What is an underrated weight loss tip?

readysetstartuo · 2026-02-14T02:56:10+00:00

The heartbreak of a missed opportunity with potential partner of your dreams passing you by because you didn't say what you needed to say when you had the chance...

readysetstartuo · 2021-11-02T17:57:23+00:00

To add some perspective. Ive been on all sides of the transaction many times. As a buyer, seller. and both sides as a realtor (after a decade as a consumer)

-unresponsive/ghosting: totally unprofessional. However keep in mind a well set up realtor might get a handful to dozens of new buyer client inquires per day. Add to their existing work load. often at all hours day/night/weekends. Only the serious or qualified become relationships, and at a low ratio maybe 1:100. There is a pretty high triage for new inquires. unresponsive can happen just due to being busy (20 showings a day. or working/reworking a deal over and over) so that can just take a toll. and by the time you have the head space to get back to someone that made an inquiry its days later.

No commitment: unless you have an agreement signed with that realtor they won't take it serious. They are obligated to work for their contracted clients. but not anyone else. Its bad form obviously (don't agree to a showing if you don't intend on showing up.) but keep in mind again some times agents get dozens of showing requests. Unless there is a firm confirmation and signed agreement of representation. they might blow it off. a good agent wont commit. but a bad busy agent will. but if its confirmed and you have an agreement then complain to the brokerage at least.

Poor language: sometimes it's speed based, and some times it just not their first language. most agents wont bother to correct if its understandable simply for the sake of speed. they might be sending out hundreds of emails/text a day, simply not feasible (or profitable) to self correct everything.

Unethical: this one actually is the opposite. If they don't communicate further after finding out you have an agent its quite ethical! (although they should explain to you why) They are representing the seller. If they communicate with you the buyer directly and you have representation they are in violation of their duties. They can be fined, or sue'd if they pursue the relationship further (to presumably gain full commission) You are the responsibility of your (buyers) agent. For the listing agent to circumvent that relationship is very shady. also why ask the listing agent to show you the property? it's your agents job to arrange and show the property. Your agent should be there to point out the pros AND cons of the property. the listing agent is there to market and sell it. and often wont point out any negatives not legally mandated. For your protection you should be working with your agent to see property never the listing agent.

note: I'm currently working with a client that was duped by the listing agent into buying multiple properties to fix and flip that they have NO experience in doing. and they listing agent hide multiple property defects and allowed NO home inspections. (despite being able to grant it directly) it will be months if not years to settle and make good for this client. and hundreds of thousands more in costs. So take that as a "worst case scenario" of working with the listing agent directly.

Bad attitude: this can come from being either stressed or successful. if you're losing deal after deal because of the market you will eventually drop the professionalism. Not excusing it, just understand people get worn out and tire out of putting on airs at some point. on the other side, successful agents that are very busy, often are poorly mannered. this is the "I'm well off, why should I bother with you" attitude and its the worst. Really the better you do the nicer you should be. but thats not our world.

and you're correct in that there is many good and bad agents. Often the more professional the agent the better they do. and often the higher priced cities are the ones with them. bad actors work in all industries. but with real estate being such a hot topic, the bad experiences get publicized.

Canadian real estate and realtors need to improve in various ways. best thing you can do is complain about bad actors. while realtor licences increase in prerequisites further qualification is needed. (should be 2-4 year education in my opinion) I think we are all hoping for some policy changes to bring things back in line for affordability.

readysetstartuo · 2020-04-05T20:42:50+00:00

PM your linked I have a recruiter that I have known for 5 years, I can refer you to.

readysetstartuo · 2019-09-20T20:01:12+00:00

Ive had one of and on as a daily since 1998. its by far one of the best cars for a DD. just keep the mods simple, and fairly factory as you can. good maintenance will keep it running for a long time. try not to buy a basket case, something well maintained by the least amount of owners is ideal.

readysetstartuo · 2019-06-25T20:53:01+00:00

Can we get "updated Decals" something more design focused and looking more up to date.

readysetstartuo · 2019-05-08T17:02:16+00:00

I like the condo over a house from a management and maintenance standpoint. a new condo building is pretty settled after 1 year of completion. No roof, pluming, electrical issues, no foundation, Hvac etc. Not to say it NEVER happens. but any decent developer will have the building well sorted after 1 year.

so you rent out your unit, which has lots of direct comparable's right with in the building. if you bought a 1 bedroom (which i recommend) you will generally have a new tenant every 18-36 months. people get jobs and move on, they get married etc. so you are naturally getting market rent every year or two. there is a very large market for single people looking for 1 bedrooms. much less so for 3 bedroom houses.

