It's now official, and Casey Serin will now enjoy his 15 minutes of fame (right before his 3 to 5 years in jail). The kid is the cover story of the USA Today today - "10 mistakes that made flipping a flop - 24-year-old got in over his head in the real estate biz".
America is an amazing country. From when HP broke this story on September 21, to over a month later when the entire country knows who you are and what you did. Fortune many times follows fame in the US, so now the kid just needs an agent (in addition to a lawyer).
Casey Serin is the new Bernie Ebbers. The new Ken lay. The new Henry Blodgett. The poster child of a system run amok (again). The physical representation of fraud, greed, debt, fear, bubbles and human folly.
Not too long ago, HP made the following prediction: Two words... Mainstream Media. Watch the kid score some bigtime stories (Time, Newsweek, Jay Leno?). Little did I know then that'd I'd be enjoying a nice iced latte in Europe and see the kid's picture in my paper. Surreal.
You can also hear a story on him on NPR here too, where the corrupt Nicholas Retsinas makes an appearance too. Yes, the MSM is really following the bubble blogs now.
Only one problem with the future of the kid's blog though. I wonder if he'll be able to blog from jail?
USATODAY, OCTOBER 23, 2006
If there's a poster child for everything that went wrong in the real estate boom, it just might be Casey Serin.
In one year, the 24-year-old website-designer-turned-real estate-flipper bought eight homes in four states — and in every case but one, he put no money down. At his peak, in April, Serin had $93,000 he'd taken out of the homes as he bought them. By July, he was broke, desperate for one last deal.
Now? Serin has $140,000 in credit card and credit-line debt and five houses in foreclosure. Last month, he started iamfacingforeclosure.com, a blog that's drawn both notes of condolence and expletive-laced condemnation.
October 23, 2006
FLASH: It's official, Casey Serin, Iamfacingforeclosure.com liars loan kid, is now the official face of the late great housing bubble ponzi scheme
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39 comments:
Ever since you posted this a month or so ago, I've noticed just about every bubble blog has been talking about casey. He's become famous.
I wonder if he will be just as famous in prison?
It's time to upgrade your blog keith. Why does the first comment get screwed up?
San Diego foreclsoures are up 159% YoY. California statewide foreclosures are up 111.8% YoY. Think Casey is a reason for any of this? 50 percent of mortgages in foreclosure originated during or post 2005. I discuss this in detail on my blog but Casey is a major reason why the housing bubble will burst.
what's the comment problem? I know the blog's been slow today, and comments have been a problem too
fricking blogger
I'd upgrade if
1) I had any kind of web skills
2) people were clicking ads to pay for it
A couple of comments on the problem with blogger today then get back to the subject at hand - the kid.
Anyone think all this attention will get the feds knocking at his door soon for bank and wire fraud?
If not, the system has no credibility and there's an official OK to go lie and steal in America
My question is: How realistic is it for Casey to go to jail? I have a few co-workers that are in very similar positions. Some of them I wouldn't mind seeing locked up.
keep up the great work. F**k all the trolls!
Keith said "Anyone think all this attention will get the feds knocking at his door soon for bank and wire fraud? If not, the system has no credibility and there's an official OK to go lie and steal in America"
Laws? What good are laws in a rudderless, increasingly secular society where shared values are denounced as "racist" or bigoted? Others have said it with more elouquence:
"When values are sufficient, Laws are unnecessary. When values are insufficient, Laws are unenforceable." - Barry Asmus
Throughout history civilizations have progressed:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complaceny to apathy;
from apathy to dependence;
from dependency back again into bondage.
Sir Alex Fraser Tyler: (1742-1813)
You can bet that there will be dozens of mortgage brokers, RE agents, appraisers, and other players scurrying like the cockroaches they are as this article sheds light on their scams.
You can't get anymore "mainstream" than McPaper!!!
Now, to address your questions Keith about what will change, here is your answer:
Nothing.
Nothing will change. Yeah, congress, the Fed, and other regulators and political bodies will enact legislation, pass regs, and otherwise fuss and bluster, but in the end, the mess will be mopped up via "RTC II, the Sequel", the sheeple taxpayers will be hit with the several-trillion dollar bill, and life will go on...
AFTER the "Great Depression II" is also played out.
However, again I submit that the sheeps will submit to whatever clipping the government demands.
So, nothing will change.
Keep feeding this kid the headlines and his head will grow bigger than his body..IE: BUBBLEBOY
Anyway Hunker down and put your house in order, Its Red October.
http://tinyurl.com/y3eurl
Sure Borky, October Surprise time. Wait a minute! It's the 23rd, they only have one week left!
You conspiracy guys crack me up.
Sure he may have stepped over the line, but you've got to admit the kid had the guts to follow his dream. All he lacked was the intellectual capacity to make those dreams come. Even with the wolves closing in, he's still trying to put together one last deal. Aside from the debt and possible jail time, most of us secretly wish we were a little more like him.
Tyrant!
Pop Goes the Bubble!
