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dyslexic-shirmp · 7 years ago

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1-50 and yeah I'm serious

‘Do you prefer writing with black or blue pen?black pen !

Would you prefer to live in the country or the city?city, i had my share of living in the country, let me tell you its not what it cracks up to be especially if you have no transportation

If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?probably a musical instrument

Do you drink your tea or coffee with sugar?usually 2 sugar but im trying to cut back to 1 sugar

What was your favourite book as a child?first book i remember obsessing over (not manga) was Love Bites (a vampire kisses novel), if manga Death Note or Pet Shop of Horrors

Do you prefer baths or showers?Showers, baths are too long

If you could be a mythical creature, which would you choose?kappa

Do you prefer reading paper or electronic books?paper books, collecting the manga i want will take forever but bookmarking doesnt seem right :(

What is your favourite item of clothing?i dont know, probably my new senpai hat i got

Do you like your name? Would you ever change it?I did change it, to jupiter

Who is a mentor to you?never really had a mentor

Would you ever want to be famous? If so, what for?if i were to get famous i would hope its to the amount like hussie where you dont know much about me but still respect me, hopefully for my art as well

Are you a restless sleeper?i sleep pretty easily, probably has to do with my medications though

Do you consider yourself a romantic?um i could see that

Which element best represents you?water

Who do you want to be closer to?friends at work, online friends or any friends in general

Do you miss someone at the moment?i think im doing okay

Tell us about an early childhood memory.counting the purple lines on the sheets of my dads bed trying to fall asleep, also having my brother cut off all my hair i dont remember which came first

What is the strangest thing you have eaten?rabbit i guess

What can you see outside your bedroom window?the porch, parking lot and a bar and grill

What are you most thankful for?thankful i didnt go too far off the deep end in high school

Do you like spicy food?sometimes, in certain dishes, non spicy curry doesnt taste right

Have you ever met someone famous?nope

Do you keep a diary or journal?i have a bullet journal but its mostly for lists, then my blog if that counts

Do you prefer to use pen or pencil?pen, there is different colours

What is your star sign?leo

Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy?crunchy, i cant eat soggy cereal :U

What would you want your legacy to be?i dont know, artist of some kind

Do you like reading? What was the last thing you read?i like reading manga, last stuff i read was all of kii kanna’s work on mangafox (Yuki no Shita no Qualia, Umibe no Etranger)

How do you show someone you love them?get really clingy and buy you stuff

Do you like ice in your drinks?ice tea only

What are you afraid of?being alone, unable to take care of myself (emotionally/mentally/financially), living a unfulfilling life

What is your favourite scent?bed sheets, coffee, freshly showered

Do you address older people by their first or last name?first name ?

If money was not a factor, how would you live your life?in the city, doesnt matter which one because i would travel between them so i never got sick of living in one place and didnt have time to hate the town i lived in, take lots of pictures and make art

Do you prefer swimming in pools or in the ocean?ive never swam in the ocean so pools

What would you do if you found $50 on the ground?take it man im poor

Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish?yes and yes, usually it was something stupid like i wish for money or for enter blank here to like me

What is one thing you would want to teach your children?not having children but i guess that you have to find your own inspiration in life or nothing else matters

If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?thinking of getting a tattoo of a tiny jupiter on my forearm somewhere

What can you hear right now?my partner typing on her mechanical gamer keyboard

Where do you feel the safest?in my bed

What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer?my anxiety and depression

If you could travel back to any era, which would you choose?90s if i had to (i like my technology)

What is your most used emoji?🌱 420

What is your favourite season? Why?Autumn, good for my aesthetic wear, coffee is prime, colours and shit, COLD

How would you spend your ideal day?coffee, netflix, art, game, coffee, anime, art, sleep maybe like go out but thats what i do on my days off

Describe yourself using one word.sleepy

What do you regret the most?living

Invent your own word. What does it mean?shurlp , you know ;0

#senpaispeaks #i did it !#cranky-blue-boi

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simsstuffmarie · 8 years ago

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100 Questions To Invade My Personal Life

I haven’t been tagged by anyone but I just thought I’d give it a go as I’m bored! Found this on @angelisims Simblr 😁

1. What's your middle name, and do you like it? My middle name is Marie and I do quite like it actually...it's pretty common lol

