Israel
Real Estate Forum: Homes, Apartments For Rent, Buy
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem----March 20......In
response to the Israel Anglo community and Olim making Aliya who are seeking apartments,
flats and homes to buy, rent, sell or swap a new English speaking forum has been
created in Yahoo groups. The English speaking Israel
Anglo Homes provides an on-line, real-time community bulletin board dedicated
exclusively to the Israel Anglo searching to rent, buy, sell or swap their real
estate.
Within two days of the flat and apartment rental room being open over a hundred
members joined Israel Anglo Homes from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ra'anana,
New York, Boston, London, Ramat Gan and Eilat.
Posting
a home for rent or for sale is simple. One simply needs to go to Yahoo and click
on "groups." Once inside Yahoo groups, perform a search for "Israel
Homes", "Israel Rent", Israel Rental" or Israel Houses for
Sale." Israel Anglo Homes - Rent, Sell or Buy will automatically appear in
the top ten places.
Those
interesting in selling or renting a flat / apartment in Tel Aviv, Ra'anana, Haifa,
Jerusalem, Eilat - anywhere in Israel are invited to use this list with no fee.
Real estate agents can use this apartment and flat search community board but
need to place the word AGENT in the subject line. When advertising a home, Israel
Anglo Homes states to place the location followed by the word sale or rent after
it in the subject line. For example - RA'ANANA - RENT - 3 rooms, furnished apartment.
The
Israel rent, rental, sales and buy site for apartments, flats and houses also
provides valuable real estate advice. "Always have your contract reviewed
by an attorney, act quickly as the best properties go fast," Israel Anglo
Homes advises. "A landlord puts rent up half way through lease - if you're
on a fixed term lease (e.g., 12 months), they legally can't do this. Read your
contract. Landlord keeps deposit - don't withhold your final month's rent - this
is breaking terms of your contract, and you risk prosecution. Always pay a deposit
using a check, bankers draft or credit card so you have proof. Ask your landlord
for a receipt, written confirmation of what is covered. Landlord turns up uninvited
- don't let him in - reasonable notice is required for inspection. Under law,
landlords can't prevent your friends from visiting."
The
Israel rental and sales site for rent apartments and homes for sale in Israel
states: "You can only be kicked out of your flat, apartment or house if the
owner wants to come back and live in the property; you're over two months arrears
with your rent. A landlord can also ask the court to consider eviction if: you've
broken the terms of your contract; you're consistently late in paying the rent."
One final tip in renting and selling real estate in Israel is: "remember
- rent may not include paying city taxes. And do not waive the Israel Rental Protection
Law."
Why
do people make Aliya? With 3,000 start-ups, the Global Competitiveness Report
2000 ranked Israel second behind the US in the number of start-ups and first relative
to population. The weight of start-ups of GDP was 3% in 2000, compared with 0.4%
in 1997. The comparable figures for the US was 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. Israel
was ranked high in terms of the number of engineers and education. Israel was
ranked second in civilian R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, rising from
2.7% in 1994 to 4.2% in 1999. Total R&D expenditure in 2000 was $4.2 billion.
State expenditure on civilian R&D has been rising faster than GDP through the
1990s, mostly being invested in high-tech, but also agriculture, manufacturing
and biotechnology.
This
year, the real estate market in Israel is reaching the peak of a new boom in which
prices have more than doubled. Today, buyers in Israel are in a position almost
to dictate prices. By next year a shortage of homes will again be evident and
prices will zoom once again. Following that, expect prices to drop. With the help
of government grants,mortgages, Aliya programs such as Birthright, the Jewish
Agency and their own slowly accumulating savings, the new immigrants were able
to purchase old and in many cases rundown flats cheaply. The former occupants
were thus enabled to improve their status and move into more desirable neighborhoods,
with a consequent upward shift from there.
With
unemployment at 15 percent, the population move continued, and the constant demand
affected prices. Building contractors recognized the opportunities, borrowed money
and began construction on tens of thousands of homes and apartment houses that
can be seen today sprouting all over the country. However, potential supply soon
exceeded demand, with inevitable results. Furthermore, fearful of inflation, the
Bank of Israel kept interest rates high and contractors ran out of operating capital.
