Ryan Jessup: Sacramento Bee's Latest Housing Bubble "Victim"
One of the most disappointing aspects of the media's coverage since the housing bubble burst (besides the blind reliance on "expert" opinion), has been the parade of so-called victims. Is it just me, or has the media struggled mightily in its search for legitimate causalities of the housing bubble fiasco? Are they looking in the wrong places? Is it simply that there is not enough genuine victims?
I pondered these questions as I read an article by Jim Wasserman in Sunday's Sacramento Bee. Among others, the story profiles a man by the name of Ryan Jessup, who "walked away" from his Oak Park house (this site says it was a short sale).
[M]any who can afford their payments have decided it's no longer worth it. They walk, or, as is becoming the trend, park rent-free in the house for months until they get the boot.What Mr. Wasserman didn't say in the article is that apparently Ryan Jessup has quite the history of touting the virtues of Sacramento real estate in comments at sacbee.com. As the name sounded familiar, I dug through Sacramento Land(ing)'s "save for future use" folder and ran across some quotes by a sacbee.com commenter named "rjessup2mouse." Could rjessup2mouse be Ryan Jessup?
It's a question that Ryan Jessup of Sacramento answered a year ago, when he, too, sensed the financial game had turned against him. Early in 2008, the software engineer stopped making payments on his Victorian house in Oak Park. A long habit of playing by the rules, he said, had provided him a good income, a credit score of 804 and a lovely $430,000 house. But when playing by the rules meant riding down the housing market to who knows where, he said, "It came down to morals or survival. I chose survival. It made no sense to stay."
...
Many borrowers like Clawson and Jessup no longer feel so obligated to a financial system they believe overstimulated the housing market, sold them questionable loan products, sometimes by fraud, and then didn't provide help they need in the face of falling home values.
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Jessup walked away. "I haven't even looked (at the credit score)," he said. "It's like being hit by a train or a bus."
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Jessup, looking back, has no regrets. He lives with a friend now who has also stopped making payments on a condo bought at the peak of the market in 2005.
I started to read the article's comments and sure enough, rjessup2mouse, purporting to be Ryan Jessup quickly chimed in on his own story:
rjessup2mouse wrote on 03/08/2009 06:47:04 AM:Assuming that rjessup2mouse really is Ryan Jessup, let's take a look at how Jessup got to the point of parting with his own bit of Sacramento real estate. Below are some excerpts from comments made by Ryan Jessup over the last few years. Jessup's arguments (and tone) nicely encapsulate the mindset of many, whether "experts" or not, in the face of the housing bubble's implosion.
Good article Jim - this is a very hotly debated topic right now and weighing on alot of peoples minds. yes the house was actually in a nice neighborhood. Not all of Oak Park is bad... I was extremely choosy of where I bought and wanted to be closer to downtown as I figured the value would hold up better. It did but still fell enough for me to leave. I did not think it would increase in price when I bought it. I am sure alot of people on this board are going to be angry - I figured as much - I am not happy with the way it turned out and I lost alot of $$$ on it. But to me it was better to lose alot then to lose it all (and keep losing). One of the reasons I chose to be a part of the article was for the people who were not speculators or anyone who thought the market would go up forever. Just for normal people who had always played by the rules and then the game changed. Each situation is different and deciding to miss that first payment is a tough one.
For those who choose not to wade through the excerpts, here is a summary of Ryan Jessup's assertions over the years:
(1.) Employment is strong
(2.) Population growth is strong
(3.) Home prices will not crash
(4.) It's all about affording the monthly payment
(5.) State government is strong
(6.) The sky is not falling
(7.) This will not be like the .com implosion
(8.) There are a lot of buyers out there (especially in my neighborhood)
(9.) My neighborhood is special/great/different [see green highlights below]
(10.) The economy is strong
(11.) Those who did not buy "missed the boat"
(12.) Real estate is not the stock market
(13.) Real estate is not wildly unaffordable
(14.) People have made millions on real estate
(15.) Construction employment is still going strong
(16.) My industry sources say things are good
(17.) This is nothing like the 1990s (as in not as bad).
(18.) The bottom is near
(19.) Good areas (i.e. where I live) are doing fine
(20.) The worst is behind us
(21.) I bought in 200x, I will be fine
(22.) Subprime will have little impact
(23.) The Bay Area will save us...
Now on to the excerpts. Let's start out with Ryan Jessup's take on the Sacramento Bee's ill-conceived 'No Panic' piece, which was published just as home prices were going negative (yoy).
rjessup2mouse at 7:28 AM PST Tuesday, June 20, 2006 wrote:According to DataQuick, the total home price decline exceeded 53% back in December. Funny, I don't remember any recent reports of software engineers buying 20 homes at a time. Also note Jessup's advice for homeowners to ride out the downturn.
