Before deciding to buy an apartment – Guide to buying an apartment

The decision to purchase an apartment is accompanied by many deliberations. Since buying an apartment costs you about ten years of work, you may have thought it best to continue renting.From many studies on the feasibility of renting an apartment in the country versus buying a rising apartment, which, unlike many countries, in Israel is more lucrative to buy an apartment than to rent. The reasons are clear; Even if the liabilities involved in buying the apartment are high, eventually, after the many harassment and after the mortgage payments, you will have your own property.After considering and coming to the conclusion that you want to purchase an apartment, you are facing a number of difficult decisions, which you end up choosing the apartment that best suits your needs, and no less important – fits your ability.Choosing the environment you want to live in.The environment in which you choose to live will have a great impact on your quality of life. Presumably, you will consider the possibility of living in a spacious home, but you may then have to move away from the workplace. You will also need to consider whether you want to live in a small town or locality.

The decision has to be made now, before you start debating the details of the apartment. Take the family for tours of construction projects and residential areas you have not known so far. Consult with friends, check out the ads that are published in the various newspapers and media. Consider the needs of the children as well. Also check the mobility issue: the bus lines and maybe the possibility of buying another car.

Choosing the apartment.

You decided what environment you would like to live in. You have also searched the preferred area, and you will see that one apartment will suit you exactly. Now is the time to do a little research: take time to check the location of the apartment in the area as well as its location in the building. Do a quick check on who the apartment seller is, who the architects who designed it are, who the contractor is.

Checking the future plans of the area.

First of all, check the immediate surroundings of the apartment of your choice. Take several hiking trips at different times of the day near the area where it is located. If the skeleton of the building is already ready or the building is already built, look through all the windows of the apartment and examine the surrounding area of the building: if a school is located near the apartment, Or if near the building where the apartment is located there is a multi-story building. If there is an empty lot near the apartment, check its designation. If a public garden is erected there – your enjoyment is guaranteed, but if you build a large shopping and entertainment center in its territory, there is a chance that this will not land you. Therefore, it is worthwhile at this early stage to contact the local planning and construction committee office, which is in every local authority, and to review the current plans of the area and especially the future plans. You can make the inquiry yourself, but you are afraid you will not understand the plans – contact an architect or building engineer who is savvy with such plans, and ask him to check the plans with you.

The condition of the apartment according to its location in the building.

Choosing the location of the apartment in the building will affect the comfort of your residence. The advantage of the first floor apartment is, of course, convenient to reach, but proximity to the street is a disadvantage. If you choose a high-rise apartment of a multi-storey building, make sure there is an elevator building. Check out the topic of intimacy in the apartment. Also check the proximity of the apartment to the adjacent building; If it is too close, it may bother you. More details are important regarding the location of the apartment. Some of the important issues you should look at are noise nuisances, wet problems and protection:

Noise nuisance – This nuisance is related to the location of the apartment in the building. If the apartment of your choice is located on the ground floor or on the first floor of a multi-storey building, it is likely that the machinery rooms and pumps are located near it. These machines cause noise nuisance to the nearby apartments, and it is necessary to check for insulation for the rooms. If the structure is not yet erected, you can verify this detail according to plans provided by the seller or contractor. Ensure that the isolation installation is recorded as part of the terms of the sale transaction.

If the building already exists, ask to be present in the apartment and hear the operation of the machines, to make sure there is no noise nuisance. Anyway, if you’re still unsure of the isolation level. Invite a building engineer to look into the subject.

Noise nuisances on the first floors may even be caused by businesses located in the building. Therefore, visit the apartment at different times of the day, follow the various activities near your apartment to get vital information about the quality of the living in the apartment.

Wetness – Sealing the wet apartments is also of great importance. Upstairs the danger is that the roof will not be sealed enough, and the ground floor can be a problem if no suitable sealing is done in the apartment areas adjacent to the ground. If the apartment is new you will not be able to check this matter because it is not possible to detect wetlands before the rains, but it has already ascertained the level of sealing of the roof and the ground floor. Ask the seller to confirm this in writing, and contact the data with the building engineer who is specialist in sealing and insulation and is not related to the transaction. The expert can best advise you on sealing.

Protecting the apartment – In a building that has stairs to the roof, there should be protection shutters or bars for the window openings both on the first floor and upstairs. If these safeguards were not installed, they would already be required as a condition for the transaction.

On the bars, make sure the doors have a double lock with stings inserted into the metal houses in the lintel. The contractor must install such doors.

The seller

Who sells you the apartment? There are several options: private company, public company and government company. Private and public companies are building the apartments and are also engaged in selling them. Government companies usually purchase apartments from the constructive companies and sell them.

The seller may also be a realtor, who sells the apartment for the company that rented his services. The realtor will sell you the apartment for a brokerage fee that you will be required to pay. Sometimes the company also pays the broker for his services.

It is very important to find out who is doing the deal, to know if you will also pay a brokerage fee under the construction deal, but not only because of that. It is important that you know the seller so that you do not buy a “cat in the sack”. The rule is that the more recognized or recognized the company has more financial strength – the more secure the buyer. That is why government companies have priority over private companies in this regard.

