Monday, May 07, 2007

Four Horsemen


And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth flipping, and to flip.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take equity from the earth, and that they should indebt one another: and there was given unto him a great line of credit.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and saw a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of granite countertop for a penny, and three measures of Pergo for a penny; and see thou hurt not the brushed nickel fixtures and the stainless appliances.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Recession, and Depression followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with easy credit, and with mortgages, and with HELOCs, and with the financiers of the earth.


So, unless there's any real news this is a good day to talk about larger issues than seat covers stained by cheap pleather jackets and such. In the que are discussions including a blog round up, a further explanation about why the exurbs won't suffer disproportionately contrary to expert opinion, the state of the urban density war and stupid transit facts.

And yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of debt I shall fear no foreclosure for liquidity and FICO are with me.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

first

Sweet Cashback said...

Oh come on Dawg......MURST!

Sweet Cashback said...

That time stamp was MESSED UP ! 7:25pm then changed to 8:01am. I feel like you are cheating me out of my legitimate firstnes !

Anonymous said...

More fun in the 'As I spoke more with Casey thread'.

Sweet Cashback said...

You deserve to get one of my famous quality iamfacingforeclosure.com jokes on your blog too !

"What's brown and sticky? A stick." Sweet !

You better not screw with me again or you will get more of those !

Rob Dawg said...

Sweet cashback, yeah, I said I had lots of topics qued up You'll have lots of chances. You want fair? Go to SLCRE where you can score firsties any time. You want fun, good natured competetion in the spirit of fellowship then you gotta put up with a second rate blog admin. Sorry. I will however fix the post times for the rest of the day.

Fear the Mursiless reminds us that fun is still to be had below in the "As I spoke" thread for those who can't get enough.

Sweet Cashback said...

Fair ? On SLCRE all I get as a firstnes trophy is a "This post has been removed by the blog administrator."

I'd rather get murstnes here....but thanks for the tip !

Anonymous said...

And on that day, there shall be many who cry "murst, murst" and Rob Dawg shall say "depart from me, sinners, I never knew thee."

And they shall be cast down, yea unto The Lake Of Salt, where the Link Whore dwelleth, saying "come, come to my award-winning blog". And they shall be pricked with Olympic Pins day and night and their comments shall be tirelessly deleted.

In in that hideous place shall be a swimming pool filled with the larvae that dieth not wherein the sinners shall be emersed. And from this pool will issue a great plague of mosquitos. And they shall be in great multitudes to torment the Murstless for eternity.

And the beast himself shall add greatly to their suffering for he shall repeateth "it's all good" and "Lo! Let us fall forward unto success" without cease.

Peripheral Visionary said...

@Rob Re: the fate of the Exurbs: The exurbs are critically dependent on the price of gas. Doubly so since so many exurbanites (the real sense, not the denizens of this site) drive low-mpg vehicles like SUVs and the utterly ridiculous F350 (sorry, no apologies to anyone who owns one of those, unless you are, literally, a farmer.) Unless you're telecommuting, the price of distance is going to hurt. That will keep prices in the exurbs nice and low, but all at a cost.

I did have an interesting thought this morning, however. What will become of all the McMansions? The answer probably depends on the neighborhood. For bad neighborhoods, I think the McMansions will become the new triple deckers--subdivided into multiple units and rented out to low-income families.

For good neighborhoods, especially in desirable locations, I can see them ending up in some unexpected hands. Given the direction of exchange rates, once the dollar is low enough and the prices of those properties have gone down, they could become very attractive as second homes--for wealthy foreigners. That's already the case in my neighborhood in D.C., where a lot of homes and condos are second homes for the wealthy, many of them from overseas. I can easily see the nouveau riche from China and India buying up places in San Diego, L.A., Jackson Hole, Aspen, Florida, etc.

I remember back in the late '80s when there was a fear that the Japanese were buying up the U.S. and would be moving in. That never happened, as the Japanese markets collapsed. This time, I don't think it's the Japanese markets that will be collapsing--and we might be getting some new neighbors.

Anonymous said...