That is the current situation. With relatively few new building starts in recent
months, builders seek to unload the surplus on their hands. Thousands of apartments
are on the market, awaiting buyers.
But apartments and homes for rent or for sale in Israel is just one option. House
swapping has become a popular way for travelers to vacation inexpensively, meet
new people, and get an inside look at different cultures. Word of mouth is pass
; the growing industry of Web sites dedicated to the subject all proclaim that
"everyone" is doing it. The on-line Israel message boards are full of posts from
people looking to trade apartments with someone in New York, London, and other
American and European hotspots. For example, a quick search on Yahoo groups Israel
Anglo Homes, yields American Jews searching for a swap during the High Holy Days,
Israel couples looking to vacation in Europe, and singles looking to relocate
to small US cities for a temporary work assignment. It can also be a great cultural
experience, giving you a more authentic glimpse at the culture of another city
than staying at a hotel with other tourists.
Israel
Anglo Homes also provides an interactive place where buyers and sellers can
ask questions about selling or renting. Making Aliya and finding a home to rent
in Tel Aviv, Rehovot, Rishon, Ra'anana, Herzlia, Jerusalem, Haifa or Eilat.
Real
estate agents, brokers and attorneys are encouraged to use Israel Anglo Homes
- rent, sell, buy as a resource for rentals, holiday apartments and long term
leases.
Who
is renting and buying apartments and homes in Israel? The Central Bureau of Statistics
forecast that Israel's population passed the 7 million mark during February 2006,
reaching 7,006,000. The statistics revealed that 76% of Israel's population is
Jewish (5.32 million), 20% Arab (1.4 million), and 4% (300,000) were of other
religious denominations most of which have family ties to the Jewish people. Based
on its population, Israel is now larger than Denmark and Slovakia (which each
populations of 5.5 million), Ireland and Lithuania (3.9 million people each),
Finland (5.2 million) and Norway (4.5 million).
Who
makes the final decision? A new survey reveals that in 64 percent of apartment
purchases by couples in the past few months, the woman was the one who made the
final decision to buy the flat. The survey was conducted by the Association of
Contractors and Builders in Israel (ACBI) among 32 large and medium-sized construction
companies in Israel ahead of International Woman's Day, which took place last
week.
The
survey also reveals that one of the main considerations when choosing the new
apartment's location is its proximity the home of the woman's parents (73 percent).
The availability of education institutions and an accompanying service system,
such as group activities for children, were also at the top of the considerations
(65 percent), as well as the availability of community services near the neighborhood
(63 percent).
ACBI
President Aharon Cohen said that "buying an apartment, flat or house is the most
significant economic transaction carried out by a family throughout its life,
and different parameters are examined as part of the decision." "The decision
to purchase or rent an apartment, flat or house entails finance arrangements and
practical considerations, as well as an answer to the personal needs of the consumers
and each of the family members," he added. According to Cohen, the survey reveals
that women's considerations involve practicality, with the main consideration
on the agenda being the apartment's geographical proximity to the woman's parents'
house. The survey also revealed that the economic component was a dominant consideration
both among men and women.
'There
has always been a high turnover of Anglos seeking apartments, flats and home for
rent or to buy," said one Israel real estate agent. "Americans, English
and South African immigrants come on Aliyah not knowing what to expect. They don't
read the Israel Hebrew language newspapers nor know how to negotiate within Israel
culture. Many seeking to rent or buy apartments, flats or homes are often burned.
They may think that they have an apartment secured after sharing a friendly handshake
with a potential landlord and after they have reviewed the Israel apartment lease
and are ready to sign, find out the apartment or house in Israel has already been
taken by another."
The
Israel real estate agent adds: "many who come from the US, UK, New Zealand,
Australia or South Africa seeking an apartment or house, have no idea what the
laws are and as a result are taken advantage of. Israel
Anglo Homes provides a neutral and friendly place on the Internet
where the Anglo can find their dream home in their own language.