To a lot of negative folks - the market will be ok
There are people who write comments in these sections that would LOVE to see housing fall down. So you come up with your doomsday scenarios and facts to support your own theories. Sorry - this article is one of the better ones around. Solid job and population growth in Sacramento will keep from a market crash. Sorry for all you "experts" out there who need to bash the bee and think the market is 53% overvalued. If prices drop 53% here I will buy 20 of them..... I do believe prices will drop a little more and then basically become stagnation for a long time. People who own should not expect appreciation for 5 years at least. Homeowners - just ride out the current downtrend by staying in your house. Homebuyers - maybe wait a couple of months. Or find a homeowner who is panicking and get a bargain.
rjessup2mouse at 9:24 AM PST Thursday, June 22, 2006 wrote:I find the final two comments, made in January 2008, particularly interesting given that Jessup purportedly stopped paying his Oak Park mortgage in early 2008.
...I also agree there seems to be alot of negativity. Those generally come from people with a vested interest in seeing the market fall. Everyone tried to talk me out of buying in 2002 - saying that it was better to rent and the sky will fall. All I can say is I know a TON of friends that sure hate renting and I am sure glad I didn't listen to the naysayers. It really all comes down to the monthly payment and can you afford it...If you are in the house for the long haul - you will be fine if you lock in a good rate and price isn't as important...
rjessup2mouse at 2:45 PM PST Wednesday, June 28, 2006 wrote:
Prices will fall some but they won't crash
But I am suprised that there is a 42% chance that they won't decline. Prices will decline some but won't crash as incomes need to catch up. The State of California is Sacramento's main employer and the state is in hiring mode and doing well. There seems to be quite a few positions open.
rjessup2mouse at 9:13 AM PST Thursday, June 29, 2006 wrote:
...Prices will fall a little and then stagnate for a long while. There seems to be a vicious negative tone to the people who have an interest in the market and sky falling. I think you will see a pretty large difference in the .com drop and a housing drop. Wether you have money or not - there are people (alot) that have $ to buy houses and the region is not short of buyers . Plus the economy here is strong. People are simply waiting to see if they can get a better deal by holding off some. This combined with homeowners panicking to get the the best price now before any drop - that is why you see so many homes on the market. Prices have gotten high but they won't fall overnight (like stocks) and won't change much on even a yearly basis. I think the largest correction might happen in the next 3 months. Like I have said before - buyers - wait a little to get a better deal - homeowners - don't panic and remember why you bought your house (to live in) and ride out the real estate game in sac.
rjessup2mouse at 7:57 AM PST Wednesday, July 12, 2006 wrote:
I agree prices are falling - I never said anything otherwise. I just don't believe the extreme view of the market falling apart. Extreme views rarely happen and are more based on theories and in cases such as this thread - hopes of someone who has a vested interest. Alot of people want to focus on the negative and ignore positive. There are too many things in Sacramento's favor for housing to fall apart. I totally agree a price correction is currently happening. I think a 8-10% correction is in order, then basically very little or no appreciation for roughly 5 years.
rjessup2mouse at 1:25 PM PST Tuesday, July 18, 2006 wrote:
markets are dictated by emotion coupled with supply and demand.I think there will be some more slight drops followed by some large stagnation. Can't wait to see all "the sky is falling" comments in this thread shortly.
rjessup2mouse at 10:10 PM PST Wednesday, August 2, 2006 wrote:
no the sky is not falling but there are going to be bouts of depreciation and people that have a difficult time. Sacramento will be ok. People who are looking for massive depreceation are in for a very slow letdown...
rjessup2mouse at 5:01 PM PST Thursday, August 3, 2006 wrote:
jobs are very healthy and growing in sacramento right now. Be thankful as that does have the biggest impact and is a massive cushion against the sky is falling folks...
rjessup2mouse at 8:24 PM PST Wednesday, August 16, 2006 wrote:
people who are waiting for a crash are in for a slow dissappointment. Prices will probably fall a little more and then hold steady for awhile. The regional economy is too strong for a crash. In fact I have seen alot of Pending Sales in my area (East Sac) because some folks are swooping in to pick up $10-20k price drops...
