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 […]
More often than not, “simple” choices aren’t as simple as they seem. Having opened up our second location on King George St., one of the busiest streets in Jerusalem, we felt it would be a good idea to install flat screen monitors in our window displaying current mortgage rates and terms. We assumed that […]
Measures taken so far to limit mortgages were a first step and relatively moderate, says the Bank of Israel in excepts published today on macroprudential policy that will appear in its Annual Report, which will be published on March 30.
The Bank of Israel says, “During 2010, the Supervisor of Banks announced a online slots series […]
Consumer inflation figures are out and they are not pretty. Inflation has risen 4.2% in Israel over the last 12 months-way above the Bank of Israel’s comfort range of 1-3%. The news is prompting many analysts to raise their forecasts for short-term interest rates. Forecasters now predict the BOI Prime rate will jump to […]
For those borrowers looking for US Dollar based loans, LIBOR loans are now available for foreigners as low as LIBOR+1.8% on the ENTIRE loan amount. Being able to take the entirety of the loan in a variable rate represents a tremendous benefit, as most lenders are unable to provide more than 1/3 of the […]
The “horror 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 […]
Imagine it is the last day of your short trip to Israel. Finally, you see that dream apartment you were looking for; perhaps a penthouse with a view of the sea. It might even have a winding staircase and a guestroom on the roof with the perfect rooftop terrace. The seller or agent suggests […]
When I moved to Israel in 1995, many of my friends asked me if we would get around by car or by camel, if we would have bathrooms or outhouses and if we would live in a house or in tent. Having laughed at them for their ignorant questions, little did I know that […]
