When I saw my phone buzz at 5:30AM I knew it could only be one person. My client living in Singapore waiting to discuss a six million NIS approval was the only person who texts me at that time. Given than my wife had recently given birth to twins boys I happened to be […]
The big news in Israeli real estate over the last decade has been the ever-increasing price of home ownership. Since May 2007 average home prices have risen by 108% while in areas such as Tel Aviv the rise has been even steeper. This has been attributed to increased demand due to factors including low […]
As mortgage brokers, “What interest rate can you offer?” is the question we most commonly hear from our clients – and we can understand why. Prospective borrowers from most Western countries are accustomed to certain norms in the mortgage market such as financing only being offered in the local currency and standardized conditions amongst […]
With the lack of transparency in the mortgage market in Israel one is likely to encounter misinformation and unnecessary “red-tape” when exploring financing options. As each of the banks in Israel have their own lending parameters we decided to share our favorite mortgage tips to make your home financing needs a reality:
1) No life […]
We have all heard it before: The price of apartments in Israel never seems to drop. Lately, Moshe Kahlon and Yoav Galant from the Kulanu party have staked their entire political reputation on increasing the affordability of apartments. Their solution: Mechir L’mishtaken, a program where the government auctions off land at a significant discount to developers willing […]
1) Mix up your mortgage product term length: Fixed rate loans are cheaper the shorter the duration, while adjustable rate loans are typically the same rate – regardless of the term. If you plan to take a 20 year term comprising of both fixed and variable rates (short-term variable rate loans have no pre-payment penalty), take a […]
The “expense chart” of a married man and father of four which outlines basic family expenses of more than 26,000 NIS monthly and exemplifies how even Israeli earners in the top 10 percentile are deteriorating into overdraft and financial trouble.
The social protests, which started with cottage cheese and facebook and continues with the “tent […]
The (slightly misquoted) saying of Oliver Wendell Holmes in the headline precisely reflects the opportunity afforded to foreigners who are buying properties in Israel, which is due to the mini-reform of the trust legislation in this country. But what is a trust, and why would you need one to buy a home in Israel?
A […]
An economic slowdown in Israel combined with a steadily appreciating Shekel have prompted the Bank of Israel to lower interest rates four times in the last twelve months in an attempt to stimulate the economy and weaken the Shekel. However, the Bank of Israel has clearly stated that the moves are not intended […]
This article was printed in the “Op-Ed Contributors” section of the jpost.com 9/16/2013
Abandoning the life-long dream of aliya is an over-reaction to very real, sometimes foreboding problems.
In her thought-provoking column last week, Adina Siperman raises genuine challenges while announcing her family’s termination of their aliya dream.
The main obstacle, she wrote, was that she didn’t […]
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