rjessup2mouse at 7:34 AM PST Thursday, August 17, 2006 wrote:
NoNewArena sounds like a reasonable voice
rjessup2mouse at 9:15 AM PST Thursday, August 17, 2006 wrote:
The people who want housing prices to crash are people who have an agenda. So they try and add fuel to the fire and get joyful of a families demise, just be glad you are not them. There is alot of jealousy over missing the boat and not making $ while others made a lot of money. yeah - prices may fall a little - it isn't going to crash - and the local economy is strong - and mortgage rates are falling. There are alot of buffers. I am already seeing some Pending sales in my neighborhood finally. Buyers wanted to see 10k -20k price drops. People seem to forget there are alot of buyers. And simple math - owning your own home over the long run saves $$. It seems as if its a big game/stock market right now. When prices do a hit a bottom - I bet they spring back up pretty good as people pull inventory out because their houses are making money again and buyers pent up demand comes in pretty quickly.
rjessup2mouse at 12:59 PM PST Thursday, August 17, 2006 wrote:
Be funny when the price bottom hits to see how fast the mentality turns again. Sacramento housing will not fall 25% - thats too steep a decline with so many buyers out there.
rjessup2mouse at 9:05 AM PST Friday, August 18, 2006 wrote:
No the market will not tank - sorry for people who want it too its simple math. what you would be paying for rent principle tax write off = Sacramento is not as overpriced as you would think. sorry andersb - the local economy does matter and the housing market is NOT the stock market. They are both assets but they ACT VERY DIFFERENT. People need to realize that the underlying factors that make them different but I will let you figure that out yourself. I am blown away by the hositlity of people on these postings with their number twisting to try and persuade that the housing market is going to fall 50%. Yes - the market is dropping right now and may drop a little more. But I bet it won't even drop 10% more. But there are alot more factors than simple hope it tanks so you can make a buck by getting a cheaper house. Seems some areas are already starting to rebound (midtown, east sac and med center area)...There are A LOT of buyers out there.
rjessup2mouse at 11:48 AM PST Friday, August 18, 2006 wrote:
...There are too many good things about Sacramento for the market to tfall alot. People have been saying the Bay Area is totally unafforadable and overpriced for about 25 years. that doesn't mean that it was going to drop. Just because some people don't have money - doesn't mean it isn't out there. Don't get me wrong - I probably will not buy in the next 2-3 months or so to see what happens. The market is not good- except maybe closer to downtown - that seems to be showing some suprising strength the last couple of months as prices dropped some and inventory is lower.
rjessup2mouse at 12:43 PM PST Friday, August 18, 2006 wrote:
...People have made MILLIONS on real estate. I don't believe i know ANY wealthy renters but I know a TON of wealthy homeowners...
rjessup2mouse at 8:38 AM PST Thursday, August 31, 2006 wrote:
...Currently I don't believe prices are really that much higher than they should be. I am sure alot of people would disagree with that and probably about 90% of folks on this forum(most people on this forum have a vested interest in wanting prices to come down)...I believe housing will fall maybe a little more and then hold steady for a long time. Just my personal opinion but my track record for being correct has made a lot of $ for people.
rjessup2mouse at 8:46 AM PST Thursday, August 31, 2006 wrote:
I see you are a doomsdayer. Yes - even though the state is adding many jobs and employment is very strong in sacramento its going to all fall apart because....housing employment is down? ummm hate to tell you that construction employment is doing REALLY well right now. All of my construction sources say there is more work then they have folks right now. And comparing the 90's bust to today is comparing apples and oranges. But these housing forums are full of it. Some people on these forums need to get up in the morning and drink a little reality.
rjessup2mouse at 9:25 AM PST Wednesday, September 20, 2006 wrote:
Home prices are close to bottom...Some really good deals are out there. Good areas seem to be closer to downtown...
rjessup2mouse at 12:07 PM PST Sunday, September 24, 2006 wrote:
Thinking a 40% decline huh? your in for a big let down. And heck - that 40% you said was modest. why not bottom at 75%?? you should be able to pick up a 2000 sq foot for around $150k soon right? if you wait long enought maybe at $125k? Some people are absolutely nuts - how do you possibly think it could decline by that? how?
rjessup2mouse at 7:32 AM PST Sunday, October 1, 2006 wrote:
East Sac, Med Center, Midtown and Land Park have been selling alot lately. Closer to downtown seems to have gotten hot(relativly) in the last month and a half actually.
rjessup2mouse at 11:00 AM PST Wednesday, October 18, 2006 wrote:
...I disagree that prices will drop much further though...I think prices by far have gone through the worst of it now.
rjessup2mouse at 7:23 AM PST Thursday, October 19, 2006 wrote:
...and no - I bought in 2002 - I am fine...
