David Van

Christmas is early this year! Preparing some 3D prints of our buildings as a gift token to our LPs. I particularly like the details on the staircase.

@imSaichowdary_ @grok Most feasible would be the Bering Strait, connecting Alaska with Russia. They are 82km apart, with 2 islands in between and shallow waters. 2nd is Canada-Greenland-Iceland-Faroe-UK. Multiple crossings of ~400km. Roughly 8x China's HZMB bridge (current longest sea crossing)

Hey @Grok, is it possible to build a bridge like this??

Real estate success in 7 steps: 1) Macro beta (demographics) 2) Micro alpha (execution) 3) Strong team 4) Conservative underwriting 5) Tenant-first mindset 6) Tax optimization 7) Patience Don't aim to be the best at one thing. Be top 15% in several & you'll win big. #RealEstate

@K_Canada_ @JacobStewart__ @Tablesalt13 My kids are in elementary school and the only thing I see is maybe my kid's drawing of rainbows and unicorns, but unrelated to any ideologies. I dunno for high schools yet. The Bedford elementary school in Montreal fueled the debate further more.

@JacobStewart__ @DavidVanMtl @Tablesalt13 I'm totally cool with no religious symbols if they also remove all ideological symbols including pride flags

JUST IN - A Montreal school board has just fired 150 teachers for failing to remove their religious symbols most of the 150 teachers were fired for wearing hijabs.

@JacobStewart__ @Tablesalt13 I agree with what you say, but you’re mixing "freedom of belief" vs "neutrality of state". Religious values should be taught by parents at home. Math & language should be taught in school. After the Revolution, Quebec deliberately separated religion from public institutions.

So lets say that's right then. if someone believe in God, reads the bible, praises god, lives by Christian values, teaches those to their children. We can just assume they aren't actually religious because they don't go to church right? I've got a friend, not religious at all, but in recent years he has started supporting more religion in Canada. He wants to support the Church, he wants to support Christian values growing in Canada rather than see it in decline. His reasoning for this is the same as my reasoning was a decade ago. Even without being religious, I knew that Christian values were crucial to Canadian culture and I wanted to do my part to preserve them. I've since found my faith in that time. and for the first few years, I only attended church a few times. So if someone tells me they are Christian, love Jesus, even if they only have a few favorite bible versus and haven't read all the scriptures, i'll believe them and I will pray that their faith only strengthens according to God's will. But I bet that the 60%+ Canadians, excluding non citizens, would not support banning teachers from wearing a cross. This is more likely a result of education being primarily run by people who consider themselves liberal, who are less likely to be religious than Conservatives.

@JacobStewart__ @Tablesalt13 Exactly, the census is about religious identity, and it's at 40-50%. What I meant was practice. I'm Montreal based and my friends are Christians but don't go to church. That practice has dropped to 2-3%. It may have increased with Filipinos and other groups.

You are very right. Except for the fact that the 2021 census shows a bit higher than 2-4%. They are actually 53.8%. So unless there is evidence of over 90% of the catholics in quebec losing their faith in the past 5 years, which wouldn't be evident until the 2026 census gets published, I will go by those numbers. Though I will agree that it has likely fallen again. With some surveys suggesting in the mid 40% for regions like quebec, and overall Canada hovering a bit higher. It's also worth noting that the estimated number of immigrants in Canada from the 2021 census was 8.36 million, representing 23% of canada, most of which were not Christian. Some large numbers, such as Filipinos, would have brought in Catholics, but immigrants from China and India, were mostly non-Christian. I'd estimate the percentage of Christians in Canada out of just the citizens is likely closer to 60%, as if I take the Christian percentage from 2021, remove the immigrants, I get about 65%, but I would still have to factor out the likely religious groups, especially Filipinos. And I would include Quebec, as the Quebec government has already expressed concerns over the amount of immigrants that they had to accept. Which further makes me believe that Quebec should exclude the cross in this religious symbol ban.

@MaximeBernier You scam them to come here & pay high tuition and then you remove their only right to study/work to survive. Then you sound shocked they turn to theft to eat. Your government is the biggest theft here and should be held criminally responsible, not rewarded by a fat pension plan.

All students overstayed their visa MUST BE DEPORTED! Criminal or not.

@TitanTemplar @Tablesalt13 Since the Quiet Revolution, Quebec hasn't had much religious practice. Catholism practice dropped from 90% to 2-4%. As for govt, it switches btw Liberal and PQ, then CAQ. Will probably change again in upcoming elections. Alberta only had 1 government dominating for 5 decades.

@Tablesalt13 One government, one religion, that is what they want.

