Muncy

From CaseyPedia

[edit] 1910 Muncy Dr, Modesto, CA 95350

• 1910 Muncy Dr, Modesto, CA 95350, Google Maps

Name of property &location

"Muncy", Modesto

Address

1910 Muncy Drive, Modesto, CA 95350

Features

3br / 2ba / 2car; 1,848sf; 6,970sf lot; built 1960, pool + spa

Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sercasey/sets/72157594280717795/detail/ Public license,w/attrib.

Description

Beautifully remodeled family home features updated kitchen with new appliances, new carpet / paint, dual pane windows, bonus room with french doors to the back yard with a sparkling pool / spa. Good area.

[edit] Timeline

February 28th 2006: Casey applies for a stated-income loan to buy Muncy.

I talk to Bill about Muncy loan and tell him to go for stated/stated since I’m having problems doing a VOD of my wells fargo account. Its a long process and I need to close. RC calls me to checkup on Muncy and I tell him that everything is smooth except for the VOD and we should be closing soon.^[1]

March 6th 2006 Casey buys Muncy Dr, Modesto, CA for $323,000

Existing Financing:

1st: $258,093.78 @ 8.625% = $2,009.81/mo

30 Yr Adjustable Rate Mortgage with Countrywide

Fixed Interest-only payments until April 21, 2008

2nd: $64,556.19 @ 11.25% = $627.43/mo

30 yr note due in 15 with Select Portfolio Servicing

Total: $322,649 combined principal balance

$2,816/mo includes taxes and insurance

Taxes and Insurance: $177.67/mo escrowed

If you pay separately - Taxes: $740/yr, Insurance: $523/yr^[2]

Note: Casey's assumption here about property tax is wildly inaccurate. Property tax in California is 1% of the assessed value statewide, and local/county assessments typically bring the final number to something like 1.05 - 1.10 % of the assessed value. On a newly purchased home, the assessed value will be the sales price. Casey's property tax bill for Muncy would therefore have been approximately $3226 per year - or $268 per month, not $740 per year.

Apr 20th 2006: Casey checks on the Modesto rehab en route to a Bruce Norris seminar

We go to Modesto to look at the stuff that Joel did on the Muncy property. Its funny because the whole time I thought he was the other contractor (Tom). So when he walked in I couldn’t figure out what was going on for a second. Its just he is more expensive then the other guy I wanted to use. The job was done pretty much in line with what I wanted, so its good anyway. This was supposed to be just a quick half-rehab and then decide on what to do next. Either continue to the full rehab and retail or just try to sell it as is. In order to improve the initial curb appeal I had him replace the garage and front doors, fix the living room ceiling, clean up the trash and try to clean up the pool/spa water. The pool is better but is still cloudy. The spa bottom is dirty. He says its stained by the leaves that were there. I pay him and he goes on his way. We think about it for a bit. I feel overwhelmed by all this work and having to figure out how much money and effort we will need to sink into this thing. California market is reversing and I need to sell this thing quickly. Galina and I get into a little bit of a conflict on the way back because I’m kind of taking some of my frustration on her... [...] After that I take a nap and go to Norcal REIA to see Bruce Norris. Since I’m doing the California Investor Series with Bruce the stuff he was talking about was review to me. Still I took some good notes and thought about some things I need to start doing to get ready for the “California Crash” that’s going to happen. If I get my act together this will be one of the best times to pickup good deals for pennies on the dollar. I need to implement some kind of a follow up system.^[3]

Apr 26, 2006: more Modesto rehab

We decided to finish the rehab on Muncy. So we meet with Tom and his wife Hidi at the property this morning to have him re-bid the rehab work. We liked Tom the best last time we did the bidding. This time Galina is handling the process and she made a big detailed list for him to go over and fill-in the amounts. This way we’re getting a more precise bid which should result in fewer surprises down the road. I’m happy Galina is taking charge of this. I think she will be really good at it. She has great attention to detail and makes a good manager. She can use a little work on being more extroverted and outgoing but that’s really her only challenge beside the lack of experience/knowledge. The knowledge we can help acquire by going to a rehabbing bootcamp one of these days. Afterward we go home. Galina takes a nap and I work on trying to do the Angleridge property in Dallas... I join Galina for a quick nap. We wake up and get the fax back from Tom and Hidi. Galina calls them back to double check some of the numbers. The bid is in line with our budget so Galina is going to meet with them tomorrow sign some kind of paperwork and get them started. ^[4]

The market reverses, and Casey is left holding the bag. For Sale By Owner and Owner Financing attempts follow.