Just a comment about the latest Casey-ness. From his post about Brainstorming in Tahoe...

I decided to take a random trip to one of my favorite places:...

"Take a random trip" indeed. This, when he's months behind on rent, had to beg for a CashCall payment, recently had to borrow a car and money for gas, and it's been over a month since he even had a stupid CD-duplication job.

So he decides to take a random trip. This, just a month or so after he took a week's vacation for his wedding anniversary. And IKEA office furniture. And bought two cases of beer for neighbors who fixed HIS fence.

My point: This is how Casey spends money when he's flat broke, and all the credit cards are maxed out.

Imagine how his spending must have been when he had two $30K credit lines with Wells, blank and untapped? Can you even imagine the magnitude of his "random trips" a year ago? To help relieve the pressure of all that property buying, phone calls and other related stress?

Anonymous said...

@9:03 AM, Peripheral Visionary mentions "the utterly ridiculous F350 (sorry, no apologies to anyone who owns one of those, unless you are, literally, a farmer)"

Here is a burning question at work: What exactly is the gas mileage of that F350 MegaPig? One of the guys here is shopping for one (no, he doesn't need it, just wants to give his money to Exxon-Mobil and the sheiks, I guess), and he shrugs off the mileage question.

OK, when pressed, he doesn't know. He says the salesman told him "it varies a lot". My friend *thinks* it's about 12-15 mpg. Some of us reckon a lot lower than that. But no easy search is giving us a number. Is this behemoth so big that Ford doesn't even have to publish a number???

Oh yeah, did I mention that it's too big for his garage, so he is thinking of building another garage just for it?

Anonymous said...

"Can you even imagine the magnitude of his "random trips" a year ago? "


I am sure no expense was spared. Afterall, why wouldn't a successful real estate investor be able to afford it? I'm sure Casey thought the sky was no limit back when he was spending borrowed money for the best of everything.

Anonymous said...

More negative waves, man...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/02/real_estate/face_of_foreclosure/index.htm?postversion=2007050712

Anonymous said...

I think we need to formulate a plan for reporting Hammar to the CA Attorney Generals office or whatever entity investigates complaints.

It can be assumed that Casey is using that corporate credit to further his insane refusal to do any real work.

Anonymous said...

I simply can't understand spending $60,000 for a truck.

Anonymous said...

I used to work for ford auditing dealers - you would be shocked on what some people would drop on their trucks who weren't using them for "truck" things... Don't forget, if people are going to spend $60k on a truck, they are going to spring more for aftermarket rims and other sweet accessories.

The whole time I worked for ford I drove a tiny Honda Civic. When gas climed over $3 in Michigan, I didn't care, but my coworkers sure did.

BTW, I think the variance in gas mileage depends on the config of the engine. For a gas engine, 8-10 is a generous guess in stop and go traffic.

Anonymous said...

If Paris Hilton has to go to Jail, maybe Casey will too!

Anonymous said...

I just posted this at IAFF:

Casey:

This appears to be the end of your IAFF blog and story.

To bring closure to your followers (new, old, supporters and haterz) it would be beneficial if you did an “end of the blog” round up, answering questions regarding your next steps to pay off your outstanding dept, how you anticipate paying your 2007 taxes next year given the 1099 documents you’ll be receiving from the lending institutions.

You’ve captured our attention, and in many cases, our contempt. Now that the last house is gone, there really is no where else you can take the blog or story. (With the exception of allowing Galina to start posting her thoughts and how the two of you will now work towards paying off the remaining debt.)

Continuing the website will only result in people giving you the same advice as they have these past 8 months:

1. Get a job
2. Stop bloggng (it distracts you from item # 1)
3. See a psychiatrist (medications will stabilize your moods and make it possible for you to hold onto a job)
4. See a therapist (talk-therapy will help you to understand your impulsive behaviors and repeated patterns of blaming others for your errors)
5. Stop using credit (particularly to pay off debt)
6. Learn to budget your income (from your job) and live within the income you earn
7. Stay away from real estate – period.
8. Stop spinning your wheels and energy in pie-in-the-sky get rich quick schemes. (No one benefits from these except the individual selling you the snake oil.)
9. File BK and assume any and all ramifications resulting from any and all illegal activities (fraud) you may be guilty that prevent the court from “wiping the slate clean.”