The Great Housing Crash of '07
By MIKE WHITNEY
This month's figures prove that the so-called "housing bubble" is not only real, but that its cratering faster than anyone had realized. As the UK Guardian reported just yesterday, "the orderly housing slowdown predicted by the Federal Reserve will (soon) become a full-blown crash".
All the indicators are now pointing in the wrong direction. Consumer confidence is down, inventory is at a 10 year high, and the number of homes sold in July was 22% lower than last year. As Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics said, "Things seem to be getting worse very quickly. Freefall is a strong word, but I think it's the right one to use here." (UK Guardian)
The housing bubble is a $10 trillion equity balloon that will explode sometime in 2007 when more than $1 trillion in no-interest, no down payment, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) reset; setting the stage for massive home devaluation, foreclosures and unemployment. ("By some estimates housing activity has accounted for 40% of all the jobs created since 2001". Times Online) July's plunging sales are just the first sign of a major slowdown. The worst is yet to come.
The blame for this rapidly-approaching meltdown lies entirely with the Federal Reserve, the privately-owned collection of 10 central banks who cooked up a way to shift wealth from one class to another through low interest rates.
Sound crazy?
Well, just as high interest rates cause the economy to slow down; low interest rates have the exact opposite effect by stimulating the economy through increased spending. It's all pretty clear-cut.
When the stock market nose-dived in 2000 the Fed lowered rates 17 times to an unbelievable 1% to keep the economy sputtering-along while the Bush administration dragged the country to war, gave away $450 billion a year in tax cuts, and awarded zillions in no bid contracts to their friends in big business. All tolled, the Bush-handouts amounted to roughly $3 trillion dollars, the largest heist in history, and it was carried out under the nose of the snoozing American public.
At the same time, America's debts and deficits have continued to mushroom behind the smokescreen of low interest rates.
Rather than face the recession which should have followed stock market crash, the Fed chose to increase the money supply (which doubled in the last 7 years) and lower the qualifications for getting mortgages. (I read recently that 90% of first time home buyers not only lie on their mortgage applications, but that 50% of them say that they earn TWICE as much as they really do. The applications are not cross-checked with IRS statements) Now, tens of thousands of Americans live in $400,000 and $500,000 homes without a penny of equity in them and with loans that are timed to increase dramatically in 2007. (Many of the monthly payments will double)
So, how can we blame the Fed for the reckless and irresponsible behavior of the average homeowner?
Well, because they knew the effects of their "cheap money" policy every step of the way.
First of all, the Fed knew exactly where the money was going. Greenspan endorsed the shabby new lending-regime which put hundreds of billions of dollars in the hands of people who never should have qualified for mortgages. They were set up to fail just like the victims in the stock market scam who kept dumping their life savings in the NASDAQ when PE's were shooting through the stratosphere.
Secondly, the Fed knew that wages had actually regressed (2.3%) since Bush took office, so they knew that the soaring value of real estate was entirely predicated on debt not real wealth. In other words, home values increased because of the availability of cheap money which inevitably creates a buying-frenzy. It had nothing to do with real demand or growth in wages.
And, thirdly, according to the Fed's own figures, "the total amount of residential housing wealth in the US just about doubled between 1999 and 2006"up from $10.4 trillion to $20.4 trillion". Times Online.
UP $10 TRILLION IN 7 YEARS! That is the very definition of a humongous, economy-killing equity monster. In other words, the Fed knew the ACTUAL SIZE OF THE BUBBLE and chose to steer it towards the nearest iceberg without warning the public.
This is what Greenspan called "a little froth".
There is no real growth in the American economy. Figure it out. Last year Americans saved less than 0% of their net earnings while they borrowed a whopping $600 billion from their home equity to piss-away on a consumer spending-spree. Once home prices begin to retreat, that $600 billion will evaporate, real GDP will shrivel, and the economy will begin flat-lining. (Consumer spending is 70% of GDP)
The Federal Reserve's plan is so simple; we shouldn't dignify it by calling it a conspiracy. It's merely a matter of hypnotizing the masses with low interest rates while trillions of dollars of real wealth is diverted to corporate big-wigs and American plutocrats.
It might not be rocket science, but it worked like a charm.
Now, the trap-door has been sprung; the country is dead-broke and all the levers are in place for a police state. As the housing-balloon slowly limps towards earth, the new Halliburton detention centers are up and running, the National Guard is in Rummy's control, the Feds are able to listen-in on every phone call we make.
The noose is beginning to tighten.
New Orleans was just a dress rehearsal for the new world order; 300,000 million Americans reduced to grinding poverty while the economy explodes into sheets of flames.
What is really scarey is that if he had started 3 years earlier and bailed mid 2005, he would have made a lot of money. There are no longer any GFs to sell to.
Why does the first comment get screwed up?
_______
Just click on the red letters at the top of the stream and the comments are formatted.
Also, Please click on the blue names to verify the profile, and make sure you are reading as actual post and not responding to the sock puppet.
obviously for the posters that do not know this.
keith wrote:
"i'd upgrade it...if i had any web skills."
hire casey serin; he's a former IT guru.
