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harveyspecter993

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Posts posted by harveyspecter993

  1. Posted

    7 minutes ago, QuincyWagstaff said:

    Why? So you can tell me that I should be taking public transit to the courthouse and eating factory farmed commodity meat from No Frills? 

    You can probably figure it out yourself. A nice 3-bed condo is at least $4K per month here (before utilities).  
     

     

    I just happen to have an interest in budgeting and money-management and like to learn from other people. I'm probably going to put off starting a family until my mid-30s due to how expensive it is and so when you mentioned the costs of "supporting a family" I was curious and wanted to learn more.

  3. Posted

    55 minutes ago, Eeee said:

    You will look back on 5 years as a biglaw associate and realize that you traded the best years of your life to make some very rich people a bit richer.

    If you are a "temporarily embarrassed millionaire" who is ok with that tradeoff and values money more than friends, family, or anything else, it also turns out the money isn't that great. You will be the "poorest" mom or dad in your kid's private school class and you have to work frantically to tread water at that level.

    You don't have to send your kids to private school.

    • Like 6

  5. Posted

    6 minutes ago, purplelego said:

     

    Realistically, people don’t complete all of the above, especially with the fairly common opinion that rent is “throwing money away”, but once you have an almost 7 figure mortgage loan for a tiny condo unit prone to water damage with condo board drama and a reputation for being a AirBnB ghost hotel, your options to move area are limited. But if you make a lot of money from the purchase, all the risk would have been worth it.

    Can you elaborate on the condo board drama?

  7. Posted

    14 minutes ago, hitman9172 said:

    There’s a benefit if you can take the equity out of the house and invest it in another asset at a rate higher than the interest on the debt. I know lots of real estate investors who’ve done very well by re-financing existing properties and investing the debt in new properties. It’s a valid strategy used by many institutional investors. If you’re taking equity out of your house for discretionary spending or investing in assets that are earning a rate of return that’s lower than the interest rate on your HELOC, you are probably in for a bad time.

    You mean I shouldn't use a HELOC to pay for my wedding? 

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/fashion/weddings/how-to-get-help-paying-for-your-wedding.html

  8. Posted · Edited by harveyspecter993

    5 minutes ago, hmyo said:

    It's always been that way. the 100% hireback is more branding/marketting/image/etc. than anything.

    There's the 6 month hireback to stat pad, and then there's the actual hireback to retain people they truly want. 

    NY is much fairer because you get cold-offered instead. Imagine moving into a fancy new apartment when you get hired back only to be let go 6 months in and suddenly be in a financial crisis. Granted you'd be cold-offered in your 2L summer but you'd still avoid a nasty surprise.

  10. Posted

    1 hour ago, georgecostanzajr said:

    The largest difference: a car decreases in value while a home increases in value.

    Home equity is not a liquid asset. If you want to access it without selling your home you have to take out a HELOC. If you're using a HELOC to invest you better be sure your investment will pay off your HELOC on its own because otherwise you just have another line of debt to worry about.

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Edited by harveyspecter993

    @RollMaster Let's compare the two. With a home mortgage, in addition to the monthly mortgage payments you're also on the hook for property tax and condo/HOA fees. For reasons I've described above, the equity you have in a home isn't all that useful. With a car, you're on the hook for monthly car payments, as well as gas, insurance and maintenance. Both purchases are money sinks.

  13. Posted

    4 minutes ago, georgecostanzajr said:

    That's not true long-term. Renting is money you will never see any return on - especially important considering rental prices now. In comparison, when paying your mortgage, you're at least getting some ownership in return for your payments. And in the long-term, real estate prices rise in value (often at rates higher than stock market return in the long run). But validly, condo fees and property tax are things to be considered, but that doesn't mean that real estate is therefore a bad investment.

    Real estate is a fantastic investment. Owning a home is not. Home ownership takes money out of your bank account every month and gives you nothing in return. It's as bad for you as a car lease.

    The equity you have in a home can't be tapped into unless you get a HELOC or sell the property. A HELOC is just another debt obligation and if you sell your home you're back where you started as in you have to either rent or put the money towards another down payment. 

    • Haha 1

  14. Posted

    On top of the actual mortgage itself, you have to factor in condo fees as well as property tax. All considered, it doesn't make financial sense to own a home. Renting is cheaper and gives you the flexibility to move to a new home if you so choose. While you rent, the money which would otherwise be going to condo fees and property tax will be going towards expanding your investment portfolio.

  15. Posted

    2 minutes ago, hermione said:

    I am being forced to come in at a smaller firm and law society told me I am unable to abridge my articles. I have a month a bit left (I started later) and am just hoping to make it to the end of articling. I was offered an associate but I turned it down because I am forced to come in everday. Just waiting out the clock.

    You turned down a job in this economy?

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    1 minute ago, QuixoticLawyer said:

    It's not my practice area, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are really any firms (Siskinds included) that practice exclusively in the area of class actions? 

    Their Toronto office only does class actions. Their London office is more full service.

  25. Posted

    41 minutes ago, healthlaw said:

    I’d honestly be surprised if Fasken’s numbers were that low. They always have close to 100% unless people opt out (and even then it would still be 100% since opt-outs don’t count towards the percentage)

    Why do people opt out?

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