now that’s ripping the cover off the ball.
Casey, you have really made boocho big mistakes but I’m glad that you’re exposing these two opportunists. I don’t see that they game enough consideration for your story…they won’t get anything but a black eye on this one.
But do be more careful…stop signing things…
January 25th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
nothing more….nothing less….sorry!
January 25th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
“It’s not fair” is not a valid reason to blow off a contract.
And neither is “they’re being unprofessional”. Both of those statements may well be true, but they are irrelevant to the issue at hand, which is, you signed a contract. Now you have to deal with the consequences.
Sooner or later, you’re going to have to pay a lawyer some $$$ for him to make this go away, and if he can’t, then you are going to have to buy the contract out. About the only thing in your favor is that there’s simply not enough money involved, on either side, for this to be worth litigating extensively.
And by the way, should this dispute actually get to court, violating the terms of the agreement (as you did by breaking the NDA) doesn’t make your side look good.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Well, try repeat this to the judge in court, and guess what response you will hear…
Quote: “And I don’t want to hear all this crap about how I deserve this because I “screwed” all my lenders with my “liar loans”. I took those loans out with FULL INTENTION to repay. Most of the cash-back money went to float the payments and towards repairs.
My intent was never to defraud ANY lenders by defaulting on these loans. I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable. I made mistakes with my deals and my repairs. The market crash also didn’t help me much. I was naive and inexperienced. My business failed. That’s it!
Go study the stories of REAL criminals and mortgage scammers and tell me how my story compares. If I knew I was committing “mortgage fraud” I would have never done it. Now all i’m trying to do is find the most honest and ethical way out of this. I’m tried of all this HATE for me!”
January 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Casey,
What if you were to give them what they want….lots and lots and lots of attention about your deal with them. You could ask the ladies if they would accompany you to the US Attorney’s Office. Between them and the FBI, they could help all three of you determine if it’s a valid contract.
Hey…..it’s on the taxpayer’s dime so it’s FREE….sweet!
January 25th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
By the way, framing the debate in terms of:
“is it right that…..?”
(”Is it right that PRLINKBIZ won’t let me out of a contract?” “Is it right that they have say over my story?”, etc., to paraphrase Casey)
is missing the point. Contracts are presumptively valid unless a real legal reason for voiding them exists. One cannot, for example, sell oneself into slavery. (Literal slavery, not metaphorical slavery.)
Casey has repeatedly ignored what contracts are all about and has instead argued (whined, some might say) that it was not his intention to sign suchandsuch contract, or that he wants to reconsider a contract (often may days, even weeks, after a signing….not that many jurisdictions recognize a “cooling off period” except for things like car purchases, and then only with well-defined terms and conditions for having “second thoughts”).
In most jurisdictions, contracts are contracts. Period.
Sure, Casey might be able to spend enough legal $$$ to cause Tao LLC to drop efforts to enforce the contract. (But they can pretty much just sit on it, as Joy acknowledges is the interest of Erin in doing, according to what Casey says has been their conversation.)
Or Casey may offer some amount of money to buy out the contract (whatever the precise language might be).
But, importantly, Tao LLC and Erin and all are under no obligiation to enter into negotiations….they can just sit on the contract until it ever becomes valuable (” “America’s Greatest Loooosers,” coming this Fall on FOX!”) or it until it becomes worthless (no deals, no money coming in, not worth fighting a court battle for crumbs).
Casey seems to have the popular American misconception that contracts are about “fairness” and “helping people” and that people should be let out of contracts when they change their minds, or when potentially better deals come along.
Nope. It doesn’t work this way. (And, not to grind in this same old point yet again, I knew this when I was 16, in 1968.)
Casey is stuck. He may unstick himself by suitable application of money as a lubricant (I have a feeling Tao LLC might be happy to see a $30,000 cashier’s check). But not be whining that this contract he signed is unfairly limiting his other options. He signed it. He got their help in Phoenix (and who knows how many other attempts to help him later). That he “changed his mind” and turned down their mentoring is not _their_ problem.
–Tim
January 25th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Oh for the love of Christ, SPARE US YOUR TEMPER TANTRUM!