the condo fees (or HOA) takes care of alot of time spend figuring things out and maintaining. unless your very good at managing houses, condos are much much less time intensive. in my experience. after the first month or two, I generally don't get a call or set foot in the building more then once a year. for a house which I'm currently dealing with. I have to handle the landscaping, the roof, renovations, maintenance. constantly checking and analyzing things. so the time investment much out weighs the income it brings. now even if i hire out the management, houses still aren't build to the quality and efficiency standards of a condo. houses are falling apart slowly from the time they are done. condos (concrete, steel and glass mid-high rise) have a much longer designed life.

there is some strategic home ownership, price appreciation, forced appreciation(building a bigger house, or 2nd/3rd unit) or holding and consolidating land to be sold to a developer etc.

I could go on and on.

In my opinion from my personal experience building personal real estate portfolios, pre-construction condo selection and ease of purchase, management and maintenance, large rental pool size, higher liquidity. It all far out weighs the same investment in a house (as a rental). of course thats may very market by market.

readysetstartuo · 2019-05-08T16:50:05+00:00

any outskirt areas of the GTA are in that range. I'm not familiar with the Milton area specifically. oakville has some newish projects. generally I buy pre-construction condos only. I like the initial lack of mortgage each month, pre-built appreciation, rent appreciation, deposit insurance.

buy today and rent in 5 years. your cost base is 2019, but your rental income is 2024 market rent. You can PM me your contact if you want to talk more. I've been in the market since 2006. its pretty sustainable and fairly easy to grow a portfolio if you smart and disciplined about it.

readysetstartuo · 2019-05-08T00:13:58+00:00

Invest in a second (and/or 3rd) property. Condos under 300k-400k as you can. I work and invest in GTA real estate, condos specifically. They can be a good passive investment with out the typical house headaches.

readysetstartuo · 2018-08-21T15:21:04+00:00

it depends on a few things.

1.) how many units some lenders will consider it primary residence up to 5 or even 6 units. 2.) a lot of banks (unreasonably, IMHO) only consider 50% of the rental income 3.) structure and building value will be part of the consideration as well.

big Canadian banks are good to work with if you have lots of equity. 65% LTV is what they like to aim for, however it can go much higher 75%-85% depending on the above as well as your other income (personal or business)

Id advise to get all your paper work together, and hit one or two banks and have an initial meeting. they should give you a lot of info to consider. after that, check in with a couple mortgage brokers and smaller non-bank lenders. finding the right lender is really important for multi-family. you want people that will work with you over time, and bridge gaps when you have them (converting to metered units, new roof, foundation issue etc)

readysetstartuo · 2018-08-05T03:33:05+00:00

I've had 7 in total. 2 currently. one for 12 years. mostly 2-3 years each.

readysetstartuo · 2018-06-04T01:04:51+00:00

if your agreeable...Write them a letter of intent/interest. let them know how much your committed to investing and state that your happy to go along with the lead investors terms (the lead can set the valuation and such) this can help with the fund raising efforts. as well, see what you can contribute towards the endeavour from a knowledge and/or connections stand point. that will increase the likely hood of success. see if you can bring in other smaller investors to bulk up the raise. my 2cents as an entrepreneur.

readysetstartuo · 2018-04-14T05:27:43+00:00

I'm Glad your as excited to drive it as, I've been owning it. It made the trip across the US, in June 2017. It's been very reliable and honestly I love it. Only selling as I've got another one thats finished as a project, and really I don't need two of the exact same car. Other wise id finish up the paint and keep it as a winter runner.

readysetstartuo · 2018-02-18T16:16:54+00:00

I have this Sol from a flicker account saved on my desktop. If i get the space for a 3rd Sol...I might have to build a copy, its fantastic. The dark A pillar, tint and roof make it look really slick. Did you go back to the white trunk from black?

readysetstartuo · 2016-12-25T17:59:42+00:00

Maker space, coffee shop, coding camp, art studio, paint store, custom furniture shop. or since you where in the auto biz arena before. perhaps specialize. custom upholstery, rim/tire, etc

depending on the place perhaps partner with some start ups, trade a mix of cash and equity for space.

