How to succeed in Jerusalem Real Estate

How to succeed in Israeli Real Estate can be very difficult.

First you must pass the Real Estate Exam.  The exam is mostly legal Hebrew, and to study for it, I studied the book, and also the Psalms in Hebrew.  There are a lot of words in the Psalms that appear, maybe in a different context and it was very helpful for me to take time "out" and read the Psalms with my Hebrew-English dictionary on hand.   English speakers can ask for extra time on the test, but I was so nervous that I forgot and finished a bit ahead of time anyway.  The exam room looks like the scene from the Harry Potter movie with hundreds of small tables set in the Beniune HaOoma auditorium.  You can have a dictionary with you, I brought two.  You should know the book almost by heart because the questions ask about different sections and you have to be able to quickly jump to the section that the answer is in. 

The only subject that really comes up when you are working is דירה מוגן  and that very rarely, mostly in old neighborhoods, like Makor Baruch and Nachlaot. I almost bought a property like that, but shied away, because you don't get your money back when you sell.

You must have at least a working knowledge of Hebrew, and be able to speak with buyers and sellers in Hebrew, English and one other language is really helpful, like French.   Take Hebrew classes if you need to.  

Now you have your brand spanking Real Estate Licence.  First you must find yourself an office to work for.  There are many different options, Remax offers to train you, but you have to pay for your workspace, it was about 4,000NIS a month when I was working in Real Estate, so I didn't go there.   

Most of the Agencies will give the Agent 40% of the 2% commission fee, and some less.  I went to work with TKM, which was almost walking distance from my home.  Of course it is best to have a car, because I was not assigned the area near my home, but Ramat Eshkol, Arzei HaBirah, Ma'alot Dafna. 

First you need to drive and WALK the neighborhood.  Know the bus routes that come into the neighborhood, the schools, shops, what type of population who lives in the neighborhood.  Then, you need to get on the phone and call people who have put their home up for sale by themselves.  For some of them, this is the first time that they have done this and they are doing a sloppy job.  They put up handwritten signs, don't answer the phone to prospective buyers, and then as the Real Estate agent you can really do them a great service by doing the right thing to sell the property.  

In Israel, the job is made more difficult by the fact that it is almost impossible to get what comparable properties have sold for. If there is another agent in your area from your office you can try to get the information from there, or the MLM in Jerusalem sometimes can give you information, but mostly you are on your own.  Yeditot Ahronot sometimes publishes this information but mostly sellers don't want to give it out because they most always think that they should have gotten more.  I did give the information to the newspaper and I had both the sellers and the buyers on my head and the sale fell through in the end.  ( only after I got my commission of course, whew ) 

In order to really succeed, you need to make 5 appointments a day either with a seller or a buyer.  It is a numbers game.   Less than that and you won't sell your property a month.  More and you will be very tired and not be able to function.  (I know both sides very well) 

Showing the property.  Try to get the owners out of the property.  Make them sign "Exclusive" if you can. This is important because if you don't, then they can behind your back turn around and sell the property to anyone.  If you are Exclusive, then the apartment is yours to work for the duration of the contract.  Try to get 6 months. That's usually enough time if you do the 5 appointments a day. 

In Israel, you can't really "set up" the property,  but get the owners to pick up the clutter, have dishes clean and put away, and have the apartment clean as possible.  This doesn't always work.  I had a family where the apartment was a complete mess, I got in touch with a social worker and after a while the apartment sold. 

Closing the sale.  This can be very difficult and touchy part.  In Israel, you can close a sale preliminary  without a lawyer, this document is called a "Zichron Devarim"  be careful what you write there as it will become part of the final contract.  

Good luck in your Real Estate career! 

Rachael Alice Orbach

I can help you study for the Real Estate Exam and help you to learn how to be a top Real Estate Agent in Israel. Contact me now! http://lifecoachjerusalem.weebly.com/