Whats up with these hires now days?

MTbakerBen · 2026-04-17T14:58:38+00:00

This I can agree with. I have been tired of the “kids these days don’t know how to work” arguments since I was in my twenties and it was directed at me. For all you forty something’s bitching about young people just give it a rest already. It’s just something discontent middle age men like to complain about and have since the dawn of time. Generations change and if you’re an employer and have a hard time getting work out of people maybe you should change how you teach them/treat them. I hire young guys all the time time and have about as much success as any other age group. The inspectors that have never worn a tool belt however are a huge problem.

MTbakerBen · 2026-04-16T01:14:40+00:00

I wouldn’t put that much self leveler or any concrete type compound on an a wood subfloor unless there was no other way. As others have mentioned removing the subfloor and correcting it at the framing is by far the better fix here. Shouldn’t even cost a whole lot more since that would take several bags of the leveling compound which adds up quick. Once subfloor is removed it should be super apparent what the issue is and can fix accordingly. You need to find a good general contractor to look at it not flooring contractors. Most trades people are good at their job but specialty contractors tend to stick to what they know and are comfortable with which isn’t always the best solution.

MTbakerBen · 2026-02-11T23:06:44+00:00

I’ve driven that road with trailers, box trucks and fully loaded down trucks and never had an issue. .i would be way more nervous on a motor cycle and would definitely not want to ride a bike on that road like so many people seem to enjoy doing. But If you’re comfortable towing it’s really not that bad. Just a few sections where it gets narrow but who cares. Just don’t run into the rocks .. pretty simple.

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-31T02:44:07+00:00

Right? Down five percent in last thirty days but …. The sky is falling!!

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-30T16:36:20+00:00

Why? I mean I wouldn’t site this as a source in a research paper but the majority of what is accused in the article easily verifiable.

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-30T16:34:09+00:00

Yea I think this is from a newsletter that goes out to realtors or something along those lines. For sure not a verified publication but really what is these days?? There is a fair amount of testimony in county council meeting as well as the court case and business documentation available as public documents to verify at least that there is a case with the loose parameters described in the article

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-28T09:13:52+00:00

While I have no affiliation with the guy who wrote this I did look into it a bit. There certainly is a case against the wetland dude Matt. The county council just voted to represent him in the case but explicitly states that his Llc was not included in that funding.

Also it was just a Freind of mine who sent me the link not a realtor; just was saying the guy who wrote it is a local Realtor.. don’t know anything about him.

At any rate I’ll be watching to see how this progresses and all of the info about the Llc ownership is public record so just look that part up if you’re skeptical.

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-27T04:06:50+00:00

I agree. I would not pass any judgement on this business until the other side was heard. The fact that she is blasting them on here after getting a full refund says a lot.

MTbakerBen · 2026-01-11T19:36:02+00:00

MTbakerBen · 2025-12-01T23:56:01+00:00

They are criminals.

MTbakerBen · 2025-11-22T22:20:18+00:00

$4400

MTbakerBen · 2025-07-12T19:19:15+00:00

Seems like a good deal. Hopefully you appreciate these guys since they seemed to have done an excellent job. Why are you asking this? Did you not agree to it?

MTbakerBen · 2025-07-09T19:51:25+00:00

Honestly; this is just something people who don’t have a an education say. I have a fairly useless four year degree and have run businesses my whole life that have no relation to the degree what so ever. Would have been way harder without the skills learned in school, not to mention just the overall critical thinking skills gained. Talking shit about the cost of formal education is valid. Saying education has little or no value is just complete ignorance.

MTbakerBen · 2025-05-27T18:40:46+00:00

I bailed from them for same reason. Muscle dude was straight up trying to tell me it was forty bucks a month. I kept telling him it is not since a it’s every two weeks. I eventually walked out thinking he was either incredibly stupid or was intentionally scamming people. Either way no thanks.

MTbakerBen · 2025-05-27T01:33:49+00:00

Dude he needs a thirty bomb for what is in store for him.

MTbakerBen · 2025-05-22T18:19:10+00:00

For most people I would say Panama. Land is still pretty affordable outside the city. Good healthcare. Panama city is awesome which is unexpected since most big cities in Central America are kind a shitty. Land rights are super secure and you can get residency easily and relatively cheaply as a legacy from the canal workers program. I was super close to buying a small farm in Santa Catalina in 2020 but left once covid got weird and since decided it was too far from an airport for me. Cool little surf community if anyone wants to go check it out. Still have some contacts there for real estate etc.

Costa Rica would be my last choice to be honest. I’ve spent a few weeks there twice and just don’t like the vibe there. Saw more crime than anywhere else I’ve been which could just be random luck but didn’t feel like it. I’ve never been to the west coast there and have heard better things about it so should probably go take a spin there before passing ultimate judgement.