rjessup2mouse at 8:57 AM PST Saturday, December 16, 2006 wrote:
...[Y]ou paint a pretty bleak picture of downtown. I think there are plenty of beautiful areas in downtown, east sac , med center and such.
rjessup2mouse at 7:41 AM PST Friday, December 22, 2006 wrote:
Have to completely disagree with Mr.Lyon's assessment on 10% decline for sacramento. Most "experts" predict 3.5%. His is by far the biggesst drop prediction I have read about. This last year seems to have come in about 8.2%. I thought it would have been 10% this last year so it was almost 2% better than i even expected. So is Mr. Lyon saying that this year should be worse than last? Why is he the only one saying this?
rjessup2mouse at 10:25 AM PST Friday, December 22, 2006 wrote:
I have no number crunching but I would have to say that I predicted a 10% drop for the year last year (I was off by 2% )and I will predict a 3-4% drop this year. But I am no expert - I just listen to people who are in the industry and what they see happening.
rjessup2mouse at 9:07 AM PST Sunday, December 31, 2006 wrote:
...Smart money right now is saying that sac is going to do 0 to -3% for the year....
rjessup2mouse at 1:08 PM PST Friday, January 5, 2007 wrote:
people are so negative that have an agenda or a vested interest. The bee has covered stories that make housing look bad and they cover stories that make housing look good. Are you some of the same folks that said it would be down 20% this last year? I remember those predictions a year ago. Looks like Sac was down 8.2%. Some areas in Sac were worse than that and some areas less. But just hoping/waiting for the bottom to fall out is not going to make it happen. California Real Estate is and always will be a good investment long term. The worst is over. That doesn't mean it is bottom but I believe by far the worst is behind.
rjessup2mouse at 10:01 AM PST Wednesday, January 17, 2007 wrote:
Oak Park is changing and I have seen investor interest in it. Next to it - The med center area - is a really good place to have a home and rather safe. Remember - not all of Oak Park is considered "bad".
rjessup2mouse at 8:22 AM PST Wednesday, March 14, 2007 wrote:
...I am not to worried about the subprime headlines of right now. It will have some impact I am sure but not much. Just like everyone was saying the housing market would already be down 35%...
rjessup2mouse at 8:41 PM PST Wednesday, April 4, 2007 wrote:
I think Med center area is already pretty nice.
rjessup2mouse at 1:02 PM PST Thursday, April 5, 2007 wrote:
kindof what I have been saying - Dowtown and Midtown are solid
the suburbs and sub divisions have taken a large hit while closer to downtown has been fairly steady. The houses closer to downtown are bouncing back quicker because people are realizing that you can't make these homes anymore and therefore have good price stability. There will only be less - never more of these homes.
rjessup2mouse at 8:20 AM PST Friday, April 13, 2007 wrote:
funny to see the gloomers again :-) - always makes me chuckle to see the 40% drop again predicted/wanted by home buyers. I am sorry for the doom and gloomers - your not going to get anywhere near that price drop. Not even close. Housing I think is going to take a small hit again - with negative publicity being the bigger culprit than what will actually shake out with the subprime situation. People tend to forget that we are tied to the bay area home prices and that the local job market is plenty strong. I am no real estate agent or optimist - just a realist. For the past few years my predictions have been pretty close - and i would predict possibly another 2-4% drop...
rjessup2mouse at 12:53 PM PST Friday, April 13, 2007 wrote:
...my finances are fine are yours? do you own a house or have you ever? I didn't think so. WIll you? and do the math - its not that tricky - fairly simple actually. As far as predictions - I am sorry to say that it has been fairly accurate. I do appreciate how emotional you are over it - I believe you probably one of the "its going to drop by about 30%" correct? Makes me laugh.
rjessup2mouse at 12:59 PM PST Friday, April 13, 2007 wrote:
isn't it funny? I have been seeing these posts for 2 years now - the predictions by most of the gloomers have been that the market would have dropped 25% as of now. It has not. I think I said 7 - 15% from the start.
rjessup2mouse at 11:33 AM PST Friday, January 18, 2008 wrote:
a little advice - the really good deals
If you want a bargain and something thats gonna retain its value. Buy where a bunch of houses are NOT for sale and try and scoop up a bank repo. Some downtown and surrounding areas have it- just gotta find the right pockets of places.
0 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.
rjessup2mouse at 1:46 PM PST Saturday, January 19, 2008 wrote:
time to buy or at least look pretty hard
you folks that are sitting should be looking right now.
1 out of 5 people found this comment helpful.
50 comments:
Great work Lander!!
