Casey Serin

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Casey Serin
Casey Serin

Casey Serin (born September 10, 1982) is a real estate speculator and blogger. In a newspaper article, USA Today called him the "poster child for everything that went wrong in the real estate boom".[1] Serin was born in Uzbekistan and immigrated to America in 1994. In his early twenties, Serin was working as a PHP script programmer for Pride Industries, but he decided to quit this job to pursue his dream of becoming financially independent through real estate investments. Beginning in October 2005 and continuing through the following year, Serin purchased eight houses in various U.S. states, and then began blogging about the foreclosure[2] process on the properties he was unable to resell.

Contents

[edit] Background

Some information in this section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

Serin purchased eight properties from October 2005 to May 2006 using stated-income loans. These loans required no documentation or down payment. He left his programming position in January 2006, but elected to claim income on subsequent loan applications,[3][4][5] reasoning that many borrowers were using similar strategies to obtain credit. All eight of the properties were purchased with owner-occupied loans; these generally permit more favorable terms than loans for investment properties. In addition, he received cash back at closing on several of the properties—for some of his California properties, Serin received more than California's legal maximum of 3 percent of the selling price.[6] Serin has stated that his advisors and brokers "saw nothing wrong" with these practices. However, according to Freddie Mac, they constitute mortgage fraud[7][8]. Months later, Serin became unable to pay the mortgages or sell the properties; he estimates that he is now approximately 2.2 million dollars in debt, with a net worth around negative $600,000.[9] An online discussion of income overstatement in loan applications uses the case of Serin as an example.[10]

[edit] Blog, and media attention

In September 2006, Serin started the blog IamFacingForeclosure.com describing his situation. Interest in the blog first developed among readers of other blogs devoted to the United States housing bubble.[11] His story was featured in USA Today,[1] National Public Radio,[12] New York magazine,[13] the San Francisco Chronicle,[14] and most recently in The Economist's lead story for the week of March 26, 2007[5] . Serin has also been featured on other mainstream media outlets. Serin disclosed on a local TV news program[6] that he had used stated-income loans, received cash back at closing, and likely would not have been able to qualify for more traditional loans. Because of the sheer magnitude of Serin's debt and the improbability of his story, some question its veracity—an article at The Motley Fool expresses doubt over "whether or not this [isn't] just a somewhat elaborate hoax."[15] However, public records support the authenticity of Serin's claims.

[edit] Attempts to resolve debt situation

After it became clear to Serin that he would be unable to service his mortgages, he attempted to raise capital by e-mailing friends to advertise an investment opportunity secured by his real estate holdings, with a promise of 24% interest.[16] A week later, Serin admitted in his blog that his real estate business was actually in trouble and that he was facing foreclosure on all of his properties.[17]

Readers of the blog initially encouraged Serin to contact an attorney in the hopes of discharging at least a portion of his debt by filing bankruptcy. Serin has not yet chosen to file bankruptcy, even though some readers have estimated that the interest on his debt is growing at the rate of approximately $600 per day. In early 2007, Serin set his goals for returning to fiscal solvency by attempting to purchase an apartment complex. In addition, Serin has discussed with an attorney[18] the possibility of establishing a corporation[19] in order to obtain credit for his real estate ventures; readers have cautioned him that commingling personal and corporate loans may be illegal, and can result in a court decision to pierce the corporate veil. Serin also established two real estate websites in early 2007: ablebuyer.com[20] and buyingapartmentbuildings.com,[21] though the second address currently directs visitors to the first.

[edit] Current status

Serin has created an online financial statement, summarizing his budget and net worth.[22] This was last modified on January 29, 2007, and has not been updated to reflect his foreclosures.

He is currently investigating further business ventures, while taking small contract jobs to pay his living expenses.[23] He placed a "tip jar" on his website in late March 2007. In exchange for donations, Serin has answered questions from, and posted documents and photographs requested by, his readers. [24]

[edit] Properties owned by Serin

Some information in this section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.
Date Property Purchase Price Status End Price
3-8-2002 Salmon Falls Drive, Sacramento, CA $110,000 Sold 3-13-2003 $157,000
10-7-2005 Calla Way, Sacramento, CA $360,000 Sold 1-4-06 $365,000
1-4-2006 6842 Burdett Way, Sacramento, CA, 95823 $295,000 Foreclosed <$247,500
2-6-2006 6021 Guadalajara Drive, Rio Rancho, NM, 87144 $497,000 Foreclosed <$407,000
2-24-2006 Sonora Ave, Albuquerque, NM $345,000 sold Jun 06
3-6-2006 1910 Muncy Drive, Modesto, CA, 95350 $323,000 NOD/NOT
3-10-2006 6656 W 10250 N, Highland, UT, 84003 $360,000 Wrapped? $399,000
3-24-2006 6500 Larchmont Drive, North Highlands, CA, 95660 $330,000 Foreclosed <$216,000
5-4-2006 9524 Angleridge Road, Dallas, TX, 75238 $191,500 Foreclosed

Sales Prices can be verified by either using Zillow.com or RealEstateABC.com.


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "10 mistakes that made flipping a flop", USA Today, 22 October 2006.
  2. ^ Dallas County Record 200600425251 (2006-11-15).
  3. ^ "Yes, I Lied on my Loans!", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 4 October 2006.
  4. ^ "Will I Go to Jail for Mortgage Fraud?", IamFacingForeclosure.com, 24 September 2006.
  5. ^ a b ""America's Housing Market"", Economist.com, 22 Mar 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Central Valley Man Poster Child Of Mortgage Crisis", CBS 5 Eyewitness News, 7 March 2007.
  7. ^ ""Mortgage Industry Turns Up Heat"", FreddieMac.com, Oct 1997.
  8. ^ ""Wiki Mortgage Fraud"", wikipedia.org, 22 Mar 2007.
  9. ^ "I am $2.2 Million In Debt", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 16 September 2006.
  10. ^ "Truth or Consequence", Scotsman Guide, January 2007.
  11. ^ "As bubble sags, market critics are busting out", San Francisco Chronicle, 5 November 2006.
  12. ^ "Loose Credit Standards Boost Real Estate Woes", NPR Morning Edition, 19 October 2006.
  13. ^ "Say Everything", New York magazine, 12 February 2007.
  14. ^ "No spin is used as blog describes downward spiral", San Francisco Chronicle, 5 November 2006.
  15. ^ "24 Years Old, $2 Million in the Hole", The Motley Fool, 25 September 2006.
  16. ^ "Meet the 24-year old with $2.2 million in debt", I Will Teach You To Be Rich, 1 November 2006.
  17. ^ "Revisiting Old Mistakes", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 4 November 2006.
  18. ^ "Attorneys Say Corporate Credit is OK, Need a Plan", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 21 February 2007.
  19. ^ "Corporate Credit?", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 11 December 2006.
  20. ^ "ablebuyer.com", ablebuyer.com, 11 December 2006.
  21. ^ "buyingapartmentbuildings.com", buyingapartmentbuildings.com, 11 December 2006.
  22. ^ http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pPacQAmy3C4AuHrqHYLazIQ
  23. ^ "Who Says We Don’t Work?", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 30 March 2007.
  24. ^ "CashCall says: $220 by 12PM Tomorrow or Else… Donation?", I am Facing Foreclosure .com, 30 March 2007.

[edit] External links

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