2. Are you artistic? Yeah I love doodling and just drawing random things occasionally

3. Have you had your first kiss? Duhhhhhh! I have a boyfriend!

4. What is your life goal? To be successful in my personal goals

5. Do you have any experiences with a famous person? I met Princess Diana when I was little, and a few years ago when I was doing my family tree I found out that my 5th cousin is Michael Douglas lol

6. Do you play any sports? Only if sleeping is classed as a sport?!?!

7. What's your worst fear? Being unhappy and unsuccessful....oh and spiders and heights

8. Who's your biggest inspiration? Myself....never aspire to be anybody else because it will never make you happy

9. Do you have any cool talents? Not really....I can fit my fist in my mouth! Does that count?

10. are you a morning person? HELL NO!!!

11. How do you feel about pet names? Me and Will have them....so I don’t really care. I never really call people by their proper names anyway 12. Do you like to read? Yes. But I rarely get time to sit down with a good book without being interrupted by someone 13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life. Grey's Anatomy - I’ve loved that show since episode one Band Of Brothers/ The Pacific - Just amazing True Blood - Yeassss Vampire Diaries - Ermmmmm....is their one member of that cast who isn’t hot?!

14. Do you care about your follower count?

I’m not overly obsessed with it, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I see I’ve got a new follower (love you all btw!!)

15. What's the best dream you've had?

I can’t really remember my dreams

16. Have you ever kissed someone of your same gender?

I always kiss my girlfriends....not in a passionate way, just a little peck! Especially when we’ve been out for the night haha

17. Do you have any pets?

Not personally, but I treat my boyfriends' dog like he is mine

18. Are you religious?

Nope

19. Are you a people person?

I get a bit anxious and stressed out/ short tempered if there is a lot of people around in large crowds

20. Are you considered popular?

I don't think so..............

21. What is one of your bad habits?

Self-doubt

22. What's something that makes you feel vulnerable

Being around people who “look better” and are in better physical shape than me

23. What would you name your children?

Girl - Raynor Boy - Finn

24. Who's your celebrity crush?

Tom Hardy, Kellan Lutz, Charlie Hunnam, Shemar Moore, Jamie Dornan, Henry Cavill, Tyson Beckford.....I could actually go on forever!!

25. What's your best subject?

Human Biology, physiology and anatomy

26. Dogs or cats?

Both

27. Most-used social media besides Tumblr?

Facebook

28. Best friends name

Vikki, Hayley and Nikki

29. Who does your main family consist of?

Me, my mum and my older brother

30. Chocolate or sugar

Chocolate

31. Have you ever been on a date?

Several

32. Do you like rollercoasters?

Only if they have over-the-head supports....not just the lap bars

33. Can you swim?

Yes, but not very well

34. What would you do in the event of an apocalypse?

My boyfriend and me actually always have this discussion and have it all worked out! There's an old prison near where we live and an abandoned army base just up the hill - and the town centre is only 10min walk away! Perfect!

35. Have you struggled with any kind of mental disorder

Anxiety - increasing at the moment.

36. Are your parents together?

Nope - divorced when I was really little

37. What's your favourite colour?

Any warm colour

38. What country are you from/do you live in?

ENGLAND!!!

39. Favourite singer?

P!NK, Adele, James Arthur

40. Do you see yourself being famous some day?

Nope

41. Do you like dresses?

Yeah, as long as it isn't too tight

42. Favourite song right now?

Thunder - Imagine Dragons Skin - Rag’n’Bone Man

43. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

No, if you’re old enough to do it, you should be mature enough to talk about it.

44. How old were you when you first got your period?

I was quite late starting. I was 15.

45. Have you ever shot a gun?

Yeah

46. Have you ever done yoga?

Yep

47. Are you a horror girl?

I don’t mind them, but they can all be quite similar

48. Are you good at giving advice?

Great at giving it. Crap at taking it!

49. Tell us a story about your childhood.

My dad used to be in the army and we lived several places. When we lived in Cyprus we used to visit the old ruins and amphitheatre and there were loads of lizards that used to hide in the cracks of the old buildings. I decided I wanted one of them to take home so I grabbed hold of its tail, but it was stuck and I kept pulling and pulling and eventually the tail actually came off of the lizard! Immediately I started crying.

One Christmas 9also when we lived in Cyprus actually) I wanted snow on the Christmas tree, but we didn't have fake snow, so I decided to use my mum's expensive face cream and smothered the tree in cream.

