FAQ

Because the role barely exists here. The agent you meet in a sales office is retained by the developer and paid by the developer. He may be honest, diligent and genuinely likeable — and he still cannot tell you not to buy, because that is the one outcome that costs him everything. A buyer's agent is engaged by you, paid by you, and can therefore give that advice. We do not ask for particulars in advance. A good first conversation is an exploratory one, from which the search, if there is to be one, will take shape.

No published minimum. The question is whether the purchase warrants the representation. A brief conversation will settle it quickly, and we would rather tell you honestly that you do not need us. If you are unsure whether what you are considering is within the scope of our office, a brief conversation will resolve it quickly.

By the client, on a fee agreed in writing before work begins. We publish no tariff because no two mandates are alike, and the fee does not move once it is set. What we will not take is anything from the other side: no developer commission, no referral fee from a lender, no introducer's fee from a lawyer or a mortgage broker. If a developer offers, we decline, and we tell you they offered. For transactions requiring counsel in jurisdictions we do not directly serve, we coordinate with advisors in London, Paris, Geneva, New York, and Zurich whom we have worked with before.

Yes, when the money is paid correctly. Israeli law requires developers to secure buyer payments, most commonly through a bank guarantee, and payments must be made into the project's accompanying account against the voucher book. Paid correctly, your money is protected. Paid anywhere else, it may not be — which is why the payment mechanics matter more than any other clause in the contract. A residence in Tel Aviv is rarely a transaction only in Tel Aviv.

Israeli new-build prices are linked to the Construction Inputs Index, so the sum ultimately payable can exceed the headline figure. The linkage is standard and rarely removable. How it is applied across your payment schedule, and whether any part of it can be capped or fixed, is negotiable — and is where representation pays for itself.

No. The binding document is the annexed technical specification, in Hebrew, which typically permits substitutions within tolerance. We read it against the brochure and tell you where the two diverge.

It depends entirely on the assignment terms in your contract. Some developers permit it, some prohibit it, some charge for it. We check before you sign, because buyers who need it later find out too late.

The benefits available to olim have been reformed and are narrower than they once were. What applies to you depends on your status, your timing and whether this is your only home in Israel. We will not quote a number on a website — we will work out yours.

Not necessarily. We are the wrong office for someone who wants the decision endorsed rather than examined, at any budget. Whether the fee makes sense for your purchase is a five-minute conversation and we will give you a straight answer.

Yes. The purchase is executed under a notarial power of attorney, with viewings attended and filmed on your behalf and the contract read, amended and signed by your own counsel. The mechanism is ordinary; what matters is who holds the power of attorney and how narrowly it is drawn.

No. Foreign nationals may acquire residential property in Israel. Your status affects your tax position and your financing, not your right to buy.

Before a notary — either at an Israeli consulate, or before a local notary with an apostille and a certified Hebrew translation. We prepare the wording and confirm the form before you attend.

A properly drafted one is. Ours is limited to a named transaction, to specified acts, for a defined period, and requires your written approval before the contract is signed. We decline the open-form powers of attorney that developers' lawyers commonly propose.

You can see more of it than most buyers who fly in for a weekend. Attended visits are filmed; live walk-throughs are conducted by video call at a time that suits your timezone, with you directing the camera.

Sometimes, depending on how you are buying and who is lending. Where you do, we arrange the introduction and prepare the source-of-funds file in advance so that transfers clear rather than sit in compliance.

In an off-plan purchase, payments made into the project's accompanying-bank account against the correct voucher are secured under Israeli law. Payments made anywhere else may not be. Every payment we call is against a voucher and checked before it is sent.

An independent inspector instructed on your behalf, with this office present. The defect schedule is served within the contractual window and pursued until the works are done.

Delay is common. Compensation is contractual, which is why the delay provisions are amended before signature and the record is kept contemporaneously throughout the build.

Buyer's representation is a fee paid by you, agreed in writing at the outset. We take no developer commission on the new-build side, which is the entire basis on which our advice is worth taking.