You’ve had your fun – it is now time to get out of cyberspace, re-enter the real world and clean-up the mess you’ve created. No one else will do it for you at this point. It is up to you, and only you, to fix your situation.

So, go out with a bang, one big final post. Open moderation. And then be done. You can e-mail your “list of followers” periodic updates via e-mail.

Good Luck

Game Over

Anonymous said...

The exurbs are toast.

Anonymous said...

Anon @9:29 AM, wrote:
”I think we need to formulate a plan for reporting Hammar to the CA Attorney Generals office or whatever entity investigates complaints.

It can be assumed that Casey is using that corporate credit to further his insane refusal to do any real work.”


And the latter is a crime, actionable under what precept of law?

Surely you jest. I mean, we ARE talking about America aren’t we? Where a person is free to succeed, fail and even pretend at either or both; or lay around and dream life away to their content.

But then I suppose some folks here free fine about advocating CLICK FRAUD, yet are compelled to poke fun at a misfit who’s done them no direct harm. (And please don’t start on the mortgage fraud issue as causing others harm, that’s a boat that don’t float in real-world terms.)

Geeze, leave the guy (Casey) alone! He requires no help from you or anyone else to stir trouble; he’s proven skilled in that on his own, and has admitted as much. Conjuring fodder to attack Casey directly could well backfire big-time!

Anonymous said...

"And please don’t start on the mortgage fraud issue as causing others harm, that’s a boat that don’t float in real-world terms"


Really? Tell that to the people seeking loans that now have to jump through more hoops because of people like Casey.

Anonymous said...

@ NoVa Sideliner:

It's hard to say. I don't see any fuel economy info from either Ford or the EPA on anything bigger than an F150, so I suspect it's exempt. Gas vs. diesel will make a significant difference in fuel economy but probably not in overall cost.

The EPA gives 17 MPG combined for the F150 with a 6 cylinder. A bigger truck with a bigger engine will likely do worse.

Anonymous said...

BTW, it could be worse. I used to see an F550 with a canopy around town. It was always clean and in pristine condition -- clearly not a work truck.

Anonymous said...

Anonynigel,

Sincerely, fuck you.

Love,

Haterz, and all who are DIRECTLY hurt by Casey's actions - saying "that boat don't float in real world terms" is quite simply a lie. Casey himself may not have directly been the problem, but he and his ilk sure as a whole sure were and he definitely isn't part of the solution.

Anonymous said...

Casey edited out one of my comments this morning. So he's still heavy handed on the moderating, but his site is a steaming pile of shit now.

Miranda Mayer said...

@Ogg
There are a large number of those kinds of trucks up here; duallies who've never seen a day of work in their automotive lives. I especially love the jacked-up lifted Chevy and Ford trucks, complete with sparkly rims, outfitted with chrome brush-guards being driven around by skanks with bad streaks and a cellphone. Nice white-trash commuter vehicles.

Miranda Mayer said...

@Anon 11:53
His site has always been a steaming pile of shit.

Anonymous said...

Nova sideliner: I have a 2005 f250 loaded with a 1000lbs lift gate and a 700lbs air compressor with approx 1000 lbs worth of tools. I'm pretty sure it weighs as much or a bit more than that monster 350 and I get roughly 9mpg on city streets taking it easy and a best of 13 to 15mpg on the highway traveling at the speedlimit. I fill up 2-3 times a week at 100$ each time. it holds 35 gallons but I think it should hold 45-50 the way it burns fuel. Obviously my customers end up paying for fuel costs, I couldn't imagine daily driving something that gets 10mpg on average if it was comming out of my own pocket.

Anonymous said...

@ Stephanie J:

It seems like every area has people who drive that kind of truck. The only difference is who drives them. Out here, it's a mix of farmers (no argument there) and the young male off-road poseur crowd. Where I grew up, on the other hand, that group drove mainly older muscle cars. The large duallies were de rigeur for short teenage girls, for some reason.