I too have noticed this. The sob stories headliners are often not what they seem. If you read deeper into an article, there is often evidence of HELOCs, insufficient income, DPA, no money down.
The true sob stories, medical bills, loss of stable job, have always been there.
I had taken exception to the "plight" of a Merced women used as an example in the WSJ a while back....
They bought a four bedroom, three bath home for $375,000 in 2006. $12,000 for closing costs came from the builder, $11,200 came from a loan from a CA state agency, the rest was financed by BofA. Her husband is a painter that, at the time made less than $40,000 a year, and is now making considerably less. They were foreclosed on. This family is now paying $750 a month in rent, and their kids share a room in an apartment (and they state this as if having your kids share a room is an enormous tragedy).
Why is this a such a horrible outcome? They didn't lose any savings, and are now paying way less in rent.
Lander, this is why I love you!
I thought we had put the shill article topic person behind us, but apparently not. The MSM had been duped so many times during the bubble, you'd have thought they had learned their lesson.
Here's a recent Jessup quote:
Was I a moral person before and all of the sudden became irresponsible? I would argue no. But my business contract obligations are for me to decide if they are wise to continue. Just like yours are for you and not my business.
This is what's wrong with America.
So even homes bought in 2002 in "special" areas are significantly underwater now?
I don't see what is wrong with sharing a room. I had to share a room with my brother for many years. When there are kids in some places in the world that don't get food every day who cares about having to share a room with a sibling.
So much for investigative journalism. The Simpson's put it best in their latest episode:
http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Simpsons/3745/1055894121/No-Loan-Again%2C-Naturally/videos
Watch 12:53-13:50.
Thanks for the awesome expose, Lander. Ryan Jessup drank the koolaid, and this shows what a complete liar and tool he is, after reading his SacBee article.
Golden, just completely and utterly golden Lander!
I kept wondering how Ryan was any better the Casey Serrin. Then I saw this in the comments section:
'The article could have pointed out that it was the property flippers who contributed to the inflationary price trend. The guy who bought four over valued homes kept them out of the hands of four families that might have purchased them at a reasonable price. "Investors" who were flipping properties, putting in tenants in the middle of residential neighborhoods that were owner occupied to the extent that neighborhoods were diminished don't deserve our tax payers help. Banks, how about a program that moves the owner occupant who can't afford the $400K house into one of your foreclosed properties that they can afford?'
Some people, including JoeBanett get it!
ps. "NoNewArena sounds like a reasonable voice" hahahaha priceless... though you may owe me a new monitor now >; )
Lander, you rock! The ability to pull data from various sources is great, but your memory must be better.
Again, thanks!
Now THAT is an expose :)
At least he had one legitimate observation:
comparing the 90's bust to today is comparing apples and oranges
BT: That story you mentioned is exactly why I believe foreclosure is usually a net positive, particularly for the home"owner", whether they realize it or not (as in this case).
I guess we still don't know the details of his transaction, e.g., when he bought, for how much, and how much the short sale went for. It would be interesting to track it to see how the current owners fare. I have mixed feelings on owners who walk away. I can certainly understand why some would want to give up.
I will say this for him, he was right about the areas close to downtown holding up best (so far) . . . but apparently not the neighborhood where he bought.
Maybe one of you out there can elaborate on the following point: why don't articles of people "turning over their keys" discuss the potential tax consequences, which, can be significant and a surprise to the unexpecting. While the feds are excluding up to about $1M in home loan forbearance from ordinary income (this does not include the amounts that folks spent on cars, boats, etc which would be taxed at ordinary income rates), California, to my knowledge, has not done the same. This would mean that folks that walk away from a property would have ordinary income in the amount of the difference between the loan principal and FMV at the time the bank issues the 1099-C. In CA, that's about 10%... I think this is going to be a big problem for people and I'm not certain that they know it's even a possibility. Any thoughts?
BTW, Lander, good job in exposing this guy for the douche that he is... sorry to say, par for the course for the Bee...
Sorry, I still blame the banks, the mortgage lenders, Wall Street, much more than I blame Ryan Jessup. If the so-called real estate professionals were doing their job, they would have turned down Mr. Jessup's loan application, keeping the bank out of trouble and Mr. Jessup out of trouble. But no, the lender threw their professional ethics out the window to sell a mortgage even if was poison to their client.
I think Ryan used a hard money loan, not a bank. The comments in the Bee mention it.
Congress passed a bill to waive the debt forgiveness tax for 3 years if I recall correctly. So there should be no consequences.
Now if you took out a HELOC and spent the money on toys I believe only the first $100k not used for home improvements is non recourse in CA, so anything above that the bank could come after you for.