September 19th 2006: Not Your Typical Flyer

Here is a flyer that I put together for the Muncy property.

The big "I am Facing Foreclosure" will hopefully attract extra attention. I am going down to the property today and will put up a For Sale By Owner sign and put my flyers in the flyer box. [picture] I offer owner financing "takeover my payments" as an option. The flyer includes information on my loans as well as a break down of all the costs to justify the price. I'm getting ready to list this property on MLS with a flat fee broker for only $249. Of course I will still be offering 2.5% to the buyers' agent. The MLS listing and the I am Facing Foreclosure flyer should help me sell the property quickly.^[5][6]

September 20th 2006: Very Honest "For Sale By Owner" Sign

My For Sale by Owner sign for Muncy Modesto property with I am Facing Foreclosure. com address and my phone number.

I'm really putting myself out there and taking a risk by being honest about my situation. Hopefully people will sense the urgency and help find me a buyer. I was a little embarrassed putting up this sign. Good thing I was there mid-day and nobody saw me. Although, after I put it up and started leaving I saw a neighbor from across the street go over to pick up a flyer. Buyers may try to exploit my weakness. They tell you to negotiate from your strength, right? Is being honest = weak? I don't know. I don't really want to negotiate anyway. My terms are pretty straight forward. I just want some cash and walk away. I will need to put on a thick skin. This may cause me to become the talk of the neighborhood. People might laugh, criticize or ridicule. The concerned parents of teenage or 20-something kids will tell their kids "See! This is what happens when you take dumb risks!". Some may think "Facing Foreclosure .com" is just a ploy to make a sale. I don't care… I'm desperate.^[7]

September 24th 2006: Will I Go to Jail for Mortgage Fraud?

Casey starts to confront his "shady" loans:

In this blog entry I’m coming clean about all the potentially “shady” practices over the last 12 months as a real estate investor / developer. I am trying to figure out the following: Did I commit mortgage fraud? To what extent? What are the consequences? Will I go to jail? [...]

Muncy Dr, Modesto CA - 100% financed, got cash back, fixed it - trying to sell now.

I bought all the properties using 100% stated income owner-occupied loans.'^[8]

He also comments at Housing Panic:

After I get feedback on this post and talk to some attorneys I will hopefully know if jail time is a realistic expectation. I honestly didn't think the stuff I did was THAT bad. Especially since all the people helping me do it (gurus, wholesalers, investors, mortgage brokers) didn't seem to think there is much to worry about.^[9]

Sept 24, 2006, What I did was Stupid!

This blog was the WRONG kind of exposure. I APOLOGIZE to my friends, family, associates and especially EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME with my real estate transactions. I DO NOT BLAME ANYBODY for ANYTHING and take full responsibility. What started as an honest desire to share my experience turned into something dangerous - playing with fire. After talking to a business associate this morning I realized I went TOO far and shared TOO much. I turned something small into a big exaggerated mess. Others were telling me this too, but I wasn't getting it. Now I crossed the line. I misused my ambition. I have damaged my reputation and I have damaged many good relationships through this. I never meant to hurt anyone. So to stop any further damage I am shutting down and laying low. I am sorry. Casey Serin [Email]

Sept 28, 2006, Back online!!

By sercasey

The risk/reward ratio was a hard one to decide. But I decided to go forward with CAUTION.If the law goes after me. So be it!

Sept. 29, 2006

I have it listed on MLS with a flat-fee broker but I can cancel the listing at anytime. Present your offers to me and we can work something out. As you can tell I am VERY flexible. If I can’t sell this thing quick enough for full mortgage balance, we may have to go for a short sale. You can also catch-up my back payments and take-over my loan if you want via a lease-option or All Inclusive Trust Deed.

Oct. 2, 2006, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 02-OCT-2006

Document Number 014554100 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE Document Type NTCE DEFAULT

Oct. 13, 2006

Comment by Casey Serin Hey that one is right there in Modesto (80 miles away from me in Sacramento). I will be working on my Muncy Drive property tomorrow to get it finished and sold. Maybe I can swing by there and take a look. Compared to his guy my deals aren’t so bad.

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/2006/10/10/bad-investment-fraud-or-what/

Jan 2007

I’m working with Larry the realtor in Modesto to do a short sale on the property. The trustee sale which was scheduled for the 24th got postponed by a month.

Jan 5, 2007, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 05-JAN-2007

Document Number 000129000 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE RECONTRUST CO Document Type SUBS TRUSTEE

Jan 5, 2007, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 05-JAN-2007

Document Number 000129100 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE Document Type NTCE TR SALE

Jan 10, 2007

Casey Serin had another house go into foreclosure

http://iamfacingforeclosure.com/properties/muncy-dr-modesto-ca/

Jan 10, 2007

Wednesday, Anonymous said...AC writes Casey just left a message and yes the Muncy property auction notice is somewhere in that pile of mail.