The same Christmas, me and my brother woke up before my mum and dad and decided to “sneak” into the front room to open the presents. When we got to the front room door, the handle had been taken off the door and closed, so we decided to go around the back door, which was also locked. Then tried looking through the windows but they had put bin bags all over the windows and drawn the curtains. We went back in and decided to sit my the front room door until they woke up, but we fell asleep and they found us asleep by the door on the floor.

50. How are you doing today?

Yeah, I’m OK. Thanks for asking

51. Were you a cute kid?

Newborn - yea I think I was Toddler - I was cheeky Child - Scrawny Teen - awkward

52. Can you dance?

When I’ve had a drink

53. Is there anything you do that you can't remember ever not doing?

Breathing? Eating? Drinking?

54. Have you ever dyed your hair?

Yeah quite a few times actually, just not for a long long time now

55. What colour are your eyes?

They change depending on my mood - green/blue/hazel/grey

56. What's your favourite animal?

Hedgehogs - I want one

57. Have you ever made a huge fool of yourself?

All the time!!!

58. Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

My mum and I are close (even though she annoys the hell out of me) But me and my dad not really because he left when I was young. We still always saw him, but it sometimes feels like I don't know him properly...IDK....

59. Do you have good friends?

The most amazing friends....

60. Are you close with anyone of the lgbtq+ group?

I know loads of different people...I don’t really label anyone. If you’re decent to me then I’m cool with you...

61. What's your favourite class?

I don’t really have class at university....

62. List all the tv shows you are watching.

Love Island, Big Brother, OITNB, Sons Of Anarchy, Prison Break, Benidorm, Grey’s Anatomy

63. Are you organised?

I try to be

64. What was the last movie you saw? Opinion?

Split....it was actually quite good

67. Which tv character do you relate to most?

I have no clue

68. What are some things that stand between you and complete happiness?

Finances

69. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing?

Travelling the world

70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die?

Nothing....because every decision I made before has made me who I am now

71. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you?

I don’t care if nobody judges me

72. If you could start over, what would you do differently?

Nothing

73. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

Definitely

74. When was the last time you travelled somewhere new?

Today

75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind?

My bed

76. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today?

I got off my arse and got myself into university

77. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Everything! Nurse, Air Hostess, Vet, Super Model, Ballerina, Solider, Farmer, Roman, Pop Star, Barbie, Nightclub Owner, Architect, Interior Designer.....

78. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?

Nothing...because real friends and family support you no matter what.

79.When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have?

That's really personal and I don’t wanna talk about it.....sorry.....

80. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence

Finish my degree, get a job, buy my own house, get married and have children

81. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like?

Skinny

82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity?

Seeing new things, trying new food, living!

83. How would you spend a billion dollars?

Same as above - maybe invest half of it and buy a new house and treats for my closest

84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

Future - there is no point in trying to change the past as it got you to the place you are now....Live and Learn

85. What motivates you to succeed?

My family, friends and boyfriend

86. What dream that you’ve had has resonated with you the most?

It was an awful nightmare - about my brother and mum being murdered in front of me

87. Would you rather live in the city or the woods? Why?

The woods - because it's peaceful

88. Do you believe in life after death

Yes

89. What teacher inspired you the most? How did they?

They all thought I’d fail. Love proving people wrong. It makes me fight for everything

90. What’s your fondest childhood memory?

Living in Cyprus

91. If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why?

My Grandad - I miss the old grumps

92. What would you have to see to cry tears of joy?

Some of these really beautiful videos about people helping in the time of need, really romantic marriage proposals, and probably my first ultrasound scan if I was pregnant

93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life?

You need to make a decision for yourself. Never be pressurised into it. It may be a tough one to start with and it will probably make you cry for years and years to come. But somewhere it was the right decision for you.

94. What do you think happens after we die?

Life carries on....

95. What would you do if you could be invisible?

Sneak into loads of celebrities houses because I’m nosey

96. What's something you can't do no matter how hard you try?

Roll my tongue and roll my R’s

97. Would you want to choose the sex and appearance of your offspring?

Nope - they'd be perfect no matter what

98. How did your first crush develop?

Not very well lol

99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it?

Anxiousness and regret

100. Do you live or do you just exist?

At the moment I just exist - but I’m trying to live

I’d like to nominate people, but it is actually really long, and took me forever to do. So if you fancy doing it, just tag me because I’d love to read them all.