But the banks have their hands full with other issues, it would be a PR nightmare, and the people likely don't have any money to take back anyway.
Mr. Jessup has been officially owned. Nothing better than a modern day virtual tar and feathering to silence a housing bull who most likely led others into financial ruin with his pumperspeak.
It's a shame that we do not have a nice debtor's prison for this Charlatan to rot in.
In other cultures, people in his position would hurl themselves off of a 10 story building in shame. Here, these people wear their follies as a badge of honor and re-evaluate the entire process in Orewellian doublethink in order to derive a solution that casts the blame off on to others. Only in America.
Outstanding legwork on this one!
Spectacularly awesome post. Never came upon this blog before, but I'm bookmarking it now.
Being from the peninsula, I don't read the Sacramento Bee, but stumbled upon that article via patrick.net. The problems with Clawson's sob story were obvious (four properties?!?), but I got the feeling Jessup was a douchebag as well. Suspicion becomes reality.
That's absolutely hilarious. Love your research.
Loser and a crook as well as a shill. Bring back debtor's prison and toss this clown and Casey Serin in there and, He works as usual, goes back to jail everyday, pays rent on the jail cell, and his wages pay the payments on his house as well as a management fee for getting all this collected. Of course as he pays things down and has shwon he will keep it up, he can go back to his house live there and pay on till its paid.
No wonder this country is going broke. We handed clowns like these millions to buy some worthless pile of dead wood. And they decide to walk.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.
Absolutely brilliant work!
Excellent detective work Lander!
I am ROFL thinking of how his credit score is getting roasted big time!
His name sounded familiar, just couldn't place where I heard the last name other than that Bible college in Rocklin.
Booyah!
Agreed, what a douche...
He's so poor he's taking a vacation in the caribbean.
I guess contracts are only valid if you are making money on your house. If you lose more than 10k, just bail and buy a house in 12-24 months...
Awesome.
Caribbean?? really? howd you find that out? You know him?
He's on facebook and is easily found.
A true story by one of the REAL BUT IGNORED mortgage fraud victims
I decided on the dream of homeownership three years ago. To say that I was ignorant about the subsequent realities would be fair, but inadequate. Thus, in April 2006, I invested in a small older home in the city of Sarasota Florida. As to the exact figure I invested, or promised to invest, I can only say that trusting a mortgage broker is one thing I will never do again and it is my suggestion that all follow this rule. It is not the house’s fault that Southeast Capital denied me inspection or they were keeping my 8K earnest money, nor is it the houses fault that the sellers, Enrique & Sheri Roca were in collusion with Arthur R. Seaborne the broker to dupe me by threatening my 8K earnest if I didn’t close without the inspection on the date they wanted to close on and still remain in the house for a week or two. And it most definitely is not the houses fault that the Roca’s lied about and concealed many numerous material defects. For this we can safely place the blame on them. Nonetheless, it bears mentioning that my purchase served as an indicator for the ensuing housing market collapse. It was as if the colluders were saying, “We sure know how to spot an opportunity don’t we.” This first shock of homeownership (that property values sometimes go down) was followed by a second: FRAUD and MISREPRESENTATION. And by “this” I mean, of course, “that just because I am honest does not mean all will be.” So ok, I was lied to, misrepresented, scammed, overcharged and used. And that was just by Arthur R. Seaborne, who has his realestate license revoked just 4 years prior for embezzelment and Florida gave him a mortgage brokers license anyway. Enrique & Sheri Roca happily proceeded to lie cheat and steal any chance I had of keeping this home by falsifying just about everything on the seller disclosure statement. So here I am. The check cleared and the papers were signed. Now I owned this much less than a nightmare domicile. I never did get a key to the house so after the Roca’s finally moved out I broke in, and subsequently broke down in heaving, sobbing tears. The walls were covered in black mold; the appliances began falling apart immediately; the garage door opener broke the first night at 2 am and haunted me out of my stuffy nosed sleep, most of the pipes and the roof leaked like they weren’t even there to hold water. The pool I so dreamed of floating in was costing me $200.00 a month to keep water in it and to put the icing on the cake so to say the toilets broke within the first month…both of them! Yes, I tried to call Southeast Capital and I tried to call the Roca’s to utilize the 1 year warranty on the roof that they must