Boo friggen hoo! A contract you signed without first running it by a lawyer (or someone familiar with that sort of thing is now biting you in the a** ) and you are having a hissy fit!
GROW UP CASEY! What are you, five years old?!
And with regards to this statement:
“My intent was never to defraud ANY lenders by defaulting on these loans. I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable”
Do me a favor. When you are in front of a judge (and you will be) PLEASE use that same tag line. See what his/her response will be.
My guess is, you will be privy to this old Latin adage:
“ignorantia legis non excusat”
Translation:
“Ignorance of the law IS NO EXCUSE”
For crying out loud, it’s called a “liar loan” for a reason! Stated income?? Primary residence?? HELLO???? Is this thing on?
Pathetic. Absolutely and unbelievably PATHETIC. Coming across someone like you finally makes me understand why the 2004 election went the way it did. We have some marvels of genetic disarray out there, don’t we.
Sheesh.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
HERE WHAT OGG THINK:
1. Ogg not lawyer, but Ogg think lawyer get Casey out of contract.
2. Casey not afford lawyer if Erin and Joy sue. It not matter if contract bad, Casey lose if can’t defend himself.
3. Casey stupid to sign contract. Contract try to take Casey only asset.
Even Ogg know ask lawyer to read contract if not understand. Even Ogg know not to give everything away for nothing, and Ogg only caveman.
Ogg hope Casey not get sued. Otherwise Ogg hope Duane help Casey with defense.
Where Sputnik? Many shoes need poop.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
They appear to be terrible people and are going to hold on to that contract unless they can either get something for it or unless it causes them too much trouble.
They have now been exposed as the lowest level of society. The most unethical and despicable of individuals. People who take advantage of someone when they are down.
What’s next for those two?
Maybe they go could looking for the families of the victims of the World Trade Center disaster in return for any donations or insurance claims the families may get in the future. They could give them “advice and mentoring”.
Maybe they could go asking for any insurance payouts from the refugees from the Katrina disaster in return for their “advice and mentoring”?
PrLinkBiz.. not so good PR here. Actually, I’d say your PR meter just went into the toilet. Who is going to want to do business with you now?
You can make good by giving up the contract.
Or you can just be hated by everyone for the rest of your living days.
Your choice I guess.
There are so many things wrong with that contract, by the way, I can’t even start.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
“I didn’t mean to kill her, you honor”.
“Oh! Okay! You can go home, then”.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
i work for a law firm and will try and get one of them to take a look at this contract tongiht and give me their thoughts on it.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Privet Kostya!
I may be dead but I can read and I can count and I can see.
What I read is this: a contract for no consideration and no valuable exchange. The terms are unenforceable.
What I count is this: negative $500K and growing.
What I see is this: the unattractive rapaciousness of three hustlers in a daisy chain trying to blow smoke up each other’s popa’s.
P.S. People are saying cruel things about personal photos of your parents, sisters, brothers, and G. at another site. You should do something about that - you are the indiscriminant attention w**** and deserve what you get but they appear innocent (except for G. - she is as guilty as you based on your own comments at your old blog).
The denouement for your financial troubles was sealed when you perjured yourself on your loan applications and documents.
My advice to you is to flip (see you still have the chance to be a successful flipper just not the type that you intended to be) you are small fry so turn on your loan agents, realtors, contractors, gurus and other enablers and crooks - it is the only way out for you and believe me they have much more to lose than you do.
sevo haroshevo!
(I mean that too)
January 25th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Casey:
1.Yes it is a bad contract and you shouldn’t have signed it, but what have you offered them to settle? Money? You should just get an attorney and get the contract thrown out.
2.You took out loans under false pretenses and claim you intended to repay the loan. Your intent to repay really doesn’t matter. If I drive drunk and kill somebody, I didn’t mean to do, but I will still be punished.
3.You are correct, your business failed. However, the lenders wouldn’t have loaned you the money without the falsified applications. Your false applicications were a precondition to them losing money.
4.It appears to me that you spent a significant portion of the money on living expenses and seminars.