#nonsims #personal #100 questions

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askfornoguarantees-blog · 8 years ago

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Paris

This past weekend we traveled with our program to Paris for 3 days. We took a EuroStar train under the channel early Friday morning and got to Paris around 1 pm. I always get confused with the one hour time difference between the UK and Europe but at least it’s a lot easier then figuring out the 5 hour time difference between London and the US. Going in and out of Britain is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be because of border control, customs, and security. I thought that traveling between the UK and Europe would be really easy but the UK is a lot more strict about immigration and who comes in and out of the country. Everyone says that it’s because of Brexit but that isn’t even official yet and I’m pretty sure the UK has always been like this and it’s not some new policy change. Either way, the lines to get on a train, plane, or bus to leave or enter the country are always very long and frustrating.

When we got to Paris, our metro transportation was already taken care of in the original price of the trip which was really nice because we just got unlimited passes for the weekend. The metro isn’t as nice or clean or quiet as the tube but it was definitely efficient and ran much quicker than the tube. We checked into our hotel, which was actually really nice, but of course there was some sort of confusion and me and Maeg’s room was the only room not ready. We just left our bags in Sammie’s room and went on the guided walking tour with our tour guide David (the same one we had for Stonehenge/Bath). It was one of the most pointless tours I have ever taken. He stopped at the Arc de Triomphe for about 2 minutes and wouldn’t let us go up it. Instead he kept walking and decided to focus on some of the shops in that area including Abercrombie and Fitch- because obviously that is really important to see when you’re in Paris. We did stop at this cute little cafe for lunch and I essentially got a warmed up loaf of bread stuffed with olives and cheese for 3 euro. I still have dreams about that bread.

It was so rainy and miserably cold that we were already in bad moods but the fact that he did not want to stop at any of the “major tourist attractions” because “anyone can do that in France” was so unbelievably annoying. I spent $360 so that I could see the main attractions in France, not American stores that you can see anywhere in any mall in the US. We slowly (and I mean really slowly because this tour guide walked at the pace of a snail) made our way to the Seine where we were getting on a boat to see Paris from the water. I remember doing this when I went to Paris a few summers ago and all I can say is that it is much more enjoyable in nice weather than in cold, wet weather. We were so cold by the end of it that once we got off, we ran into the nearest restaurant we could find just to warm up. The restaurant we chose ended being a little French place in the Latin Quarter that had a “tourist menu” where you could get an appetizer, entree, and dessert for 10 euro. Of course we all opted for that and also ordered a bunch of wine for the table. That dinner was as fun as the tour had been miserable. I’m pretty sure everyone there thought of us as obnoxious Americans but none of us really cared because we were laughing too much and having a good time. It was me, Maegan, Sammie, Rupali, Constance, Charlie, and Ben that mainly hung out together on this trip.

After dinner, everyone wanted to go out but I was so tired that I ended up taking a nap and by the time I woke up I had no desire to drink anymore. We met up with our friend Allie who is studying abroad in Paris and she took us to some really cool bars (one of them, they lit the bar on fire for half of their drinks) but they were so expensive that I didn’t end up buying anything. A double vodka soda was 15 euros and I tried Sammie’s but it was so strong that it burned the back of my throat so that was really unappealing. We still had a lot of fun though and of course got ham and cheese crepes on the way home. In the morning, we had to wake up early for another fabulous walking tour. Thankfully it only went until 2pm and then the rest of the day way ours. He took us through a bunch of back streets to see a little bit of Paris but again, he didn’t even take us to cool places. At one point we ended up at a very generic shopping plaza where he stopped to tell us that it’s where all the teenagers come to hang out. Like cool dude no one cares?? Unfortunately it was still really rainy and cold too so all of us were ready to get away from our awful tour guide.

The rest of the day ended up being really fun though. We walked a total of 12 miles and went everywhere from Notre Dame to the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We ate Croque Madames and Nutella crepes and macroons (basically all carbs) and did our best to stay warm and dry. I brought the wrong student ID so instead of getting into the Louvre for free it ended up costing me 15 euro. It was kind of a waste of money because I had been there before and my friends really only wanted to go see Mona Lisa (aka the most underwhelming painting of all time), but it is one of the most famous museums in the world and who knows when I’ll be back so I felt obligated to go. Paying money to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower was absolutely worth the money though. We waited in very long lines and it took a while to get to the top but once we did it was totally worth it. By the time we got to the top it was completely dark out, but all of Paris was lit up and beautiful. I made sure to stand in the middle of the elevator on the way up and had my friends stand in a circle around me because I was shaking so much from my fear of heights. I could literally feel my stomach in my throat. Ben was just as nervous as me though so we just talked to each other as a distraction and tried our best not to look down or up, just out.

