After Spending Big to Strike It Rich, Some Speculators Coming Up Broke as Market Cools

Editor's Note: I wrote about Casey Serin a few weeks ago. His story is not uncommon among real estate speculators. Learn from it and steer your clients away from making the wrong decision.


Sacramento, Calif., not far from where prospectors sought quick riches in the gold rush more than a century ago, another speculative boom is going bust. This time, however, it's not the lure of precious metals — it's real estate.

"The market was hot, and I decided to give it a shot," said Casey Serin, a modern-day speculator who hoped to strike it rich quick by buying homes, fixing them up and then flipping them for a profit.

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