5.Quit defending your actions with regard to the lenders. Your last post sounds ridiculous.
6. I have worked on cases where real estate fraud was involved. They started with houses and cash back. In order to float their negative cash flow they next moved to apartment buildings and office buildings. The person I am referring to is in JAIL. Google Krishan Chari.
Ted
January 25th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
BTW, Case…nobody HATES on you. It’s called CRITICISM. YOU invite it so learn to accept it.
It isn’t going away until your story gets tired. THAT is fact.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Casey, you may be tired of the ‘hate’ but you bring it on yourself.
1. You admit to lying and cheating (with the best possibly intentions, of course) and then complain when someone does the same to you.
2. You continue to make the same mistakes again and again. Signing contracts that you do not understand. Failing to get competent professional advice. Spending money or time on yet more ’seminars’ and ‘mentoring’ in you attempts to get rich quick. Refusing to use the talents (such as web design and programming) that you do have to fix the problems caused by the talents you obviously do not have (such as deal-making).
3. You SAY that you are sorry for things and are trying to make them right and yet you BEHAVE differently. You do not visit your houses in an effort to keep them in saleable condition. You do not open your mail so that you can respond to the people you owe money to. You refuse to declare bankruptcy which would clarify the entire situation for everyone concerned and instead try to finagle your way out of every debt you have (you signed the $50K note, but think you can get out of paying it despite the fact that you will owe the lender at least that much). You get your Jamba Juice and take your naps and seem to think that you deserve a break from all your SELF-IMPOSED stresses. You don’t. You broke it, you fix it.
4. You have totally unrealistic awareness of the world around you and basic business. You think that someone will partner with you when the only asset that you claim to have is demonstrably worthless. You think you have a talent for finding ’sweet deals’ and have made MINUS $400,000 with that talent ! Why would anyone want your assistance losing their money ?
5. You have a habit of using phrases that annoy and frustrate your ‘viewers’. Remind me again what your last “Sweet Deal” netted you ? You complain that people are “Haters” and are not offering constructive criticism but you either ignore the masses of constructive advice that you have been given or you only pay attention to the parts of it that are easy for you AND which are relatively pointless. You now read contracts, but you still sign them without bothering with professional advice when you do not understand them. You still seem to think that most of your ‘gurus’ (notably RK) are great men who gave you wonderful advice that you somehow misintepreted. They are not. They are hucksters who are selling books and overpriced seminars to suckers who think that it is possible for someone to get rich quick when they have no assets or particular skills. If this were true, everyone on the planet would be rich. It is not true. You need to understand that you were not naive. You were stupid. That is the first lesson in your efforts to avoid being (as) stupid in the future.
So far, you get a D. And I’m grading you generously.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
first timer posting, but I don’t think the contract is enforceable. As someone said, usually contracts benefit both parties ie. I get a car or house, you get my money. I even think Suzie Orman noted on a show once about Pre-nuptual agreements that if the other party doesn’t make any ammendments or changes to the contract before signing it, it will probably be thrown out of court. Why? I am guessing it’s because otherwise the agreement will be too one sided to protect both parties and or one side can claim it was signed under duress.
In Casey’s case, Erin and Joy placed pressure on him and didn’t really give him time to review it with an attorney.
“Upon termination or dissolution of the Agreement, the Agreement will be promptly liquidated, with all debts being paid first, prior to any distribution of the remaining funds. All remaining fund will be the sole property and earnings of Tao Realty LLC. ”
So there is a termination “clause”, but doesn’t specify what enables the termination. Is that enforceable? Usually there is a defined way to terminate the agreement. At any rate, it says that all debts are to be a paid first, before any other funds can be given out. So in other words, Casey’s house debts come first, right? Also as Casey hasn’t received any mentoring or advertising from either lady, he has no debts to clear with them, and should be able to “terminate” this contract with no financial obligation to them.
I don’t agree with Casey lying to try and profit from the housing boom at my expense, and I think he should pay off all his debts. However, I also hate people that try to kick people when they are down and stab them in the back.