When we finally got to the top, however, it was really breathtaking. You could see all the streets and houses and buildings for miles. At one point I caught myself asking “I wonder if you can see the Eiffel Tower from here”, which Charlie immediately made fun of me for. I tried to FaceTime as many people as possible while I was up there including my dad and brother but the connection was pretty bad so the conversations didn’t last long. I just wanted to share the view with the people back home. We stayed up there for a while taking in the beauty of everything, but at some point we started getting hungry and cold and realized we needed to eat. We stopped at a cute French restaurant not far from the Eiffel Tower where I got a truffle risotto that was literally to die for. It melted in my mouth and I’m pretty sure I finished it in about 5 bites. Since the Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 minutes at the top of every hour starting at 6pm, we decided to finish dinner early and go watch the light show. We grabbed some crepes to enjoy during it and then just sat staring at this beautiful, beautiful monument sparkle in the night. It really was mesmerizing and as Ben and I found out, if you stared at it hard enough, the Eiffel Tower itself faded away from view and all you could see were the lights in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. Those lights alone explain why Paris is called the City of Love.

After walking over 20,000 steps, we all decided that it would probably be best not to go out that night and just get some sleep for the next day. Maeg and I watched some BBC news (the only channel that wasn’t in French) and passed out. We had to wake up pretty early because we had bought tickets to get a tour of Versailles. Our tour guide told us to meet in the lobby at 9am but of course he didn’t show up until 9:30 and we didn’t leave the hotel until closer to 10. I’m not kidding when I say that this guy was the most inefficient, aloof tour guide I had ever met. When he finally got to Versailles, he informed us that the government in fact had made entry into the palace free for that particularly day so our official group tour had been canceled and we would be refunded. (We later learned from our friend Allie that Versailles is free every Sunday so there was no reason for us to pay for it in the first place). We then had to wait in an hour long line just to get into the palace.

Waiting in line wasn’t actually too bad because the weather had warmed up a little and the 7 of us were trying to come up with fun conversation topics. We talked about everything we could think of, most notably different conspiracy theories that we knew about. We finally got into the palace and made our way through the luxurious rooms. The best parts, however, were the gardens. It was acres and acres of beautiful ponds and trees and artistically trimmed bushes. We probably strolled around for an hour and a half just enjoying the beautiful scenery and the nicest weather that we had experienced in 3 days. We then slowly made our way back to our hotel (it was over an hour away from Versailles) and got ready to take the train back to London. Our tour guide said to meet in the lobby at 6pm (which we were all on time for) but of course he didn’t show up until 6:45pm. Which made us super later to the train; you’re supposed to check in a minimum of an hour before departure and we got there 10 minutes before that deadline. Once we checked in, we had to wait in a 45 minute long border control/passport check line. It was taking so long that we were actually nervous about missing our train. Luckily because the line was so bad they opened up a few more windows and things started to move much quicker.

Once we got to the other side, our tour guide was no where to be found and we had to find out where we were supposed to be by ourselves. Right before we boarded the train, our tour guide showed up. He is literally the worst, I hope I never have to see him again. The train was then delayed 30 minutes because the checkin line had been so long so we got back to London even later then expected and then we had to take a 25 minute tube right back to our apartment. Traveling this much two weekends in a row was absolutely exhausting and while both weekends were so fun, I am really happy to be home for 2 weekends. All of us agreed that we were very homesick- not for our American homes, but for London. We are all so in love with London and it felt really good to be back.

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realestatementors · 5 years ago

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BREIA Reaction to FTC Calling HGTV Real Estate Seminars “Scams”

There was a recent article on HousingWire that was posted about the state of real estate seminars. Not the typical types of seminars that we do, per say, but the ones that are featuring reality TV stars that you have probably seen on your television.

The article, which can be found here, but is re-posted below, was one met with a lot of opinions. In today’s piece, we wanted to set the record straight from our perspective and share with everyone what we feel about this article.