have felt like generous benefactors to have given me but as my luck would have it, you just cannot force someone to respond to nor be responsible for their actions so I just kept on trying. I sent a copy of all my paperwork to anyone at all connected with housing in the fine state of Florida. Then it was high summer and a knock came to my front door, I opened it to find an official from the Sarasota Sheriffs office holding an envelope in his hand singing, “you’ve been served.” Turns out that the second mortgage promised at closing for 52K, (the cash given to the sellers for a down payment on their BRAND NEW HOME at 4017 61st Avenue East, Bradenton, Florida 34203) that was supposed to be with Regions Bank was never applied for and Southeast Capital Advisors LLC, Verne Phillips and Arthur R. Seaborne proceeded to forge my name on a balloon note for 62K and they were now foreclosing on my home for it. The blinding tears came once again. I tried to find a lawyer but at this point had very little money as I myself took a HELOC from Bank of America for 19K to try to clean up the house and get some windows in it so I could live there. An acquaintance referred me to a Andrew Mooney Law, old Andy Mooney asked for 2K retainer then proceeded to miss every court date and pull the just don’t answer her call ploy and it obviously worked for him as well. And so by this time the State Office of Financial Regulations had gotten a hold of those packages and complaint I sent out and proceeded to have a Detective Maslowski phone me almost daily to harass information from me. This phone calling and upsetting me daily caused my new employer to tell me this, “you just have too much on your plate, we have to let you go, it isn’t working out. NOW I really have a problem, NO INCOME and MUCH OUTGO. I made a deal with World Savings on the first loan that was a Negative Amortization loan unbeknownst to me until I noticed my principal go UP after every subsequent payment. They told me they would not refinance just 6 months into the loan because the house was not worth what I owed but, being the gracious lenders they are they will give me one year at a fixed 6.5% APR for the low rate of $300.00 and an additional year of PRE-PAYMENT PENALTY… WOW! I am a lucky girl. So, being somewhat resourceful, (somewhat being the operative word), I did some contract writing jobs to keep up with this until I found another job and found another lawyer but he would only handle the non-disclosure issues with the Roca’s and wouldn’t touch the mortgage end. And for another 2K retainer I have that lawsuit still in the Sarasota court system while the Roca’s lawyer, Mr. David H. Rosenberg proceeds to draw-out for every penny it is worth for more than a year now. Through fall and winter, the paint continued to peel and the driveway concrete cracked and the house flooded with every rain, (I am now the owner of many towels though few are ever dry) and the insulation in the attic congregates in toxic, black tufts. The cracks in the foundation (about which I could do nothing) quickly led to cracks in the cement wall. I decided, after a brief consultation with a contractor, that I could do nothing about these for the time being, short of prayer. I refuse to go into detail about the water damage. It’s already been a long day. So here I am, the government ignoring the mess that they created, the mortgage broker, Arthur R. Seaborne and Vern Phillips and Southeast Capital Advisors LLC, well Agent Brady with the FBI tells me that with my help they will freeze all his assets, prosecute them and put them in jail for a long time and liquidate those frozen assets to pay back the deep pocketed investors and lenders that they cheated. And me, well he says, “that is not our problem and I can’t help you there missy, Good Luck though”. So after calling every real estate and predatory lending attorney from here to Timbuktu, I am telling this to all of you with more bright eyed hope than a bride on her honeymoon, because hope is all I have left.
so how do you get in? I only see the main page, don't you have to be a friend?
haha, he made his profile private now.
He had a public profile? you must have a friend of a friend thing huh? Is he a complete ass?
No, it was completely public. Now you have to be a friend to view it.
Wait a minute, don't you have to prove financial hardship to do a short sale? The article didn't mention about him losing his job or getting divorced. Can you just call the bank and tell them you want to short sale because you are underwater? Otherwise, sounds almost like fraud.
Nope - you don't have to prove hardship. The bank just has to say yes nowadays. Some don't even require letters of hardship nowadays.
Do you call the bank? I thought the person selling just hires a RE agent.
An RE agent can list a short sale but the bank still has to approve the sale.
I wouldn't imagine that a RE agent would bother with a short sale without getting the initial ok to try from the bank, since the fail most of the time and the agent won't get paid.
Behind the story – just for here.