The way the contract is worded, future salaries and gains will be determined by Tao Realty, which means that theoretically, they could determine that Casey’s salary is $.01/month while claiming that $500 lunches with newspaper reporters
were the cost of marketing Casey’s story, and demand reimbursement.
Does that sound fair? Is it enforceable? Again I don’t know but it seems the contract is so vague and one sided that I don’t think a Judge would enforce it.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I have studied the stories of mortgage scammers and the common thread in their crimes is the use of straw buyers and identity theft. Using an inflated appraisal seems to be another trick widely pursued by the thieves. In my opinion, you are not lilly white nor are you a criminal. Millions of transactions just like yours took place in the last few years. A very small percentage will ever be investigated. The industry is tightening their procedures and many loans like yours will not happen in the future.
You have ruined your own credit. You have not lied and made up applications and used other peoples credit to do your deals, whether they knew or not.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
BTW, Casey. Nobody HATES on you. Look up the darned term before you use it!
Hater implies jealousy. How exactly am I a hater, for example? I am far from jealous of ANYTHING you do. Actually, I am annoyed more than anything.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Oh, in case not obvious: Ogg not lawyer. Ogg post not legal advice. Get lawyer.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Dude,
Get an attorney. I think that contract could be voided on the grounds of indefiniteness, and/or lack of consideration. Absence of consideration was also true of your Countrywide note. Basically, the court will not enforce your promise unless you have received something in return for that promise.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I believe most states have 3 day contract rescission laws but since I’m here in So. Cal. and not very familiar with AZ law, I’m not certain. You need to hire an attorney, Casey.
This part is especially vague:
“…in exchange for mentoring and guidance in his current real estate situation. ”
And since they never formulated a solid guidance plan to assist you in your situation, I can’t see how this contract could remain binding. Again, I’m not an attorney but I do produce contracts @ my “cube” job and I’d say that imo, that contract is extremely weak.
Also, this is why others were laughing @ your self-proclaimed ability to “mine gold nuggets” from your emails. Casey, you’ve been mining for a while now without realizing it was nothing but fool’s gold.
Most people are not your friends. You’d be lucky to find a handful of true friends in your entire lifetime. I hope you’ve at least learned this important lesson by now.
PS: MigDreamy, I’m totally digging the new improved, tougher you.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Hey, how do you people get all those neat little things like quotation marks, & bolding, & italicizing, etc….
Oh, & Stephanie (#36)… I knew you would be with me… *sigh*…
January 25th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
PS: There was an attorney here (can’t recall the name) who has offered his assistance pro bono. Have you contacted him yet? If not, I suggest you do so immediately.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Casey, you got duped by PrLinkBiz **AND** Duane. Obviously as a sponsor Duane wants as much traffic to this site as possible. Creating drama does exactly this (something which recent postings have been severely lacking).
So, it looks like we DO have the making of a win-win:
1. Duane gets more click-throughs because of the traffic increase to IAFF
2. PrLinkBiz is now a partner of the IAFF franchise
PrLinkBiz used her relationship with Robert Kiyosaki to lure you in, Casey. Question is, did she operate alone on this, or together with Kiyosaki. If she operated alone, I would contact Kyosaki directly to see what he thinks of being “used” by his confidants.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Re contract - I showed it to a lawyer and they said on first read “it’s barely english” and “seems like you could drive a truck through it”. I’ll let you know what else they have to say when I hear back from them again.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
This is what they must provide or the contract is void:
“mentoring and guidance in his current real estate situation.”
Therefore the contract is void once all of your houses are sold/foreclosed and you have not received any reasonable amount of mentoring from them.
The funniest part of the contract is:
“Casey understands that Tao Realty LLC is not acting as any real estate professional”
Now, if they are not real estate professionals, how could they give you mentoring and guidance in your current real estate situation?
The contract is a non issue if you don’t make a net profit.
You could consider all of your money spent on seminars, web hosting cost, travel cost, etc as expenses. So as long as you don’t have a revenue of higher than your then you owe them nothing.