It should therefore be noted whether the seller is the constructive company or the constructive contractor, or that the seller is a broker or government company. Also made an accurate diagnosis:

– If the contractor who built the apartment is also the seller.

– If the seller, whether or not a building contractor, is only the seller, whose construction is removed to another contractor.

The contractor

Who is the contractor who built the apartment?

There are several options for the contractor’s role in construction. Each role causes the contractor’s other involvement in the sale. The options are:

– Single independent building contractor.

– Number of unregistered partner contractors.

– Number of contractors in a registered partnership.

– Contracting Company – Private or Public.

If the constructive contractor is unfamiliar, the seller must find out who the builder is and require complete information about it. The information will include details of other buildings he has previously built and their level of construction. It should also be ascertained whether the contractor is registered as an authorized contractor with the “Contractor Registrar”, an institution subject to the Ministry of Construction and Housing and certifying the contractors’ registration according to the criteria set by law.

Price comparison

Not only is the contractor’s quality of work important. In projects where you can choose from a number of contractors, it is important to do a survey between the contractors regarding the price of the apartments. It happened, that tenants bought higher-priced apartments at a contractor considered a good and reliable contractor, and in retrospect it became clear, That this contractor handed over the work to another contractor who independently builds on the same site and sells the same apartments at significantly cheaper prices. In such cases, even in the transfer of rights, buyers have caused a great deal of grief, they cannot be compensated because the agreement was not exceeded.

Tip: The buyer must be familiar with the construction and sale of the apartments: the realtor (if any), the seller, the builder, the building engineer, The architect and supervisor responsible for the construction to be done according to the regulations – all of these have an impact on the level of construction of the apartment and the purchase. It is important to check their reliability and nature, and it is also recommended to keep their details (name, address, telephone number). This information will be of great value if any problem arises. Quick inquiry, who holds these positions is responsible for the problem, and addressing it as soon as possible – will make it easier to resolve. Even if the problem is not solved and difficulties are raised, there is great value to the details about those involved in construction.

The state of the apartment is legal

You don’t just buy an apartment; The buying deal also includes the land. In terms of registration, there are some possible situations of land and apartment. Find out now, before closing the deal.

Who owns the land?

To know what the state of registration of the land is, check the name of the apartment in Tabu. In most cases, the apartment is registered with the seller or contractor. The taboo listing determines who the legal owners of the land are. Information about this is concentrated on a registration page also known as “formulated”, and its copy can be obtained for a small fee by contacting the Land Registry, located in each city.

Essential information about the apartment

The registration page has information not only about the identity of the landowner, but also very important details about the state of the apartment legally: that is, liens, foreclosures and warning notes are recorded. This information must be ascertained in advance so as not to get into difficulties in moving the apartment in Tabu on your behalf. There are cases where the land is registered in the name of the person who sold the land to the contractor or seller. From this situation, be careful, because the first seller, who sold the land to the contractor or the apartment seller, may be supposed to move the apartment on your behalf in Tabu, And it is not known what requirements he will decide to demand from you because of this position of power, as a prerequisite for transfer. Therefore, it is worth checking all possible risks, and of course to stand on the nature of the first seller and all the other involved. Your lawyer should take the test.

Taboo mode

If you have decided in principle that you are interested in purchasing the apartment, check the taboo status with a lawyer. You probably won’t know the different concepts listed in Tabu, so you should get an explanation from the lawyer. If there are any problems with registering the apartment, share it with deliberations about continuing the deal and hear his advice, as he knows the problems and risks, and his advice is very important.

Warning Note The transfer in Tabu is a legal process, which begins with the purchase of the apartment. However, keep in mind that if you buy a new apartment in a building that is in construction stages, the transfer in Tabu will not be possible before the skeleton phase of the building is completed, that is, the phase of the foundations, columns, walls, And the ceilings of the building have already been completed. Until this stage, it is possible, and even acceptable, to settle for a warning note, which means that the apartment will be delivered in taboo in its entirety upon completion of the skeleton final stage.

You may find that you have already received warning notes. The rights holders in the land must be examined and the nature of these rights, for which the warning notes were recorded.

Bondage and foreclosures

There are cases where the land on which the apartment will be built is enslaved or curved in favor of a bank or in favor of a private party. This is because of the obligations of the contractor or landowner. The land is enslaved or curved until the debts are settled. The deal can also be sustained in this delicate situation, but great care must be taken. Find out what the source of debt is. This information will help your lawyer decide if there is a risk in the transaction or not. In any case, if the seller is a contractor or private landowner, his financial situation is likely to be vague, and this should certainly affect your decision to cancel the transaction.

If you have nevertheless come to the conclusion that there is no concern about the transaction, it is important that you are aware that the purchase process will continue, naturally, longer than usual and depend on many factors, including the elongation of construction time.

Tip: With regard to liens and warning notes, you can breathe a sigh of relief if done only for the benefit of other tenants who have purchased apartments in the building. But the foreclosures as well as the liens and warning notes that are not in the occupants’ favor must be carefully checked.

From the book “Buying an Apartment – The Complete Guide to Buying an Apartment”

By Dr. Inge Abraham Ben Ezra