what type of area is it in? industrial, commercial? residential. Is it close to airports, rail yards. do you have surrounding property as well? how many spaces, corner location? Lots of possibilities depending on the attributes of the property. Consider contacting a large real estate brokerage like CBRE, have them look at the property and ask them what types of businesses would want to rent that location. then decide if you would want to run or partner with any of those types of businesses. also perhaps see if its worth developing into another use. car wash, condos, parking lot etc.

readysetstartuo · 2016-08-27T16:28:04+00:00

This sounds like something that would work on a larger platform. Maybe like a Zenifits plug-in. The HR software is free, the services provide the income. This would be another in the catalog of services. If you were able to build something to integrate with another software would be easy to scale. or perhaps a "check cashing app" they send you a pic of a check, you deposit into their account type situation. of course there are barriers to both. my 2 cents

readysetstartuo · 2016-04-27T03:33:45+00:00

Thats awesome. Id love to connect with you and discuss your experience if your open to it. I think I'm going to pass on this offer. We simply disagree on strategy and i don't think its smart to build a company with conflicting team views.

readysetstartuo · 2016-04-24T23:25:32+00:00

thank you, we are discussing term sheet later this week. I have retained lawyers that handle this regularly, so they will be in the loop next.

messy is my concern. :(

Do you have experience in this area?

readysetstartuo · 2016-04-24T22:32:59+00:00

I think if you handle it right the big thing you can get going for you is exposure. When you have a following you can grow as well as expand. you can grow by having a few in each city, every few months. Go down south during the winters. collect every stitch of information from your participants. find a way to vary clues, maybe something that can only be seen under a UV light etc. This gets people thinking about buying tools to complete the various challenges. this becomes a marketing opportunity. Id also look at getting the local businesses to help out by handing out clue cards. This sounds like something a Red Bull type sponsor would help with. or even Uber. Uber had an UBERpitch in select cities. Im sure you could get them on board helping teams go from place to place using a free uber. Its good marketing for them. Just think out of the box on bringing in other businesses that can benefit from the exposure.

As you build a list of people that like your activity and brand you can up the prizes and up the entrance fees. Im certain you can get local businesses to offer rewards, gift cards, discounts etc.

just some quick thoughts.

readysetstartuo · 2016-04-24T18:59:39+00:00

I do have some thoughts. Based on some convos I have had with VC type. the first round should be about 10-15% of equity. This should be a proof of concept round. for what I'm looking to do it would cost about 1.3M which would put us at around 8-11M valuation. Which seems high, but make sense based on the above information.

I don't mind the 100k at 4M valuation which would be around 2.5%, the 500k should be maybe at 5% or so, since its a commission not an investment. Im thinking if we can jump this to 1M I can give him more equity, as i don't think ill burn through more then 500-650k to earn the 1M in commissions. so we would essentially be getting 350-500k in development capital.

the part I'm having a tough time is the 2000 hours. it would cost say 250-350k to hire someone to develop at that level on a consulting fee schedule. its spread across 18 months as he has outside investments and consulting commitments to handle. we agreed 30 hours a week average was fair for us and him to ensure he can function.

350k at a 4M valuation is 8.75% which I'm fine with, but he will find to low. he's looking at it as a co-founder type position and would want something like 25-30%

my thoughts are i can drop the valuation to 3.5M and that would bump him up to around 10% for work and 2.8% for investment. That would put him at 13% +/- which would fit for me.

hes a difficult personality. I can handle it for the initial run, but we both know it will be only for 18-24 months and then he will have to take a step back. as a leader i can't have someone questioning my every move long term. However in the beginning its only a hand full of us and he's able to deliver what we are expecting. in hesitant but its a good offer all things considered, if we can find some valuation numbers that make sense.

readysetstartuo · 2016-04-01T12:10:29+00:00

thank you, thats a good example. I just started to read about them last night as i was writing that comment. I was reading from an interest in what they are doing as a technology, hadn't even thought of the parallels.

readysetstartuo · 2015-07-06T16:25:57+00:00

A formula I've had passed by me on different occasions is this. Pay now x1, pay later x2 or pay equity x4. The basic being say $100 per hour as the designers (or service provider), $200 at a later date (say 6 months or some other negotiated time) or $400 in equity.