Anonymous said...

Back here in NJ, 20 miles from Times Square, my Diesel Jetta gets 600 miles per 14.5 gal tank. I know people who commute 75 miles each way to work, and they are feeling the heat these last few years. The same clowns who called me a cheap bastard for going diesel in '02, because the price of gas was so high back then, <1/2 of todays prices, now want to get one.
I do need a truck for the amount of stealing I do, but it's better to borrow onr for that, (no confication if caught in the act).

Anonymous said...

"The End"

If Casey is ever brought to (legal) justice, it will likely be long after IAFF has closed. One can use a service like 'Google Alerts' to receive an email if 'Casey Serin' ever appears in about 4500+ news sites.

Anonymous said...

Oddball: Great series of articles. Thanks for pointing them out.

S_t_C

Miranda Mayer said...

The only way people will leave Casey alone will be when he stops blogging. His blog is currently an open invitation to criticism. He has detailed and chronicled every one of his less-than-genial decisions with an almost smug sense of entitlement, and flatly, he gets whatever criticism he deserves.

As for sabotaging Casey, I too don't think it does any good to do so, personally; he is doing his own damage. The only direct interference I advocate is a good bitch-slap upside the head; but since I cannot do the honours, I prefer to observe.

I once felt very sorry for Casey, but he has proven that sympathy is undeserved. Anyone who does not do anything to really try, except when he's putting everything he has into justifying his apathy, deserves no such thing.

Anonymous said...

Just posted this at IAFF (perhaps a farewell post). I suspect one of more of these apply to him: (1) curled up in a corner at the bottom of a massive cycle, (2) cell/PDA service cutoff, (3) no longer at Yulia's house and parents won't let him sit and blog all day. Or, he could be busily writing the next illusional / delusional post that will appear any moment. His whole identity and self-image depend on blogging, so who knows?

Casey,

I hope you continue to entertain us. Not by repeating the same old stuff or by continuing to insist that your illusions (e.g. you're a RE investor) and delusions (e.g. sweet big deals are in the wings) are real, but by writing (on a regular basis - 5 or 10 minutes a day) what you are DOING and what is HAPPENING to you. E.g - Cashcall activities, lender actions, marriage, housing, sources of income. And, from N's posts, I'm not convinced that Utah is behind you.

If you're open and honest (try to learn those skills), you can ride this a while longer.

If not, well, it's been very interesting and thanks for the laughs and 'slap the forehead' 'WTF' moments!

Anonymous said...

Just posted this at IAFF (perhaps a farewell post). I suspect one of more of these apply to him: (1) curled up in a corner at the bottom of a massive cycle, (2) cell/PDA service cutoff, (3) no longer at Yulia's house and parents won't let him sit and blog all day. Or, he could be busily writing the next illusional / delusional post that will appear any moment. His whole identity and self-image depend on blogging, so who knows?

Casey,

I hope you continue to entertain us. Not by repeating the same old stuff or by continuing to insist that your illusions (e.g. you're a RE investor) and delusions (e.g. sweet big deals are in the wings) are real, but by writing (on a regular basis - 5 or 10 minutes a day) what you are DOING and what is HAPPENING to you. E.g - Cashcall activities, lender actions, marriage, housing, sources of income. And, from N's posts, I'm not convinced that Utah is behind you.

If you're open and honest (try to learn those skills), you can ride this a while longer.

If not, well, it's been very interesting and thanks for the laughs and 'slap the forehead' 'WTF' moments!

Anonymous said...

Belated thanks to all for the F350 info. Wow, what a gas pig:

I get roughly 9mpg on city streets taking it easy and a best of 13 to 15mpg on the highway

And that's with a F250.

But I guess if the guy I work with has $50k to spend on a truck, and even more to spend on a garage for it, he can afford the gas, right? Well, maybe not -- he spends wevery penny he makes already! 'twill be interesting to hear about his gasoline bills of he goes ahead and buys the behemoth.