Jan 11, 2007

Casey Serin Hey guys I know I’m a little slow with moderation (have 227 comments waiting) but I was busy talking to a BK attorney today and another adviser. Now I got a business meeting to catch. Comments will be released by tomorrow morning. Also, we got a final approval letter with a list of conditions from Countrywide for Larchmont short sale. And I want to thank a couple of you for noticing that my Muncy property is going up for auction. With all the craziness lately, that caught me by surprise. I bet that notice is somewhere in the pile of mail. This weekend I want to finally catchup up with everything and get going with my goal.

Jan 12, 2007 Friday

Casey Serin I don’t really have a plan for Muncy foreclosure anymore. The property is in Modesto 1.5 hours drive from here. I haven’t had the money or the time to try to market it or really do anything with it. I did have a couple of interested buyers who wanted to take over my payments but they backed out. At this point I think it’s a lost cause trying to salvage it. Maybe I will at least drive down for the auction and watch how it goes, again, for experience and education.

http://iamnotfacingforeclosure.com/2007/01/12/casey-comment-1142-am-reactions/

Jan 18, 2007

post#56. Casey Serin As for Amy talking me into signing the 50K note. Of course she is looking out for her interests and wants to make that commission. She is not doing this for charity you know. However, she let me see the note and gave me plenty of opportunity to consider the decision and get any 3rd party advice. She doesn’t know all the implications of the note, she is just a realtor. So the decision to sign the note was my own responsibility and I take full credit (or blame) for it.

Jan 18, 2007, Thursday, Avoiding Foreclosure via Short Sale and/or For Sale by Owner

Almost forgot about Muncy… only 6 days left? Very Honest For Sale By Owner Sign Man, I’ve been really neglecting this property lately because of the distance and because I have been slow in opening my usual sea of mail the foreclosure auction on January 24th caught me by surprise. Since the property is an 1.5 hour drive away ($$), I haven’t been doing very much with it aside from my original Very Honest For Sale By Owner Sign (which I later removed) and listing with a flat-fee broker at $350,000 several months ago (not ONE call!). I have also been doing some light For Sale By Owner No Banks type of marketing with catchy flyers (updated), newspaper ads, and craigslist ads (with tracking) No Banks Owner Finance Ad to attract credit-challenged buyers who have money but no credit and are willing to catch-up my loan and take over payments via a lease option or a wrap-around contract. That did generate some calls and I had a couple of buyers who loved the house and could afford the payments but were short on the down-payment. Last minute Short Sale… When I found out about the foreclosure auction (through one of the comments) I kind of just wanted to give up on it and let it foreclose. I was even planning to go down to the auction and video tape it and post it her for educational value. But then my Sacrament Realtor referred me to a Realtor in Modesto who is experienced with short sales. She urged me to not give up on the property without a fight. Front of the house I contact Larry, the Modesto short sale realtor, and find out he actually has a buyer who is looking for a home like this. I gave them the lockbox code and the buyer viewed the property right away. Without wasting any time they sent me a purchase contract for $270,000 and a checklist of documents. I spend several hours yesterday putting together the short sale packet, updating my financial statement and my clean hardship letter. Now the short sale packet is in Larry’s hands and I’m just going to wait and see what happens next… Why bother with a Short Sale? From what I understand, in California, I can just let the houses go to foreclose and the lender has no recourse against me. That means aside from taking my property they can’t sue me and get a deficiency judgment to cover their losses - as long as it’s a purchase money loan (never refinanced) and as as long as the lender is doing the more common and fast trustee sale (auction) versus the rare judicial foreclosure. So why bother with a short sale?

Plus if I do a short sale won’t the lender send me you a 1099 and I will be responsible to pay taxes on forgiven debt? My Reasons to go Short Sale and Avoid Foreclosure: 1) Instead of just throwing in the towel and letting all those houses go to foreclosure I am trying to do everything I can to pay back as much of the money back to my lenders as possible. I feel that’s the responsible thing to do, especially since I used liar loans. 2) After talking to my CPA last week and giving him some rough numbers from 2006, he doesn’t think I made enough income last year to worry about paying taxes on forgiven debt. So I should be OK with a 1099 if the lender even sends one to me - I hear sometimes they don’t. 3) A short sale looks much better on my credit report than foreclosure, I am told. This is probably the main reason people who are facing foreclosure on an over-leveraged house are advised to do short sales. (The next best option is a Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure according to mortgage broker Nigel Swaby and other people I’ve talked to). The only thing is… what if I can’t save one of the homes and I will get a foreclosure on my record. Is one foreclosure just as bad as 4 foreclosures or is it worth the fight to minimize the number of foreclosures on my credit report? I asked a couple of mortgage people and I received a mixed response… Feedback?