The FTC Article As Told by HousingWire

Did you ever think those celebrity-endorsed “get rich quick by using other people’s money to flip houses” real estate seminars seemed too good to be true? Well, it turns out you may have been right.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection announced this week that they are charging a Utah-based company with allegedly lying to consumers to convince them to attend the company’s supposedly free real estate seminars. The company promised to give away the secrets to making money flipping houses at the event, but actually charged thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for said “secrets.”

According to the FTC, Zurixx entices people to attend its “free” real estate seminars by using HGTV stars and other TV personalities as celebrity endorsers and claims that attendees can learn how to flip houses to make money.

But the agency claims that the entire operation is a scam, with the company allegedly using “deceptive promises of big profits to lure consumers into real estate seminars costing thousands of dollars.”

The FTC claims that Zurixx uses celebrities in its advertisements to lend credibility to the seminars, including endorsements from Tarek and Christina El Moussa from HGTV’s “Flip or Flop,” Hilary Farr from HGTV’s “Love It or List It,” and Peter Souhleris and Dave Seymour from A&E’s “Flipping Boston.”

According to the FTC, the ads convinced consumers to attend free events that would teach consumers how to make large profits by flipping “using other people’s money.”

But the agency claims that the free events are actually a sales presentation for Zurixx’s three-day workshops that cost $1,997.

According to the FTC, during the free events, Zurixx repeatedly tells consumers who sign up for its three-day workshop that they are likely to earn thousands of dollars in profit, often with little risk, time or effort.

“Zurixx also represents that consumers who purchase the workshop will receive 100% funding for their real estate investments regardless of their credit history,” the FTC said in its complaint. “It backs up these representations with a money-back guarantee – consumers who do not make ‘a minimum of three times’ the price of the three-day workshop within six months will receive their money back.”

According to the FTC, Zurixx presenters have told attendees at these free events that the three-day workshop would “teach them everything they need to know to make substantial income from real estate.”

If that pitch is successful in getting someone to fork over the nearly $2,000 for the three-day workshop, the selling allegedly doesn’t stop there.

According to the FTC, presenters at the three-day workshop often claim that the workshop is “merely a beginner course,” then upselling consumers additional products and services that can cost as much as $41,297.

But according to the FTC, many of Zurrix’s claims about its system are “false or unsubstantiated.”

The agency also states that Zurixx presenters “generously” include supposed success stories into their sales pitches.

According to the FTC, presenters also allegedly “routinely” directed workshop attendees to obtain new credit cards or increase the credit limits on their existing cards, supposedly to help finance their house flips.

Beyond that, the presenters allegedly told attendees to provide the credit card companies with income information that was “significantly higher” than their current income, basing that inflation on the supposed increase in the attendees’ income from investing in real estate.

But, instead of using that increased credit flexibility obtained under questionable circumstances to invest in real estate, Zurixx presenters allegedly often suggested that attendees actually use the new credit to pay for “advanced training” from Zurixx itself.

Zurixx’s business model has come under fire in recent years, with many customers accusing the company of using false advertising to entice them to attend the company’s events.

According to a 2016 article from the Orange Country Register, Zurixx seemingly claimed in an ad that Tarek and Christina El Moussa would attend one of the company’s real estate seminars, and would teach their flipping strategy to the attendees.

But when the seminar, the “Flip or Flop” stars were nowhere to be found.

Others had similar experiences, leading to hundreds of complaints being filed with the FTC.

Eventually, Christina El Moussa ended up going on ABC to defend the Zurixx seminars, claiming that she does attend the seminars, if they are held close to her house.

According to the FTC, some of Zurixx’s unsatisfied customers have tried to obtain a refund from the company, but the company allegedly required some consumers who received a refund to sign an agreement barring them from speaking with the FTC, state attorneys general and other regulators; submitting complaints to the Better Business Bureau; or posting negative reviews about Zurixx.

The complaint alleges that Zurixx has violated the FTC Act’s prohibitions on misleading and deceptive conduct and the Consumer Review Fairness Act, as well as the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Utah Business Opportunity Disclosure Act.

“From start to finish, these defendants used the promise of easy money and in-depth information to lure consumers down a path that could cost them thousands of dollars and put them in serious debt,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When a company tells consumers they have the secret to get rich with little work, we encourage consumers to take a hard look at what’s really being offered.”