@JacobStewart__ @Tablesalt13 The stats you're talking about is affiliation from census. Actual practice of Catholism fell from 90% to 2-4% now in Quebec. In Canada, it's down to ~20%. Quebec had a Quiet Revolution and went against the Church in the 1960s. That's why its culture accepts secularism better.

The cross should be exempt. This country used to be near 100% Christian. It remained 90%+ until the 70's. Even if the numbers have dropped to around 50%, this is still a Christian nation, built on Christian values and morals. Telling a Canadian, whose family has been here for centuries, all of whom were openly Christian, that now they can't wear the symbol of their faith, that until recently was shared by nearly all Canadians. I believe that goes against Canadian values.

Taxes are your biggest lifetime expense, not your house. Work 2000+ hours → government takes ~40%. Real estate offers depreciation, capital gains deferral, and flow-through advantages. Proper structure multiplies what you keep. #TaxEfficiency #FIRE

@theficouple Pay off the mortgage, and then refinance it back to invest, making the new mortgage payments tax deductible.

Let’s say you had $132,000 in the bank. But you also have a $132,000 mortgage at 4.8%. Would you invest the money in the stock market or pay off the house?

Accredited Investor reality: In Canada, it unlocks private deals most people never see. But the real advantage? Access to operators who eat their own cooking. We invest significantly alongside our LPs. What's your biggest barrier to private investments? #AccreditedInvestor

@KYinvestorJW We have US LPs, but the majority are Canadians.

@DavidVanMtl Exactly. But private fund investment can be good for informed LP Do you have US LPs? Or is that too difficult

Private equity real estate beats going DIY for busy professionals: > Professional management > Diversified portfolio > Better tax structure > Access to larger deals Our funds help some 30+ families (mostly busy professionals). Who's considering funds vs DIY? #PrivateEquity

@KYinvestorJW Yep, and I must add, for LPs who don't do their hw, they are even less ideal to do DIY. They should just stick to ETFs.

@DavidVanMtl Generally agree but manager selection is crucial and most LPs don't even know what questions to ask Most LPs probably shouldn't be LPs

Quick math hack every buyer should know: If mortgage rate < property cap rate + expected appreciation, leverage works in your favor. Right now? Many properties still make sense. Of course, there are nuances. Run the numbers. What’s your threshold? #RealEstateMath

Good debt vs bad debt in one tweet: Good debt → buys appreciating assets that generate income (rental properties). Bad debt → funds depreciating toys with no return. What’s your view on leverage? #RealEstate #DebtStrategy

@elonmusk @Teslaconomics @boringcompany The overrun ($93B) breakdown est. by Grok: 1) Delays & inflation +$37B 2) Change orders from early planning +$23B 3) Lawsuits & permitting +$14B 4) Buy America +$14B 5) Misc +$5B Buy America requires costlier US materials & unions. No US experience = expensive consultant use.

@Teslaconomics @boringcompany The real reason for the “high speed rail” is money-laundering to bureaucrats, consultants & unions, not actually transport. That is where the billions spent so far have gone. That is why they don’t want an actually cost-efficient high speed transport system.

The @BoringCompany could build a Hyperloop tunnel from downtown SF to downtown LA for <5% of this cost and it would be a technological marvel exceeding any high speed rail on Earth

@seamus_coughlin Some are correlated/caused: Lawsuits create delays, and inflation compounds. Change orders from early planning are expected for government regulated megaprojects. Global projects often overrun by 50-100%. Not surprised the biggest winners here are lawyers.

@seamus_coughlin CA HSR overrun ($33B → $126B) breakdown estimated by Grok: 1) Delays & inflation (40% +$37B) 2) Change orders from bad early planning (25% +$23B) 3) Lawsuits & permitting (15% +$14B) 4) Buy America & no U.S. expertise (15% +$14B) 5) Misc (5% +$5B) Delays amplify everything.

If you were just complaining that a $4 billion dollar trip to space "could have fed the poor" but you're silent about the $126 billion dollar train to nowhere, it's time to stop pretending your politics have anything to do with feeding poor people

@KTLA Some are correlated/caused: Lawsuits create delays, and inflation compounds. Change orders from early planning are expected for government regulated megaprojects. Global projects often overrun by 50-100%. Not surprised the biggest winners here are lawyers.

@KTLA CA HSR overrun ($33B → $126B) breakdown estimated by Grok: 1) Delays & inflation (40% +$37B) 2) Change orders from bad early planning (25% +$23B) 3) Lawsuits & permitting (15% +$14B) 4) Buy America & no U.S. expertise (15% +$14B) 5) Misc (5% +$5B) Delays amplify everything.

In a 60 Minutes report, officials said they now believe the rail line linking L.A. and San Francisco could ultimately cost about $126 billion, more than triple the original price tag approved by voters. ktla.com/news/californi…