Jan 18, 2007

post#38. Casey Serin Yeah, now that I think about it, whether they send 1099 or not doesn’t matter, if debt was forgiven it was forgiven. For example if I don’t send a 1099 to a contractor whom I paid 10K, does that mean the contractor is not responsible for taxes on that money just because they didn’t receive the 1099. Sure maybe the IRS will not be able to track it but if the contractor is being honest then the taxes are due no matter what. Am I thinking correctly here? Now what about the insolvent issue? I forgot to ask my CPA dude about that to see what qualifies as that… need to write that down for next visit on Feb 2nd. That’s when I’m going to bring him all my stuff so he can do his magic.

Jan 18, 2007

post#45. Casey Serin Great jorb[sic?]… I already cleared this up with Amy. She is allowing me to do my own marketing and if I bring my own buyer she will just cancel the listing and I will give her a separate fee. But you’re right, normally you are bound by the listing contract and will have to pay 6% (or whatever you agreed to) no matter who sells it as long as the listing contract is active.

Jan 18, 2007

post#55. Casey Serin bo bo… about the Hawaii trip… my next thing is to put together a spreadsheet of where all the cash-back-at-closing money went. It will be very educational. About my wife’s involvement in the business: She was always partially involved. She was my traveling companion to most of the bootcamps and seminars and on trips to see the properties. And if you found my old personal blog you will see she was trying to get into managing our rehabs. She only tried it one time with the Muncy property and really got a bad taste of it. The contractors we hired really screwed us over. She put them in their place and they got mad and started yelling at her. She is an introverted personality type so that really offended her and she doesn’t want anything to do with it now. That was the extent of her “hands-on” involvement. Of course, she also took the lead on accounting and paying bills last year.

Jan 19, 2007

post#109. Casey Serin #104. 91q45…. Haven’t we covered this before (maybe you’re new)… ok, once again… Finch Properties is the DBA we established first to do our investing/rehabbing business under. Then a little later I changed my mind and decided to rename the business to AbleBuyer because it has more of a trendy / brand name feel to it. I think its a great domain name too. Its generic enough to where I can grow it in one of many different directions. As you can see not much progress there right now… still busy cleaning up this mess.

Jan. 23, 2007

comment from LOL - the starting bid on Muncy is 382,000 I bet it becomes RE owned after tomorrow just like his TX house...

http://iamnotfacingforeclosure.com/2007/01/12/casey-comment-1142-am-reactions/

Feb 1, 2007 Thursday, California Properties Stopping Foreclosure

Update My awesome modesto real estate agent Larry is in the process of doing a short sale on this property. We have a buyer that is coming in a 270 CASH offer and yesterday we just got a backup offer for 250. Both are going to the bank for approval. Great to have such good team players!

February 1st, 2007

post#49 Mycroft Asked: Casey, what about the 2nd on Muncy. Your spreadsheet says you owe them $64,600. I’m guessing that’s only the principal and the real amount you owe them is closer to $85K with back interest and late fees. I know they can tell you to stuff the short sale where the sun don’t shine if they feel like it. What’s the incentive for them to sign off on it. Heck, are you going to have to sign another note to Countrywide to get them to approve another short sale?

Feb 2, 2007

post#55. Casey Serin @Mycroft: The second lien holder normally will get nothing if the house goes to the trustee sale (foreclosure auction) because the houses are bought at 80% of value now-days or lower, add to that the fact that the market has come down too 10-20% since I bought the houses. So on a short sale we offer the second lender as much as the first will allow. Normally the first has rules about how much they will let the second get which is typically 10%. So if the second loan is 60K they will get 6K. They will cooperate because 6K is better then 0.

Feb 2, 2007

post#57. Casey Serin A few of you are criticising[sic] my realtor about not presenting the offers. You must not be understanding what I’m saying. She does present the offers to ME (verbally) but if the offer has no chance of getting approved we don’t present it to the BANK. You guys just like to criticize every little thing. Me and my w*** sometimes get critical of each other and do a “no criticism” days to put it in check. Try doing the same. See if you can go through the whole day without saying ANYTHING critical. Only positive or constructive words are to come out of your mouth. Try it and you will see that your outlook on life and your overall attitude will change. You will live a happier life. Be positive. Be thankful. Don’t criticize. If you DO need to criticize make sure you “package it” in a constructive and loving way.