I thoroughly enjoyed rereading my comments again – thank you for that. I actually figured my comments would be searchable and cached somewhere and was quite prepared to talk about it so your blog does not surprise me. I thought it would be pretty easy to make the connection between rjessup2mouse and Ryan Jessup and I have nothing to hide. When one is wrong – admit it. I was incredibly wrong about the housing bubble. I figured it would drop – but not to the extent it did. Life is humbling in many ways. I do believe I was correct about areas closer to downtown holding their value much better… The only thing I would have to say is that your story headline – “Victim” - is an assumption. Just like many – you read the article and came to your own conclusions without knowing anything other than some of the slant you read and comments from a few years ago. I did NOT do that article to be portrayed as a victim. We all are players in the game when we buy a house – when we enter into business contracts (home loan, cell phone,car loan) – then we are at a mercy of whatever forces empower them. I have to admit I was a little shocked at the response to the Bee article and the anger. I would argue even if I was in my house that homeowners walking are not to blame (mostly – if you knew you couldn’t have afforded it then you should not have bought it). Those are business contracts given by a business. The government is making the choice to interject. (I do believe it is necessary – but that is irrelevant to my point). Homeownership is not a right – it is a market that is glowingly endorsed by society to strive to achieve. I am a taxpayer as well and not happy with how it was allowed to mushroom and threaten the financial system.
Would you like the REAL story – behind the bee article? One that portays a bit more fact than speculation/slant/pieces of comments here and there? I might write it like this…..
“Ryan Jessup bought a house for $430k, with the thought that it might actually slightly decrease in value. He figured he would be there at least 20 years. He and his wife’s income made it very comfortable and could weather most any fall. Ryan wrote comments on the sacbee forum. He mainly had fun with some of the people on the forum – but did not believe there was a massive bubble. Did he think there was a bubble – yes – he did believe prices would decline but not nearly to the extent they did. He had a vested interest in the market at least maintaining. He was wrong. Ryan had a sudden DIVORCE in Nov 2007. Half the income was lost. Still struggling to maintain it – the market deteriorated rather rapidly. The market was looking REALLY bad to him. Stay and commit financial suicide or walk? He made the decision to walk away as he had placed quite a bit of money into it. A buyer was found and offer made at $367k, almost exactly what was owed in June of 2008 – Wells Fargo would not return calls for 6 weeks. The buyers walked. Another buyer came – this time at $317. By Wells Fargo waiting and not returning calls they cost the transaction $60,000. (By either playing hard ball or being backed up, I will not assume) At this point a month had passed and they were very quick and approved this one in about 10 days. Ryan moved out and lost a house he loved. Ryan talks to Jim Wasserman about the Bee article. Ryan’s RE agent is angry.”
I got caught in trying to defend a certain aspect of my decision that I probably sounded very callous and missed the point of peoples anger for the most part. Jims article is fact – I am not disputing that – but don’t come to assumptions on everything one reads. I am not writing this for sympathy – just to clarify a few things.
Ryan
Thanks for the clarification Ryan.
The Bee article omitting certain details about your case really does portray you in a bad light. It really made it sound like you could have paid it, but just didn't want to because you were somewhat underwater. Hopefully that wasn't the case.
Still, your comments over the years are pretty funny.
Ryan, Thanks for the clarification. The bee wasn't fair to you, but I still think you and your ex should be on the hook for the benefit of the forgiven debt on your home.
Divorce is a fairly common reason for both bankruptcy and foreclosure. In "normal" markets, divorcing couples can sell the house, even if there are no proceeds to split. In a post-bubble market, though, the partners are left with few good options.
This is a great time to bring up the two income trap. I think everyone should read Warren's book.
Yup, make sure you can afford the home and other bills on one income. If not then the home is too expensive.
Aside from divorce if you are stretched too thin and one person loses their job, gets hurt or sick, or even gets reduced hours/pay you will be risking losing the home.
I think Lander went overboard on this story. I'm signing out. Have a good life everyone.
What part of Oak Park and $430K didn't Ryan understand? Maybe Ryan is actually Sippin.
Ryan, This article now seems pretty pointless if what you are saying is true. One question though - how is the difference on your credit score from a short sale than a foreclosure? What is your credit score now if you dont mind me asking?
DJ - Which book is Warren's book?
here is her wiki page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren
Here is a video of a talk she gave at UC Berkeley a little over a year ago.
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=12620
I also recommned Barbara Ehrenreich's nickle and dimed but that doesn't really apply in Ryan's case unless he's out of work and has to resort to service jobs for anything to get by on.
Another decent read is Warner's Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. No solutions but great coverage of the Mommy Wars.
Sorry about your situation Ryan, the article and the comments you made on the forum did make you sound very douchey. In any event, for the capitalist system to work, there must be consequences (and regulation, I will add). A hit to a credit score does not cut it for me.
To clarify, we need effective regulation.
"I think Lander went overboard on this story. I'm signing out. Have a good life everyone."
$100 says Anon1137 reads this message..been here too long to go away.
Sorry Lander, I see you already thought Ryan was really Sippin. I swear I didn't even read that in the water cooler until just now after posting my comment. We must be right then for 4 of us to think the same thing :) Have a great weekend everyone!
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