Was it ever mentioned if Casey had all of his properties under the same/ different LLCs or any other type of business entity, or did he just do it all under his personal name?
The article "The great housing crash of 07" by Mike Whitney says it all.To bad only 1% know this. The other 99%,includes many on the inter-net, have failed or our to lazy to question who makes up the federal reserve. Due the research. Its there to discover.No, better not do that. It might be disturbing to realize there is truth and facts you might not know.
Sorry, to be so direct but after
all these years the facts are still hidden about the federal reserve, I have almost given up. Perhaps there is still hope to question?
Dress sweet little Casey in Pink and through his blond little ass in PRISON with the 'Deliverance Gang" for about 3 to 5 years. He should Really enjoy doing a few Flips for Big Elmer!
Bob,
He said that he showed them as a residence on the loan applications. I would presume that means he bought as himself.
Time for him to start practicing how to give "Sweet and Low's"
Casey comes to the bat oh no it's strike three YOUR OUTTA THERE!!!!!!
the sock puppet is posting under fake keith.
if you see something stupid, really really stupid - it's not me folks.
I'm gonna run out and spend til I'm deeply deeply in debt so I can become famous too!
Casey's wife must have her name on a couple of those liars loans, or else she would have left that loser along time ago, me thinks. Poor stupid gal. Talk about hitching a ride with the wrong wagon train.
Hi Casey
Nothing personal, but you belong in jail... for a loooong time.
Just like that Skilling guy. You scamed the system, and used other people's money for your own gain.
That money you used to buy those homes came from the 401(k)s and savings of decent hardworking people. Multiply you by 100,000 people, and you have the makings of a systemwide collapse.
I'm sure you're a nice guy, but that's where you belong.
If you went with a "let the punishment fit the crime" paradigm, what is the appropriate punishment for Casey?
If you don't know what "paradigm" means, please don't answer.
He should do Community Service, such as working at an animal shelter picking up all the shit. That will scare the Hell out if him.
Community service or some type of work farm. Casey needs to learn to stop cutting corners and looking for shortcuts (including publicizing his stupidty and criminality in the hopes of mentary compensation) and to actually work for what he wants to achieve in life.
A good start would be working his way out of the mess he's created by getting an actual job and having his wages garnished. Then when he's convicted of fraud, he can work his way out of his sentence.
Funny thing - the iamfacingforclosure site seems to have been an effort to come clean. At face value, Casey did not know what he was getting into, and is showing remorse. Of course ignorance of the law & all that, but, as someone who took a couple of stabs at the dude, I have to give him this much. Others in his shoes would not have been open. He also sounds a frightened, despite the compulsion to do one more deal (desperation?)
But, no - I do not want to be "a little bit like him". When I was a kid, I was taught that "if something is too good to be true, it probably is [not true]". And that you can easily make a fast buck - breaking the law! Getting rich legally and morally is not so simple - if it were, we'd all be rich. I'm doing better than average, but I do not obsess about money. That is crass and a waste of your precious life. No, I do not envy flippers - early or late to the game.
Salt Lake Real Estate blog exclusive - The Casey Serin Story.
Part 1 - American Dreamer
You are such a --- my dear Casey. By the way, sercasey is ser Casey (to be Casey in Spanish). Cute. We all make mistakes, but not all of us are fools. Like they say, you can fool some of the people some of the time.....but not all the time.... Even many of your supporters have finally caught on. People like you are criminals....but also oh so pathetic. I do not envy you your lifestyle or so called fame.
You are such a --- my dear Casey. By the way, sercasey is ser Casey (to be Casey in Spanish). Cute. We all make mistakes, but not all of us are fools. Like they say, you can fool some of the people some of the time.....but not all the time.... Even many of your supporters have finally caught on. People like you are criminals....but also oh so pathetic. I do not envy you your lifestyle or so called fame.
This kid is getting some incredible blog traffic here. With this kind of stats, he might be able to make a living off his blogs.
He's young and good looking, too. Pretty soon we may be seeing him on "Dancing with the Stars"
And can you believe that right now WE are blogging?
good for casey. he managed to screw himself by trying to do to the banks what they do us everyday, lie, cheat, steal. just goes to show you really need to be a pro at ripping off people or you get into deep trouble. leave the lying and stealing to the banks.
hopefully, casey will now become the next internet billionaire by enticing those you have nothing better to do than believe themselves better than someone else.
as for galinda, if she folds after only a year of misery and chaos, you are better off without her.
Its sad to see that 90 percent of the comments are from haters your home was bought with lies on the application or maybe your car and you are all trying to play little angels everyone makes mistakes.... watch this this kid get rich off his blog
IAFF
Next Episode
EPISODE1 - IAFF - fridat fraudcast
Time: 06/01/07 08:00 PM EDT
Talkcast ID: 34638
This leech is in Australia asking for a free place to stay and money
"for travel". Send his arse back to the USA (or Antartica).
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