Sunday Morning: Say It Isn't So: Casey Serin, Foreclosure Blogger, Closes His Blog

I'm never sure whether the story of Casey Serin is funny, sad, or important, or some combination of all three, but here is the latest: Casey, the 24-year-old speculator profiled on ABC's Nightline, and dubbed America's Most Hated Blogger because of his blog about going broke while trying to 8 flip houses with no money down, has closed down his blog.

CNET said Casey's iamfacingforclosure.com "rocketed him to internet stardom." Sounds like his long-suffering wife forced him to shut down the blog: "Casey Serin, the 24-year-old would-be real estate mogul who was reduced to sharing a diminutive West Sacramento, Calif., townhouse with his sister-in-law, announced on Thursday that iamfacingforeclosure.com is dead and "will never return."

More: "Since the blog's launch in September, Serin's regular posts about his refusal to get a job or pay off up to $420,000 that he owes creditors have garnered him an enthusiastic--if unrelentingly critical--audience known as "haterz."

Missed the whole Casey craze? What made it interesting, in part, was the "haterz." And they are alive and well at Exurban Nation, where Casey lives on, whether he likes it or not.

Comments? Thoughts?
Photo Credit: CNET

Comments

[Kaye Thomas]

One one hand I'm glad to see him gone because he was such a dip..but he was a good lesson as he personified the get rich quick flipping mentality.. do nothing and expect the world.... real estate investing will make you money over the long run but not if you treat it as a dice roll in Vegas. Flipping is a form of gambling ... at least in Vegas if you lose that much money you will usually get a comped room, dinner, show and a few drinks..

[Rob Dawg]

Thanks for the plug. Casey's blog is down and may even stay down after several "B" horror movie thriller gasps just before the credits rolled.

That said, the Casey Story is not over. He hasn't even filed 2006 taxes. He still walks the streets looking for deals. The blog was the bling, the reality is the pain. And not just the ones close to him. Defaults in the places he "invested" are running well above national averages. Everyone who owns a home anywhere near Casey is paying higher taxes and losing equity due to his misadventures. While we "haterz" may no longer have an easy target there remains much to follow as the RE industry implodes of allegations of ethics and pressure from technology. EN ostensibly is about land use, transportation and the poltics of those issues. Casey is the but a frosting rose on the icing of a very large cake that is still cooling. Yummm.

[Nigel Swaby]

As I spoke with Casey, I realized he was very intelligent and pretty shrewd about reaching his goal of avoiding forclosure.

[frugal zeitgeist]

I've mostly stayed out of the commentary fray until now, but my good friend Three Buck Chuck and I pulled together some thoughts on this situation last night. Here they are if you're interested.

http://frugalzeitgeist.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-way-world-ends.html

[Mort]

Everyone should do what Casey did. The authorities don't care. Take your shot, you either get rich or walk away. You have nothing to lose, go for it. Greed is good, and nobody cares if you don't pay back loans. We'll see the same thing on Wall Street soon, LBO loans, margin loans, hedge funds loans, borrow as much as you want and you never have to pay it back. Everyone is doing it, you better get yours too. [/cynicism]

[What on earth]

"As I spoke with Casey, I realized he was very intelligent and pretty shrewd about reaching his goal of avoiding forclosure."

shrewd adj. , shrewd·er , shrewd·est . Characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical.

I can't think of a worse word to describe Casey. You're an incredibly poor judge of character or a Casey sockpuppet.