Feb 12, 2007, Monday, Short Sale to Stop Foreclosure

Update Muncy: Bank appraisal came in at 330. My realtor thinks that’s way too high. He thinks the banks don’t realize what is happening to the values in the area. However, my agent found another buyer who is interested in raising their offer to 300 (up from their original offer). The negotiator from the bank gave my realtor the feeling that they will probably accept a short sale at 300. So now my agent is trying to see if the buyer is willing to go forward at that price. We’ll know soon.

Feb 23, 2007 Friday

Foreclosure Auction On Monday Larchmont house with foreclosure auction notice Since we got a strong offer submitted on the Modesto property that foreclosure auction may get delayed. But this Larchmont house is pretty much a done deal at this point…At least I tried…

Feb 24, 2007

post#50. Casey Serin If I don’t hear back from the Modesto realtor Monday morning about the Modesto property auction being delayed then I will have two trustee sales to catch. I’m glad the Modesto one is conveniently scheduled for noon. So I can catch Sacramento at 9:30 and rush over to Modesto and hopefully make it in time. It’s going to be a crazy day.

Feb 24, 2007

post#82. Casey Serin Here is the date, time and location from the letter: Monday Feb 26th, 9:30 AM, East main entrance to County Courthouse, 720 9th St, Sacramento, CA. Anybody coming? Anybody bidding?

Mar 2, 2007 Friday, Timeline of Life, Houses and Foreclosure

I am being interviewed again and part of the due diligence the reporter does is check all my closing statements. In putting together those I decided to give you a timeline of all my house purchases, sales and foreclosures so far (and a few major life events for good measure). Here it is:

• September 10th, 1982: Pop out in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• June 6th, 1994: Arrive to Sacramento, CA
• June, 2000: Graduate Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks, CA
• March 8th, 2002: BUY Salmon Falls Dr, Sacramento, CA for $110,000
• March 13th, 2003: SELL Salmon Falls Dr, Sacramento, CA for $157,000
• August 20th, 2003: Become citizen of U.S.A.
• April 3rd, 2004: Get married
• October 7th, 2005: BUY Calla Way, Sacramento, CA for $360,000
• January 4th, 2006: SELL Calla Way, Sacramento, CA for $365,000
• January 4th, 2006: BUY Burdett Way, Sacramento, CA for $295,000
• February 6th, 2006: BUY Guadalajara Dr, Rio Rancho, NM for $497,000
• February 24th, 2006: BUY Sonora Ave, Albuquerque, NM for $345,000
• March 6th, 2006: BUY Muncy Dr, Modesto, CA for $323,000
• March 10th, 2006: BUY W 10250 N, Highland, UT for $360,000
• March 24th, 2006: BUY Larchmont Dr, North Highlands, CA for $330,000
• May 4th, 2006: BUY Angleridge Dr, Dallas, TX for $191,500
• June 23rd, 2006: SELL Sonora Ave, Albuquerque, NM for $355,000
• September 12th, 2006: SELL (wrap) W 10250 N, Highland, UT for $399,900
• November 7th, 2006: FORECLOSURE of Angleridge Dr, Dallas, TX
• February 26th, 2007: FORECLOSURE of Larchmont Dr, North Highlands, CA

Additional Foreclosures pending:

• Burdett Way, Sacramento, CA: short sale offer being reviewed, foreclosure auction scheduled Mar 12th
• Muncy Dr, Modesto, CA: short sale offer being reviewed, foreclosure auction ...looks from Recontrust website...rescheduled to March 28th
• Guadalajara Dr, Rio Rancho, NM: short sale offer being reviewed, foreclosure auction rescheduled to March 28

Mar 2, 2007

post#20. Casey Serin P&L including cash-back amounts for each deal to come soon… I am still going through all the transactions from 2006 and preparing everything for my accountant so we can get them taxes done. I’m going to Utah with a partner of mine and I hope to meet with the buyer of the wrapped property but mainly to meet some business associates and look at some sweet deals. How I’m paying for it shouldn’t matter, but since everybody keeps asking, my other partners’ corporation is paying for it.

Mar 7, 2006, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 07-MAR-2006

Document Number 003426200 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE SMITH ALLEN P Document Type DEED

Mar 7, 2006, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 07-MAR-2006

Document Number 003426200 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE SMITH GINA A Document Type DEED

Mar 7, 2006, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 07-MAR-2006

Document Number 003426200 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE SERIN GALINA Document Type DEED

Mar 7, 2006, Stanislaus County Public record

Date 07-MAR-2006

Document Number 003426200 GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE MRTG ELEC RGSTN SYS TRUST Document Type DEED

Mar 22, 2007 Thursday, Stop Modesto Foreclosure via Short Sale, But No Promissory!