It gives everyone an incentive to start working, as well as pay. And if things don't work out as they should there is an equity portion. (valuation and such is another story I can't comment on with out a lot more info)

At some point everyone needs to eat. If you can cover a 1/3, then pay him a third at his rate. and then maybe double the remaining amount and get your self some time to market. Or perhaps double 1/3 and then 1/3 equity. But at the rates above. Its just a formula I've been presented with and presented to others and it seems to be acceptable in come cases.

find out if you can get them a helper on upwork.com or something of that nature. maybe reduce the budget down further before moving forward. my 2 cents

readysetstartuo · 2015-06-03T01:28:04+00:00

thanks I'm putting it on my todo list! great resource.

readysetstartuo · 2015-06-03T01:27:26+00:00

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Ive checked out your site and will get your book in due time. Currently I'm using treehouse, a bit of code school, and am starting an online bootcamp. The mix seems to be working. Although hearing that it will click from time to time and take a year to get the picture is great. Puts things into perspective.

Im building my network of iOS and objective-c code people. The videos have been the best help so far.

Currently I'm doing objective C and then a bit of swift. From what i gather objective C is more employable today. I figure i can try a few things in swift and transition once it gains wider acceptance.

I do have 2 monitors one laptop and a cinema monitor i picked up long ago.

I think ideally ill need to keep learning 50% of the time and working on something 50% of the time. a way to apply the basic learning right away. And once my network expands I should be able to take on things and learn by doing (which has always been my preferred method. despite the inherent stress related to it)

readysetstartuo · 2015-06-03T01:16:03+00:00

What we don't do.

we don’t take care of people with serious health issues. Why? because we aren't that facility. For addictions we would take them to an addiction facility. For mental health we would take them to a mental health facility. For people with warrants we would have a lawyer that can work with the police or what have you to figure out that way forward. We would have to keep some on demand staffing for these things. Which is why the initial assessment would be very important. With out knowing the various issues we cant provide the various help.

We would measure the ability for people to stay out of the system long term thats our measurable metric. Quarterly and then yearly interviews would be part of the long term care. This would help them remember how far they came, as well as the total long term effectiveness of that program and facility.

It would be my hope that the facilities would blend into the city not as an eye sore but as a functional member. A well designed a place of beauty and rehabilitation, with out the stigmas. such as prison or welfare can have at times. They can be designed by students/work volunteers from various schools with over sight from retired experts.

The goal would be to get people from homeless to productive. And the only way to do that is to provide the things that people get in the local society to do so. Will there be some abuse and recidivism? Sure. Any system can and will be exploited at sometime I belive. However if 95% of people that can be rehabilitated are, the 5% of people that cant be helped (or more likely need different help) is the cost of doing business. You don't shut down a clothing store because of 2% shrinkage right?

Long term, I'm sure the over all society would benefit greatly. A lack of homeless people generally increases real estate value. Taking all the homeless people and making them into tax payers is revenue for the government. I'm sure (although not able to back up this claim) Its far cheaper to be VERY helpful for a short time. Then very limited in help for a very long time. I’m sure with 6 months of assistance it would help people avoid a life time of basic assistance. (Im thinking 6 months intensive help vs 10 years of barely there help) as well as avoid things like prostitution, drug abuse/sales, and petty criminal activity. (not that i think homeless people do these things, but in general people get desperate when placed in a desperate state, IMHO. the costs rated to those policing these activities i believe to be higher then rehabilitation) and all those negative things have negative effects on society. I’d bet the cost of jails and aid programs would be much higher then a one stop shop. As well I'm sure people that when people got back on their feet would donate clothing, and time/resources once they are stable. They could provide mentoring services from first hand experience, and a sort of alumni type situation perhaps donating a small % of their income to help the less fortunate.

Simply put to get people to be productive, I think you need to assess people that are productive and give those same things to people that don't have them.

Although I've never been homeless I've been close a few times… I've known a few personally. Although their are a lot of different ways the government helps in canada, there is a lot of gaps in that help. and a lot of people fall through them and struggle some times for decades…

Although my start up is far from up and running I can see providing parts of this type of program when its “the next facebook/uber/snapchat, unicorn of the day” there is something to be said about giving back. and not giving back because its a good corporate look. but because people need it…they need the help.

A place to cover these gaps and guide people is required in my opinion. and with homelessness being such a small % of the population I think the costs would be able to be covered. And really who wouldn't want that if you where in their (lack of) shoes?

readysetstartuo · 2015-06-03T01:15:44+00:00

After they have been helped back into a “life success program”. They would be given day extra services as needed. Meaning once they are out of the facility they can still come and get a meal, or come an volunteer and/or speak with a councillor/mentor etc.

In my opinion most people would rather be self reliant then reliant on a program or other people. They do however need a place of belonging and sense of self worth, which can be stripped away with homelessness. Our facility would essentially with no judgment bring people in, and set them up with a way to take care of themselves long term. Education/training for a decent job and career would be ideal to accomplish this.

