Successfully Purchasing Real Estate in Israel: Find a Property (Part 3)

Real Estate Listings

These days, roughly 95% of buyers look for property online!

Here at ImmoIsrael.com we offer you the opportunity to discover real estate listings, advertised by both homeowners and real estate agents. It is a point of honor for us to check each and every ad before authorizing their publication, in order to guarantee the best experience possible. We believe it is your right to receive all important details ahead of time; we only authorize listings that include high-quality photos, the asking price, and a detailed description. Moreover, our team translates each listing into four main languages: English, Hebrew, French, and Russian. This allows you to easily search and find your ideal property, in the language you are most familiar with.

In order to avoid missing any of the new real estate ads published daily on Immo Israel, we highly recommend creating a personalized email alert including the property criteria you desire. This will allow you to receive relevant listings straight to your inbox, as soon as they are published, saving you much time and energy. However, it is important not to be too restrictive in your search criteria so as not to miss out on properties that could suit you perfectly.

There are many other real estate search platforms in Israel, such as Yad2, real estate Facebook groups, Madlan, and others. However, none of them meet our high standards for posting listings, and it's extremely easy to get lost in the multitude of incomplete ads. In addition, none of these sites offer listings in English, and most of the listings on Facebook are advertised by realtors instead of directly by the owners.

Real Estate Agent Services

When you start looking for a property to buy in Israel, one of the first questions you should ask yourself is: do I want to use the services of a real estate agent or agency to help me in my search?

Indeed, whether you are in the US or in Israel, finding a home for sale by owners is becoming increasingly rare and the easiest way to succeed nowadays is through an agent. This in turn causes even more owners to publish their property via real estate agents. However, this is true only in terms of selling real estate; most of the properties published by owners are for rent, meaning it is quite easy to find a property to rent without using the services of an agency.

Using a real estate agent service has many advantages: he or she will save you hours of searching for properties that meet your criteria, will set up appointments with the owners, and will often arrange visitation to several properties in one day, thus saving you time. However, it is important to check that the agent has a real estate license (Rishayon Tivuch) before visiting a property with the agent and signing a contract. An experienced and competent agent will be able to guide you efficiently in your search and will accompany you in the first stages of your purchase. It is also important to take into account the costs associated with this service when budgeting for a new home. Note that these costs may be offset by the benefits you get by using the services of a real estate agent.

Visit a Property

What should I check during the visit? What questions should I ask? What details should I pay attention to?

Going to see a property you are interested in is extremely important and allows you the opportunity to verify many important elements. These include:

• The general condition of the property: look for signs of wear and tear or deterioration.
• The distribution of the rooms: note optimization of the area and any "lost" spaces.
• Brightness and exposure: take note of the sunlight and the view.
• Noise and insulation: listen to outside noise and check for adequate insulation. Are you near train tracks? A school?
• Don't forget to check the condition of the ceiling, walls, and windows.
• You should also check if the apartment has a private parking space registered in the land registry (Tabu), as well as any storage area or unit (Mahsan).

Another thing we highly recommend is to meet other people in the building and to look at the condition of the common areas to get an idea of the condominium's quality. 

If you are interested in the property, it is always a good idea to make a second visit at a different time during the day to check if you are still interested.

Remember that when you visit a home, there are additional criteria to consider that may be relevant: How big is the yard? Is it well maintained? Also check the roof, the facade, the walls, etc., because if there is a problem after the sale it is up to you to finance the entire repair.

Efficiently Organize Property Viewings

Don't forget that it is important to organize your visits well to avoid confusing the different properties visited. Our advice is to create a file for each property visited, noting the address, the owner's contact information, and recording notes during the visit. It is also important to take many photos and to file them as soon as possible to avoid mixing them with those of other visited properties.

Next post: Estimate and Negotiate