Spoke with agent working to stop my foreclosure in Modesto, California. We spoke about the status of the short sale offer. The rep at the bank finally got back to my short sale agent and said they may want me to sign a promissory note in order to get this short sale approved and stop foreclosure. I told him I will NOT be signing any promissory notes this time around. I’m resigned to let this one go into foreclosure since I couldn’t make good on an additional debt payment at this time. I already have 2 official foreclosures from California houses and 1 foreclosure from Dallas. A fourth foreclosure is probably not going to ruin my credit and FICO score much more. When I agreed to sign the last promissory note for the Sacramento house foreclosure, that was a different story. At that point I was still hoping to stop foreclosure on all the remaining houses. And if I would have succeeded I would only have to worry about the Dallas foreclosure, which doesn’t report on my credit score since it was a private lender (though, they say it eventually will).

Another thing they want is me to put up $4,000 cash to get the foreclosure auction postponed since it’s so close (the 28th). The agent knows I can’t afford to do that so he offered to eat that cost from his commission and the buyer’s agents commission. So at this point we’re waiting to hear from the lender to see if they can approve the short sale without a note. I don’t get why the first even wants the promissory note. I don’t think they are losing much if anything at all. The offer is $300,000 and the principal amount on the first is about $258,000. If you factor in the commissions, closing costs, late fees, etc, the net should come pretty close to pay-off. I asked the agent to get me the net sheet that was sent with the short sale package. I want to see how much the lender is netting and what’s going on here.

Mar 28, 2007 Wednesday,No word on Short Sale… Remaining Homes Going to Foreclosure Today?

Just spoke this morning to the realtor in Rio Ranch, New Mexico. He has been unable to get a hold of the lender to get a status on the short sale package we sent in a long time ago. The real estate agent said this particular lender (Aurora) is known for being very hard to deal with. Especially since they are now having financial problems as they are one of the sub-prime lenders that have been affected by massive foreclosures. So we’re assuming the short sale package has not been approved and the house is going to be up at the foreclosure auction shortly. No word on the Modesto, California house either. I spoke with the short sale realtor a couple of days ago. He said he will let me know if he hears something. He is usually very prompt in delivering news to me. That house is schedule to go to the foreclosure sale today too. Wow, this might be it.. the end of my property ownership… for now. I should know for sure at the end of the day what happened at the foreclosure sales. Update: Looks like the Modesto property got rescheduled to 4/27/2007 at 12 PM according to ReconTrust website. Maybe that means they are going to take the short sale offer… That would be s-w-e-e-t!

Apr 6, 2007 Friday,Will I Stop The Last Foreclosure via Short Sale?

We got approval from the bank to allow short sale of the Modesto house at about $300,000. I have the approval letter but my short sale real estate agent didn’t want me posting it quite yet. Now that the 1st is willing to do the short sale, the agent is negotiating with the second to make sure they are willing to play along. I haven’t heard back yet. With this agent, no news is good news. I’m assuming things are progressing along. Even if the second is will to play ball on the short sale, we’ll still have to hope the buyer actually closes. But hey, perhaps I will have one successful short sale under my belt after all. I can’t take all the credit though. Success is all about having great team players, like my awesome short sale agent in Modesto. I already referred a couple of people facing foreclosure to him. That’s the kind of network I want to build. A team of short sale specializing real estate agents across the country who I can refer people too and help them avoid foreclosure on their record. Not many agents are willing to do short sales and the ones that do, few are good at it. I’ve been blessed with some good ones. But even the good short sale agents can’t always stop foreclosure. The bank can say NO to a short sale for a number of different reasons. So I feel like even if we get 1 out of 4 short sales accepted, we’re doing pretty good.

Apr 13, 2007, Friday, Short Sale, After Foreclosure, Book, GSPG, Etc.

Man… last couple of days I’ve been jumping all over place… book, no book, partial book, crazy ideas, comeback stories, getting swayed by different people… I’m being too impulsive again! I think I need to come back down to reality and give you some updates: My last facing foreclosure property in Modesto, CA: Short sale approved by first lender. Waiting on second to approve. Buyer is ready to close once we get approval. I hope it gets approved and closes quick… I just wanted to officially announce that I want to do a book of some kind. Then I got worked up by some of you haters trying to shoot down my credibility of writing a book. Hence the last post about doing a comeback story. Yes a crazy comeback story where I miraculously pay off my debt would be very cool and a big blessing... The power of intention and law of attraction is an amazing thing.