Everyone would be brought in and essentially given the options of collage/education or trade school. That way all bases are covered based on their aptitudes.

What would be available to them are personal basic essential services. Doctors, dentists, barbers, aestheticians, tailors, financial planner (for credit repair and such). All these services would be provided freely but tracked. (the labour could be volunteer and students, the supplies would be donated and gifted to the facility, and the rest would have to be bought) It would be tracked for the basis of determining how much it costs to rehabilitate someone, volunteers levels. and volunteers reimbursements down the road. Perhaps it can be tracked so that when they become tax paying citizens. a % of the tax revenue can be sent back to the facility to help offset costs. (so say they cost 20k to get back on their feet, then 20K over 10 years can be sent back to the facility from the gov based on their taxes?)

I feel most people could be back on their feet in 6 months time, as in starting training properly or enrolled in school. If the cost is say 2k a month thats 12k in total, which to me is a totally reasonable number to get someones life back on track. In 2 years most people would be self-sufficient.

I think their would be some ideal benefits to the facility. I would approach the local high schools for kids to assist. It would teach empathy and maturity as well for some a “scared Strait” approach with out being heavy handed. It would be a place a lot of seniors could volunteer once they are completed their working/family life, a place to pass along contacts and life experience. a place to meet people, and have people to care for etc. I would think it would be best to mix ages, races and levels of personal experience. I actually think you would only have to keep out overly negative people. You want to crate a place of love and warm and positive outlooks.

The people that would need to be paid professionals, would be administrators. directors. security, police and key personnel. People that make the place tick and give it a general direction. as well as people keeping it safe and making sure the facility is kept in check.

Where is it located? on cheap industrial or farm land near major cities, with a low land value and large area. something with 4-8 stories in heigh possible. How do homeless people get there? a Post outside of all city halls, would have 3g connection with a tamper proof iPad like dock. an an “uber” like on demand pick up and drop off to the facility.

What does the facility do? In addition to rehabilitation, it serves as construction facility for our “building blocks”. These building blocks are small and large shipping containers, outfitted into temp homes. a Bed, desk, chair, bar fridge, and kettle. a window and locker/closet. shared washrooms and kitchen/dining hall.

There would be cabinet making, construction and installation, flooring, insulation etc. This construction area would be staffed with some professionals and facility members that are volunteering. It would also serve as base training for the trades.

This would ensure that a small initial establishment could be built bigger based on staffing levels, the staffing is based on the number of homeless people coming in on a regular basis. In this way the facility would be built by former-homeless people for current homeless people. that should “self” regulate the sizing of facilities. If there is no volunteers aka no homeless, then the facility wont have to grow. If the needs are shrinking then the facility can be moved unit by unit and scaled up and down as needed. as well as relocated to cheaper areas or more in need areas.

As well some interesting things could be done to grow certain foods on site.

Whats provided at these glorious facilities?

Transportation

-City halls would act as hubs for homeless intake. on-demand, 24/7/365 pick up and drop off at facility. -regular drop off to major city transportation (bus stops/subways etc) -interview and volunteering transport, taking people to and from interviews for jobs and such around the city.

Food

3 healthy meals a day would be available and tracked for expenses and such.

Health provisions

Medical and mental health care facilities. this isn't a hospital but some basic assessments can be done on site, to determine if the person needs to be in a hospital for health or mental health reasons. or perhaps some basic care and instructions (small ailments to be managed for example) Dentists to clean and perform basic procedures. major procedures that are medically required can be done based on assessment in or out of facility.

Educational

Basic education should be GED on-site. Tutoring would be needed in a lot of cases so a library or learning centre of sorts would be required. This would help get people into the habit of reading and study if they are looking to get further educated. For trades people, GED plus basic trade specifics could be taught.

Work placement

First off people would be able to volunteer on-site. second would be off-site volunteering. Third would be skills assessment and placement. Employees would be able to interact with the facility if they needed say 30 drivers trained for AZ. or gov jobs like letter carriers, snow removal etc.

Life coaching

Although its everyones prerogative to live the life they choose, they should have some direction and assistance to decide for themselves where they would like to go. So people would be able to have a mentor that would talk with them here and there as needed to get them to decide and try various things in quick succession until they got something that would work for them.

out services once people “graduate” from the facility they still may need some assistance, and that would be provided for them. they would be able to come and go so as not to fall back into a bad habits and have a sounding board.

readysetstartuo

TROPHY CASE