Australia is raising the retirement age to 70.According to an article published in The Marker newspaper, the Australian government plans to raise the retirement age to 70. This would make Australia the first country to raise the retirement age to 70. I have written many times that in my opinion, also... Read more »
The Return of the Inflation-Linked Bondsבעבר המלצתי פעמים רבות להימנע מהלוואות צמודות מדד. להלוואות צמודות מדד ישנו חיסרון משמעותי סיכון של עלייה בחוב יחד עם עליה בהחזר החודשי. בעיה נוספת עם הלוואה צמודה הינה שרוב הלווים לא מבינים כמה בעצם ישלמו… Read more »
Complaints against banks 2013Last week, the Supervisor of Banks published the summary of complaints against banks in 2013. The supervisor's summary reveals a lot about the areas where banks erred in their dealings with customers. In this article, I will review banks' mistakes and misrepresentations on the subject… Read more »
Bank of Israel New DirectivesLast week (April 30, 2014), the Bank of Israel issued three new directives regarding mortgages and clarifications to previous directives. Since July 2011, the Bank of Israel has issued directives and instructions concerning mortgages several times. The Bank of Israel's directives are binding on all banks, therefore… Read more »
VAT zero for a first apartment - worth it?לאחרונה הוצגה על ידי שר האוצר תכנית להקלה במיסוי רכישת דירה ראשונה לזוגות צעירים. במסגרת התכנית המוצעת, לא יגבה מע"מ על רכישת דירה מקבוצות אוכלוסיה שונות של רוכשי דירה ראשונה: 1. זוגות עם ילד אחד… Read more »
Take out a mortgage today or wait?Last week, the Bank of Israel announced a quarter-point (0.25%) cut in the prime rate. With a prime-rate mortgage, the interest rate is recalculated every month, so this cut has an immediate effect on the prime portion of the mortgage, even for mortgages… Read more »
They already approved our mortgage…This weekend I received an email that contains several common mistakes made by many: This email proves to me (again) that I have a lot of work ahead of me and a large public that would benefit from increasing its knowledge base. Results of ignorance on this subject... Read more »
Mortgage repurchase customer service centersטפחות מיחזור משכנתא נשמח לעמוד לרשותך בטלפון 8860* שלוחה 4 ואז 3, או בפקס: 03-5686982 בימים ימים א'-ה' בשעות: 08:00-21:30 וביום שישי בשעות: 08:00-13:00 לאומי מרכז שירות הלקוחות פועל בימים א-ה בין השעות 8:30-17:00. מספר הטלפון הישיר אליו:… Read more »
End-of-year promotions at the mortgage bank will save you a lot of money.Anyone working in a business that sells a product or service knows the end-of-year feeling. In a month, the business year will close, and afterward, financial reports summarizing the year will be submitted and bonuses for those responsible for the year's success will (or will not) be paid. There's a sense of pressure... Read more »
The Bank of Israel is fighting the phenomenon of economic suicides.22/8/2013 השנים האחרונות אופיינו בריבית ואינפלציה נמוכות מאד. במקביל מחירי הדיור עלו משמעותית. שתי מגמות אלו בתוספת מסעות פרסום של בנקים וקבלנים ובתמיכתם של פקידי בנקים חסרי ידע או אחריות יצרו את תופעת המתאבדים הכלכליים: אנשים שלוקחים… Read more »
For 9 years, I've been paying, and the debt hasn't gone down – I paid for two years, and the debt increased.Hello, in my opinion, increasing public knowledge on the subject of mortgages and real estate is one of the things that can significantly improve the financial situation of families in Israel. As part of this activity, I manage the real estate forum on Tapuz. This… Read more »
Should I prepay the contractor?The contractor, the bank, and friends are encouraging us to make advance payments to the contractor to avoid paying the construction cost index. Is it really worthwhile financially to make advance payments to the contractor? This article clarifies things and presents a different answer than the usual one. Read more »
Interest Rate Cuts and Youהבוקר התבשרנו על הורדת ריבית נוספת, השנייה במהלך החודש האחרון. בנק ישראל הפחית את הריבית ב- 0.25% לאחר הפחתה דומה לפני כשבועיים. להפחתת ריבית בנק ישראל על פיה מחושבת ריבית הפריים ישנה השפעה רבה על… Read more »
New Mortgage - Bank Contact InformationFollowing the article on starting the mortgage process, here are the phone numbers for the banks' mortgage sales centers. As a general rule, the center's interest is to get you to the branch as quickly as possible to sell you a mortgage. Your interest is to postpone... Read more »
Mortgage management reportWhen requesting a mortgage refinance, the bank's first requirement is a two-year mortgage activity report. This report goes by slightly different names at each bank, which can be confusing. However, the essence of the report is to present all payment activities from the last two years. The bank... Read more »
Is Hebrew a good language for investments?Huh? What's the connection between Hebrew and economics? Well, if we think about it a little, we'll understand there is a connection. Our mother tongue expresses our way of thinking about things. In Hebrew, there is one word, "snow," for everything that falls from the sky… Read more »
New directive from the Bank of Israelבשנים האחרונות גדל מאד נפח ההלוואות לדיור (משכנתאות) שנתנו הבנקים בישראל. הבנקים כשיטה מגלגלים כל שקל שמופקד אצלם מספר פעמים. נניח שאדם רוכש דירה. לצורך הרכישה הוא נוטל משכנתא של חצי מיליון שקלים. מוכר הדירה… Read more »
Which tenant would you prefer?Which tenant would you prefer in your apartment? One who argues with you over every clause when signing the lease, or one who skims it, mutters "standard contract..." and signs. The biggest fear of landlords is a tenant who doesn't pay rent. A system... Read more »
Circumventing Bank of Israel restrictions on credit for investment apartments In October 2012, the Bank of Israel dropped a "bomb" on the mortgage world. Hoping to reduce demand for apartments and consequently apartment prices, the Bank of Israel imposed restrictions on taking out mortgages. The details of the restrictions can be read in the article I wrote about... Read more »
Calculating return for an investment propertyThe most important thing about an investment apartment is the return you can get from it. How to calculate the return from an investment apartment and from real estate investment? And what about the common mistake in calculating the return from an investment apartment? Read more »
Attorney Guy Mendelson interviewed me about real estate investments.My friend, attorney Guy Mendelson is a real estate attorney. Guy often represents contractors in new apartment purchase transactions, so if you are purchasing an apartment from a contractor with whom Guy is not representing you, I wholeheartedly recommend him... Read more »