If you do eventually make a profit, then it won’t matter either, because there has not been an exchange of mentoring for the rights to your story.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
gbarney04 wrote:
“People who post here need to stop kicking Casey around. Glad you’re all so perfect and haven’t made a single mistake in your life. Casey has been polite to everyone so far so I don’t quite understand the hatred some people seem to have toward him. It’s one thing to make fun of his situation but it’s entirely another to wish him continued financial decline.”
First, I agree that Casey has been quite polite. More so than I would be in his shoes (or than Duane has been with his flurry of comments about excreting excrement bigger than some of the haters–cracked me up, no pun intended!).
Second, while I’ve been astounded and amazed and flabbergasted at the actions Casey has taken, I don’t recall wishing him utter ruin. Personally, I think that with being 600 hundred grand underwater, with nothing but short sales, foreclosures, and tax on the difference, he has nothing ahead of him for the next half dozen years _but_ financial ruin. However, he may be able to recover by the time he’s around 30, which is way better than what a lot of people face.
Third, one reason I don’t “hate” Casey too much is that he’s actually been honest about his past deceit (liar loans, dirty money, shady deals, poor impulse control, etc.). I get a LOT angrier at some of the bums I see around my home town who think the world owes them a living, that the “rich” need to be taxed at 90% rates (or even more, as in “just make them homeless the way we are”) so as to pay for an ever-increasing array of benefits, programs, giveaways, and welfare.
Believe me, any blog run by one of these types of people would not be a blog I could stomach being on for more than a few minutes. (I’ve been expelled from a few of them….)
Compared to these “entitlement people,” Casey is actually a breath of fresh air.
He’s naive in a lot of ways, he’s made some dumb mistakes, and he faces a precarious future. But at least I feel he’s still somewhat grounded on Planet Earth and can understand most of what we’re saying. Not so with the bums and handout seekers and “they got it, we want it” looters.
That’s why I try to be an honest critic, but am not a “hater.”
–Tim
January 25th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Casey,
#24 - please stop the pontificating. Your high moral ground is quicksand.
What do you want from us? Understanding, sympathy, advice, employment, money? Haven’t you received all of those things already? Not a one of us here is pure and clean, i.e., we’ve all faqed up at some point in our lives and goofing on you for your faq ups is not HATING. After all you’ve invited all this attention. You’ve taken faqing up to a level we’re unfamiliar with and when you combine that with the unique way you frame these faq ups as rational behavior, you’ve created the compelling trainwreck known as iaff.com. And I think I speak for all of us regular readers: we want you to profit from iaff.com! This is America after all.
So here’s a contract for you: For consideration of the privilege to read about your various blunders on iaff.com, we will provide your site with eyeballs. We also agree to not share in any revenue you, your spouse, your heirs, your heirs heirs, etc. derive from our eyeballs. We accept that the comedy we receive from reading and posting to your blog shall be our only compensation. Fair enough?
PS: What happened to the comment rating?
January 25th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
So chimpCasey,
Do you have a new understanding for why they call themselves the “no limits ladies”?
Is that really all of the contract? Yikes!
Is it right? Is it fair? Is it enforceable? - who cares? Even well written contracts are successfully attacked. In the meantime business continues to run on TRUST above all else. Still, it may cause you trouble in the future.
You can’t “take responsibility” for something like signing your soul over to the devil, except by handing the devil your soul. Please use another phrase like “remedy my error”. I know it goes against your positivespeak tendencies, but that is the first step towards leaving Caseyland and joining reality.
Hang in their chimpCasey, better days are ahead.
P.S. Save the hat, you may need it for a cameo in Miller’s Crossing II
January 25th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
@ West Virginia Hillbilly
Please spare us the pretentious, pedantic posts and boil them down into something more than 2 people will even read.
I sense you have some interesting points, but they are buried in academic-speak. E.g (picked a few sentences basically at random:
“Still, most people will eventually be convinced that we cannot allow what I call effrontive politicasters to pass unnoticed. An equal but opposite observation is that the unalterable law of biology has a corollary that is generally overlooked. Specifically, his declamations reek of prætorianism.”
WTF does that mean in plain English?
(FWIW, I’m a college grad - C** Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and all that neat staff; but in the real world hardly anyone choses to read convoluted jargon)
January 25th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“My intent was never to defraud ANY lenders by defaulting on these loans. I used “liar loans” because it was common in the industry and seemed justifiable.”
