State of the Zach / Call me Saba

[zachkessin]

So I am still a consultant, and work is still crazy! I have lots of work with a number of different clients so things are good and they are keeping me busy.

In other news I want to buy a house. The problem is that houses here are crazy expensive, the 4bedroom townhouse next door just sold for 1.4Million NIS*. Now banks in Israel want at least 30%

Comments

[adrianna_r]

I'm not sure where you got 30% down from... when my sister bought her apartment 2-3 years ago, she only had to pay 10% down. Granted, she had that kind of money from her divorce, but it's still much more manageable. She bought in Petach-Tikva.

[zachkessin]

that what various mortgage brokers have said, of course I have found that if you ask 4 people you get 6 versions of the story.

And even if we could get 10% down it would make for a 9,000NIS monthly payment, which is not doable.

[adrianna_r]

o.O

I think, perhaps, that you're getting tainted information. I would speak to your bank and other banks in your area (meaning, not mortgage brokers) and see if that's the same with them. My sister is on a 20-year mortgage and is only paying about 4,000-something NIS per month, and there's a longer one too.

[kmelion]

Where is the apartment, how big is it and what did she pay for it? And no, it's not tainted info. Mortgage banks want at least 30% down and places that will allow you 10% down expect huge monthly mortgage payments.

[zachkessin]

The huge payment is a combination of the fact you need some insurance (which costs) and the fact that there is a hell of a big loan. a 1.2M NIS loan is going to have huge payments.

[adrianna_r]

It's a 2-bedroom that she got for 1.1 mil or 1.2 mil, from what I recall. It was that expensive because it's large for a 2-bedroom and it's in one of the new projects in north Petach Tikva and therefore comes with a bunch of fancy stuff, but my parents somehow got their bank to give her a reasonable mortgage as far as I know. I don't think they went through the regular financing channels that the project administration recommended, but through their bank in Tel-Aviv.