Apr 19, 2007 Thursday,Pool Maintenance in Foreclosure

If you’re facing foreclosure, you know that sinking money into any kind of maintenance is the last thing on your mind. Especially when you don’t live in the property and the property is 75 miles away. The last time I visited that property was sometime in October or November of last year. Here is how I remember the pool looking like: Apparently, the pool has gotten much worse since… Here is the email I got from my short sale specialist real estate agent who is trying to help me stop foreclosure on the Modesto property: Casey, I just wanted to update you on what is going on. I went by the property today. The pool looks nasty. There is a notice from the mosquito abatement district. They want you to clean or drain the pool within 2 weeks. I tried to call them but they close at 5. The number is 209-XXX-XXXX, if you want to call them. We should be hearing from the second lender soon. ( I Hope.) – Modesto Agent. Here is how I responded: Should I call the abatement and see what my options are? Or maybe I should wait a little longer for the answer on the second. Then I can tell them that we have the house in escrow and it should be selling soon and tell them that the new owners will start cleaning it up as soon as it’s closed. Please advise.– Casey Serin. Oh the wonderful life of pre-foreclosure property ownership!

Apr 19, 2007

post #28. Casey Serin Pool: yeah maybe I should just go over there and drain it. But I believe I need special equipment to do that. I need to check to see what kind of a setup I have there. The system is pretty old.

Apr 19, 2007

post#71. Casey Serin Just talked with the guy who did the repairs on the house to see what I need to drain the pool (we had it drained before to clean it). He said all I need is to rent a water pump from the nearest tool rental place. It needs to have a hose of at least 60 feet to reach the drain behind the house. He said it shouldn’t cost me more than $30-40 to rent the pump for the day.

Apr 19, 2007

post#103. Casey Serin The latest. Spoke with the realtor. He actually called Mosquito Abatement and here is what they said: They will come out and check the pool again and see what needs to be done. If there are some larvae they will throw in special fish that eat that stuff. They might also decide its too bad and they will drain it for me. (but not clean it) That’s not that good because they will leave the 2-foot high sludge of decomposing leaves at the bottom and that’s not going to make things any better. It might even make things worse. My realtor also thinks they will probably charge me about $800 for that. I offered to come by this Saturday, rent the pump and drain it myself. But again, he reminded me that if I don’t clean up the crap at the bottom its going to be just as bad because it will still be moist and nasty. It might be even worse. He had some doubts about me being able to cleanup the sludge at the bottom by myself. Also when you drain pools (as somebody already mentioned above) the pull can “float” - the walls can cave in because of the difference of pressure. I’ve had it drained before to clean it but only for a couple of days. The Realtor did confirm there is no electricity or running water on the property right now. But as some of you suggested, I’m sure the neighbors will be more than glad to volunteer their electricity to turn on the pump to have this mess cleaned. The realtor told me he has a guy who can do the whole things for $400. Drain, clean the sludge, pressure wash and refil [sic]. That includes the spa too. Hmmm… I would love to help out and make the neighborhoods a safer place. I just don’t have $400 of presonal[sic] cash I can commit to this. I STILL haven’t paid my sister-in-law rent and now its going on 3rd month. (I had some urgent stuff come up, what can I say, I promised to get the money for her ASAP with late fees and maybe some interest to make it worth her while).I am kind of tempted to just go down there this Saturday and have a work day. You know. “Pull up the sleeves and get dirty” kind of work. Also I was told a section of the fence fell down on the backyard. My realtor is going to talk to the neighbor’s about that to see what they’re plans are, since it’s a community fence. Back to the pool dilema[sic]… I might just go and work on it but here are the problems: Getting the sludge out: if the sludge and the crap on the bottom is as bad as described it’s going to take a major effort and additional tools to clean out. If I just jump down there with a bucket and shovel, how long is that going to take? Two days? Where am I gonna put the sludge? $40 for pump: that’s not a big deal. $40 is not that much money. I’m sure I can find it somewhere. Draining a pool and leaving it might be a bad idea: Inground Vinyl Liner Pools This type of pool is the most dangerous to drain and should only be done by a professional. Older pools may not have been built structurally to hold back the weight of the dirt against it when the pool is drained. This can cause the walls to collapse. These pools were backfilled with dirt as the water level came up, equalizing the pressure as it fills. Modern vinyl pools have been designed and built to hold the weight of the dirt without water in the pool. The next problem you must deal with is ground water which can make the liner float away from the wall as the level in the pool gets equal to or lower than the ground water level. Ground water must be lowered below the bottom of the pool by pumping it out through the well point line installed during construction. No well point line? Then you will need to install at least two (one on each side of the deep end) to pump out the water. Even if there was not any ground water present when the pool was built, this can change over time. You must also be very careful about rain. Normally most rain water runs off the surface and does not soak into the soil (except for very sandy soils). However, when the pool was built, it disturbed the soil, loosening it, and this can allow a lot more water to penetrate, filling the bowl that was excavated and causing the liner to float. We have even seen this happen to a pool that was full. That is why you may find your liner floating and/or wrinkles in it after a heavy rainstorm. Inground Concrete Pools Here, you are dealing with the same groundwater problems as for a vinyl pool. Most concrete pools are built structurally to withstand the weight of the dirt against them when drained. However, if the ground water is high enough, it can push the entire pool out of the ground. The concrete pool shell acts like a ship and floats up in the ground water. Inground Fiberglass Pools This type of pool is very susceptible to floating. It is a lot lighter than concrete and would float much quicker when drained. I don’t even know what type of pool I have there. All those options don’t sound too good. Dilemma! What to do?