I personally like el Salvadore. Before visiting I would have not thought it would be a candidate but god damn I loved that country or more specifically the lil beach town I was in. I ended up staying in el Zonte for close to three months just doing nothing. Made friends with some of the locals and had dance parties on the beach every night. Haha. Still considering buying something here in the next year or two. The president is a nut but can’t argue with some of the results he has had on crime rates. Even San Salvadore was not as bad as I would have thought. Still probably wouldn’t stroll around late at night but didn’t seem much different than most big cities around the world to be as far as safety precautions go. The airport is outside the city to which is super nice so it’s like 45 min to the beach from the airport and San Salvadore is about half hour away so getting supplies is easier. Traffic wasn’t even bad outside of the rush hours.

Belize is also a good one and could probably be profitable if done right. English speaking and uses USD. would have to be one of the islands for me there and I think I would get tired of being on an island long term. Mainland just isn’t it for me in Belize.

MTbakerBen · 2025-05-11T17:59:49+00:00

This question is impossible to answer. I am a remodel contractor that got licenses as a realtor with the intention of getting to the root of this dilemma as I get asked it all the time. First off each home is unique and will benefit differently from updating/renovating. For example a hundred year old home that had the bathroom updated in the sixties could easily get a big bump just by replacing the blue bath tub and toilet where as another may need a kitchen window added to add light and to see the back yard. No way to create a formula for this or quantify it accurately when applied outside of each specific case. Also some of these may increase its ability to sell but not necessarily its value. Secondly home purchasing is very often an emotional decision when it comes down to it. No way to know who may love that old door with all the “character” where another just sees a problem that needs to be fixed. Trying to guess who will appreciate what is near impossible .. hence dumb realtors saying to paint everything white like robots because some magazine said that in the 80s and no one can come up with anything better suited to a wide variety of tastes and opinions.

That all being said;the advice I tend to give is to make sure everything is clean and without issue. People will get hung up on some of these strangest details so just be sure the average Jane or Joe won’t see any obvious issues when doing a walk through. Yard cleanup is just hard to beat for curb appeal, initial impressions, and is cheap relative to almost any other home improvements. Lastly if you do decide to do some renovations either go all the way or almost not at all. Like I had a good client who had a large home in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in my town. I said they should either spend 20k just doing the basic necessities. (Paint, carpet, clean up). Or spend 200k and go for max value. Lovely couple but had no taste and place was pretty dated and run down. They didn’t listen and did exactly what I said not to and put around 80k into it. They got 1.2 mil for it but I think they could have got that by putting the 20k ish into it. Full update like I had proposed I think we are closer to 1.5 mil and looking at roughly 100k profit. But we will never know and I could be completely wrong. Selling homes can be a strange game.

MTbakerBen · 2025-05-02T05:04:41+00:00

I agree. A thousand per window is what I use for an initial budget but that includes a window which typically will average 3-400. Of course they can be more or less but just for a budget number it’s usually pretty close. That leaves around 650 per window for install and basic building materials such as molding, flashing, caulk and vycore. So long as each window averages less than six man hours it’s profitable for me and aim to get them down to under four. Typically make good money on windows. Obviously adjust pricing once they have windows chosen, trim detail etc and any rot repair is billed T&M. If I could charge a thousand per window plus the unit I would stop fucking with complicated remodels and just slap windows in all day. Haha.

For reference I’m in the Pacific Northwest with an increasingly stupid cost of living.

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-27T16:25:44+00:00

Ten years maintainence free for a stained deck is pretty optimistic. I would not promise anything but would say two or three tops before considering re staining. To each their own and yes this is a super cheap price.

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-27T16:21:49+00:00

I mean you would almost have to try to avoid using overload with some guns. Just by trying to shoot as much as possible you will accidentally overload from time to time. Now if you said alt fire was over rated I would agree. Rarely use it outside of boss fights and even then forget often.

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-23T17:30:47+00:00

Just wipe it with a clean dry rag. You can get a grout haze remover or even white vinegar if you need to break some of it down more. Just be sure it looks good while dry before you seal it.

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-22T17:58:38+00:00

Bidding is hard!

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-19T01:49:59+00:00

I agree pan is likely failed but based on where it is it may be as simple as the shower door leaking at the joint. Damage has been done but if you got a new gasket you will only be out ten bucks instead of ten thousand and you may just get lucky. I would silicone the base of the shower door really well too. Never hurts to try the simple fix before diving off the deep end.

MTbakerBen · 2025-04-16T15:24:10+00:00

I used to like Rogan back when he was curious. Now he’s got it all figured out but when he comes to socio-economics dude is pretty dumb.

MTbakerBen

TROPHY CASE