To The Editor:
Shalom!
I was quite surprised to see, in a recent article which
describes an affordable payment plan for newly married
couples, prices quoted in Beit Shemesh as being $100,000. It
may be worthwhile, when giving advice to young couples, to
ensure that a false impression is not given to them.
In Ramat Beit Shemesh, where most newly married couples will
want to purchase a home, the cheapest home which can be found
is $140,000. In most cases, this is a small 3-room apartment,
possibly located on the 3rd floor of a building which has no
elevator.
The couple will then want to consider the further expenses
of:
Opening a file in a mortgage bank (average 4,000 NIS)
Notarizing documents (average 200 NIS)
Transferring utilities (average 1,500 NIS)
Lawyer's fees which are required by law (average 1% of
purchase price of home + VAT)
Agent's fees if the couple uses an agent (2% + Vat)
Moving expense (1,000 - 2,000 NIS)
Registering in the Tabu if buying from the Kablan (average
1,500 NIS)
Kablan's lawyer if buying from the Kablan (average 1,000
NIS)
Engineer's report which is required by the bank (anywhere
from 350 NIS to $350)
Purchase Tax (between 0.5% for new Olim to 3.5%)
Other expenses which tend to crop up.
We are therefore astounded that you recommend that it is
possible to buy a home in Beit Shemesh with a meager budget
of $100,000. I cannot speak for the other localities
mentioned, but I can certainly speak for Beit Shemesh. Please
ensure that proper research is done when posting such
articles as advice for young couples. It would be tragic to
mislead as opposed to being honest and forthright, despite
the fact that it may be news we do not wish to hear.
With respect,
Leah Schwarz
Office Administrator
Pearl Skolnik Realty
Ramat Beit Shemesh
The Editor Replies:
The detailed information given indicates that our
correspondent usually reads more carefully than in this case.
Our article said: "As an example we will take a "project"
apartment (such as Kiryat Sefer, Brachfeld, Beit Shemesh)
priced at $100,000." The number was merely picked to easily
illustrate the principle involved. It was not meant to be an
assessment of market conditions. Nonetheless, we think that
her "corrections" are useful and interesting and we
appreciate them.