Apr 19, 2007

post#128. Casey Serin Who will help me clean the pool this Saturday, if I decide to do it? (or at least come watch and take a picture for the blog)

Apr 19, 2007

post #161. Casey Serin The Green Pool Somebody mentioned you can see the pool form the air… you’re right. I wonder… is that the green pool from before I bought the property or after. I don’t know how after Google updates their satellite maps. I hear from the neighbors the pool was green a long time BEFORE I bought it. The guy was apparently in foreclosure too and wasn’t taking care of it. I know it’s true because I spend A LOT of money trying to clean the pool and all the equipment. Man what a money pit this property ended up being!

Apr. 27, 2007, Last Foreclosure… No Houses, No Money, No Stereo

Today I lost my last property to foreclosure. The worst part is that BOTH the first and second approved the short sale but the first (Countrywide) refused to give the buyer a small extension to close. They had a solid offer for $300,000 on the table! The pool and spa is still a mess as you can see above. I was going to try to empty it out with a cheap rented pump the other day to give the new buyers and neighbors a favor but the job was too much for me to handle. The pool needs to be professionally drained and cleaned. I would have just created a bigger mess if I tried it myself… I don’t know the result of the foreclosure auction because I didn’t make it there. Our (bitter) sweet Jetta got broken into at night. They broke the passenger window, ripped out the stereo and took the box of 12 inch subwoofers from the trunk. On top of that our auto insurance was canceled due to non-payment. Oh and and on top of that we owe 2 months of rent and utilities and the patience has run out. We are expected to have that money in certified form by May 1st and also pre-pay 2 months of rent in advance if we are to stay here. No properties, no money, no insurance and no car stereo (and could be no more place to live soon too). Still overwhelmed by it all with about a thousand emails in my inbox to process, over 30 voice mail messages to return, a pile of unopened mail, unfinished taxes, marriage issues, piles of unsecured debt. At the same time there are many good opportunities on the horizon, including a possible job, but nothing is certain right now and everything takes longer then you think. Can’t depend on any one thing. It was good to take a week break from blogging though and think about stuff, including the future of this foreclosure blog. What’s next? Good question…

Apr 27, 2007 Friday,

Anonymous said... FYI, all... As of just shortly before posting here, the Serin Muncy Drive property is STILL set for Trustee Sale (TS# 2006-20185) at noon today. I plan to attend, if not postponed by 10:30 am. I’ll keep you all posted. http://exurbannation.blogspot.com/

May 10, 2007, County Record

Date10-MAY-2007

Document Number 005953100R GrantoR SERIN CASEY GranteE BANK OF NEW YORK Document Type TRUSTEE DEED

[edit] References

1. ↑ Earth Mission blog, February 28th 2006
2. ↑ Muncy Dr, Modesto CA, IAFF property page
3. ↑ Earth Mission blog, April 20th 2006
4. ↑ Earth Mission blog, April 26th 2006
5. ↑ Not Your Typical Flyer, IAFF, September 19th 2006
6. ↑ I am Facing Foreclosure Takeover Payments, Flick, September 19, 2006
7. ↑ Very Honest "For Sale By Owner" Sign, IAFF, September 20th 2006
8. ↑ Will I Go to Jail for Mortgage Fraud?, IAFF, September 24th 2006
9. ↑ I honestly don't think the stuff I did was THAT bad..., comment by sercasey on Housing Panic, September 24th 2006 at 11:30 AM