Ryan’s Take on the FTC Stance:

When I was starting out in Real Estate, probably the most famous National so called Mentoring Program was the Rich Dad Poor Dad program. Of course, as they use a lot of psychology to prompt you to buy their course, I fell for it and spent $15,000. Now I am not saying that the information was not good information. It was good information. But good information without proper coaching or mentoring will get you nowhere. So not only was it a waste of money, it was a waste of my time. Since the crash of 2008, I have seen so many Reality TV stars using their celebrity to pose as Real Estate Mentors claiming they will teach others how to become millionaires in Real Estate.

There is just one problem. NONE of the Reality Stars do any of the actual coaching or mentoring. It seems that there are marketing companies, or even the networks that hosted their show that create a marketing strategy and because they were famous on TV everyone will believe in them. The marketing strategy starts with Social Media. Every other day a different Reality Star is advertising their “secret system” of how to make you a millionaire in Real Estate. First, they come to a city near you for a free 2 hour special event. If you read the small type disclaimer, you will find that the actual stars on TV never appear at these events. What they will do is have their clever sales people make a special offer to everyone that attends. That offer will be a drastically reduce price for their 3 day Boot Camp. What they don’t tell you is that they are not done selling you. The Boot Camp is created to simply upsell as much as possible to everyone. Most of the National Reality TV Star programs start at about $25,000. The majority of them average at about $40,000.

Since my experience, and since becoming an owner of a Real Estate Investors Association, I have met hundreds of people that have taken many of these programs. Fortune Builders, Cody Sperber The Clever Investor, Christina and Tarek of Flip or Flop are just a few of these scam artists. Fortune Builders is none other than Than Merrill from Flip This House on A&E in 2008. Being a good looking charismatic ex college football player, made the perfect spokesperson for Fortune Builders a company designed to take as much money as possible while fooling them into thinking they would in turn become successful in Real Estate. The interesting thing is that they all follow the same formula. They also all have the same issue in common. Once they leave town and the training is over, there is not much support. There is also a common characteristic that all of the people that have bought into these programs have. None of them have successfully profited from any Real Estate closings. Some say the success rate is around 2-3%.

It is unfortunate that greed seems to be the biggest motivation behind these programs. So ask yourself this question; Would you see a doctor just because they played one on TV? Be smart and just use your common sense. If these Reality Stars already have your money, why would they want you to become successful?

Anish’s Take on the FTC Stance:

I am not surprised the Federal Trade Commission is finally going after celebrity-endorsed companies that flip houses in real estate. The market has been immersed with companies trying to convince newbie real estate investors to spend tons of money on real estate education. Newbie investors are drawn in by celebrities on television using their fame to convince the average person they can be a millionaire overnight. As with any lucrative industry with big potential profits, people swarm to these seminars thinking they can get out of their financial situation and create a legacy for them and their family. The issue becomes the salespeople performing the seminars are never the “Stars” of the television shows that actually teach at the events on the country. We have seen that some of the sales trainers at the events actually have never done a real estate transaction and instead just rehearsing a script given to them by their team.

Near the end of the FREE event , they promote their more expensive seminars and ultimately try to get you into their “inner circle or mastery programs” which are up to $80k. The amazing thing, you almost feel coerced by the sales team and you get caught up in the euphoria of the moment and you gladly give your credit card information. Unfortunately, I was also one of these individuals that did fork over $40k to learn from the real estate gurus. Then you realize the coaches are never local, don’t know your market and very difficult to get a hold of when you need questions answered. Good luck trying to get your money back or even a partial refund if you are persistent to speak to a manager.

As a current investor, and owner of the Broward Real Estate Investors Association & Miami Dade Real Estate Investors Association I have been coaching many people that have been duped by these programs to get a refund or partial refund. Literally, I have been able to get hundreds of thousands of dollars back to these potential students on these “Get Rich Quick Seminars”, by teaching them how to talk to these companies for Free. Many of these people have taken out credit cards and drained their retirement and bank accounts for these type of programs. As there is always value in education and learning, the idea of using celebrities as faces of a program and them not really teaching skills in real estate investing is very disappointing. My colleagues and I have a saying “ We are National Real Estate Seminar Survivors!”

We have laws to avoid predatory lending and now it’s excellent to see that FTC helping out consumers in regards to these real estate programs.

You may also want to read our earlier take, “The Truth About Flipping Property Shows.”

You can download the full FTC complaint here.

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