Casey,
I just realized what your calling is. Forget real estate, you should become a policitian. You would fit right in.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
BTW, sorry for all the negative comments, but it’s just that you make it so EASY.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
#14 is a horrible person.
Now on to Casey…
I know that you live by religious principles that we should all play nicely, but a lot of people don’t. That doesn’t mean you can’t play nicely–it just means that you need to protect yourself from those who are willing to take advantage of you.
In a way, I’m glad this contract misfortune happened to you because it will make you think twice, and carefully, about future deals. Too many people are willing to take advantage of you because you are naive. I’m younger than you and even I can see that you are too gullible.
The contract is poorly written. But when you do make money one day (and I think you will) then these ladies will surely come after you with that contract and you’ll be forced to spend good money on a lawyer to get rid of them. It is a rather expensive lesson but at least it takes advantage of you one day when you are in the black, rather than taking advantage now when you are very deep in debt.
I’m happy to hear that you’ve learned that people may not be looking out for your best interests.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
I read it again. That “contract” is a POS, and reads like it was written by an 8 year old. Look at this paragraph
“By Submitting the content, Casey Serin grant further permission to Tao Realty LLC to use his name and photos, also to publicize the writing, all without royalty or consideration.”
You cannot have a contract without consideration. Period. This is why most well written contracts contain a phrase like “Now then, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is acknowledged, the parties agree as follows…” I’m not an attorney but I’ve seen variations of that phrase in contracts 1000 times. There is a reason for it.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
1. No suprises here - basically what we all thought it was.
2. ‘win-win’ and ‘right’ are irrelevant. It’s a contract - it says what it says.
3. It’s poorly written - but that doesn’t make it invalid.
4. Erin and Joy don’t owe it you to let you back out.
5. It’s not obvious that you violated the NDA just by publishing the agreement. That’s a pretty standard NDA and the agreement itself doesn’t look like it’s defined as “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION”.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Um, it’s really easy to end the agreement… just send them a registered letter saying you terminate the agreement as of today. If that’s the entire agreement, it’s a joke - there’s no specified time period.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
So now you have your Knight-in-Shining armor riding in (or shall we say your version of Dorothy in her spinning house?) to save the day. I’d keep my eyes open for a Trojan Horse. If you get out of this contract, DON’T SIGN ANYTHING ELSE WITHOUT A LAWYER.
Another thing to consider…conmen and conwomen can be in cahoots. Read those books on cons, now.
January 25th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
I’m somewhat impressed that you’re finally acting like you have some backbone. Call their bluff and let those hags rot. Go ahead and let them spend thousands taking you to court. There’s nothing for them to win anyway. The fact they think your sponsor has some liability here shows how amateurish and desperate for petty cash they are.
January 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Casey - IMPORTANT QUESTION:
What did they give you or offer you regarding “mentoring and guidance in his current real estate situation”.
Did they give you or offer you
- written material
- conference calls
- review your RE contracts
- pay for your expenses [e.g Phx trip]
- faciliate meetings with RE consultants [e.g. RK meeting]
Those are questions a judge would ask if you try to invalidate the agreement.
January 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Am I the only one who thinks the West Coast Hitters are all drooling over the next contact?
Casey - I have to say this. I have been a hater but I give you props for having the stugots to post the contract. I’m no lawyer but I’d say they pwned you. WTF? Were you high on Hangmysocki juice or something? Sheesh, my six year old son wouldn’t sign that. I’ve said it before, LAWYER UP NOW! LIKE RIGHT NOW! Get a real one, not one that just graduated, not one that is free. Get one that specializes in entertainment/IP stuff. It’s gonna cost now but it will be way cheaper in the long run. You want to be the one firing the first shot and you want to use big guns. Rock them back on their heels and get them off balance and hit them again even harder. Don’t stop until you OWN THEM! Trust me on this my friend.
Go Heavy!
ps: Just turn the moderation off. All of this stuff is on the other blogs to including this post.
pss: Don’t ever edit my comments again my friend.