(Courtesy of The Getter Group) Buying an apartment can mean seeing an apartment, liking it, signing the documents and moving in. Great—that sounds easy. But there are so many stepping-stones along the way, and if they aren’t handled correctly—and quickly—the buyer can get “stepped on.” As the buyer’s advocate, The Getter Group makes sure that does not happen.

When something needs to be done, it requires time, effort and professionalism. The Getter Group has dealt with it all before—so you don’t have to. This is to your advantage, because our considerable experience and understanding of how things work will work for you. The Getter Group’s competent professional advocacy makes sure the Israeli home-buying experience is safe, secure and even pleasant.

To find your home, there are lots of factors to consider: neighborhood, views, floor, layout and price. But other important things need to be checked as well. Is there a possibility of a new building coming up right in front of your beautiful open view in only a few years? How many meters are actually registered in the deed? And are they worth the full price they are asking for? Does the apartment have liens, legal issues, bank issues or any other issues?

This takes extensive time and effort to check and get right. It’s vital, and it can be done correctly and easily. You need someone who knows what to check for, and how to check for it, so your purchase starts off smoothly.

Once purchase issues have been checked, and you love the apartment, now what? And how does an American company work with an Israeli mortgage? The Getter Group deals with that—a lot. The options are endless; each has to be pursued creatively—with professionals, banks, contractors, lawyers and more—to work out the best possible arrangement for you.

The Getter Group makes sure the professionals are all doing their job correctly—to protect your rights. You can’t know what problems may come up beforehand. No situation is the same, but in every case, having the right bank contacts or the right lawyer speeds up the process.

Here are a few ways The Getter Group has advocated for buyers:

The Getter Group had a client who wanted to buy an apartment with a beautiful view, only to find out that the neighbors in the building across were just granted permits to add another floor to their apartment. Whoops. Dealing with that involved going down to the site to check the apartment to see how the view could be affected, checking the neighbors’ permits to see if they were building legally and making sure they weren’t building more than what was allowed. If they were (which happens), that would involve taking the neighbor to a beit din, or to court, to fight for the client’s rights. And The Getter Group will help you find the right people to do that. The view remained beautiful.

In one situation where the lawyer requested bank guarantees for payment, the client had the money sitting in his account in Israel—to be paid. The lawyer didn’t follow up. Turns out no bank guarantees were needed, and the client needed to pay interest for delayed payment. The company’s lawyers hadn’t signed the relevant mortgage documents, and payment was released over two and half weeks late. The company wanted to charge over 20,000 shekel in interest! The Getter Group stepped in and waived the fee.

A contractor put down tiles in the apartment without asking the client to choose them. The Getter Group made sure the company redid the flooring and appeased the client, and made sure clauses were added to the contract so that it wouldn’t happen again. And it didn’t. It all took time. But it was done satisfactorily.

How about the client who needed to legitimately delay payment, without being charged excessively, because the mortgage process was dragging out and wouldn’t be done by the time payment was required? The Getter Group negotiated for payments without strict interest rates, working out a way to keep each side happy.

And The Getter Group got involved and saved the situation when a company decided they wanted to cancel a client’s contract and sell for more. The Getter Group advocated on the client’s behalf so that he didn’t lose out.

That’s why you need a buyer’s broker: an advocate. We’ll take care of helping you achieve your dream of buying a home in Israel—while you’re sleeping. Because while you’re sleeping, we’re not.

The Getter Group is your advocate: the buyer’s broker.

For more information or to schedule a consultation, please call us at (718) 437-3950 or email us at [email protected].