Jul 11, 2026 · 28 min · 10 segments
Israeli real estate lawyer Moshe Binyamini joins David Levine for a practical guide to buying property in Israel as an oleh or overseas buyer. They discuss remote purchases, hidden costs, mortgages…
Moshe BenyaminiGuestDavid LevineHostSo, what do you think makes buying property here different for Olim or non-residents versus residents here in
So, first of all, I mean, most of my clients are Americans, okay, coming from the U.S. And back there, it's a whole different process buying a property, right? Especially when you hire a lawyer, because I know it's not mandatory not to use a lawyer everywhere, but here, I think, at least from my point of view, the lawyer is really the center of the whole process, and he kind of orchestrates between all the people you work with, and the developer, or the center, and other professionals you hire, and takes care of taxes, registrations, and other...
All the bureaucracy and the information is not really accessible for everyone, especially from abroad and in English or other languages.
And this is why I really like going back to what we discussed before, why I like handling with those kind of clients because you make it accessible for them and give them all the information needed and
So one of the things that I noted, you know, one of the things that was definitely different when we started working together was the setup of the deal.
So that in the US, at least, and in the UK, you pay a lawyer basically a flat fee.
That doesn't change depending on the size of the apartment, really, or building.
And when I said that to you, you said, yes, but I'm here with you until you get your keys.
So tell me, is that the standard across the board? Is that just for you? Is that just for Tel Aviv? Or is that
I mean, even real estate agents and lawyers both work on percentages from the property price.
I think it's common here to charge a percent or some of a part of a percent from the manager price and not a standard fee for each one.
Mostly because it reflects on the insurance issues of us as lawyers and you have to be covered from a policy standard view.
Because I can tell you between us that most lawsuits against lawyers for negligence against lawyers is in real estate.
So, what do you think makes buying property here different for Olim or non-residents versus residents here in
So, first of all, I mean, most of my clients are Americans, okay, coming from the U.S. And back there, it's a whole different process buying a property, right? Especially when you hire a lawyer, because I know it's not mandatory not to use a lawyer everywhere, but here, I think, at least from my point of view, the lawyer is really the center of the whole process, and he kind of orchestrates between all the people you work with, and the developer, or the center, and other professionals you hire, and takes care of taxes, registrations, and other...
All the bureaucracy and the information is not really accessible for everyone, especially from abroad and in English or other languages.
And this is why I really like going back to what we discussed before, why I like handling with those kind of clients because you make it accessible for them and give them all the information needed and
So one of the things that I noted, you know, one of the things that was definitely different when we started working together was the setup of the deal.
So that in the US, at least, and in the UK, you pay a lawyer basically a flat fee.
That doesn't change depending on the size of the apartment, really, or building.
And when I said that to you, you said, yes, but I'm here with you until you get your keys.
So tell me, is that the standard across the board? Is that just for you? Is that just for Tel Aviv? Or is that
I mean, even real estate agents and lawyers both work on percentages from the property price.
I think it's common here to charge a percent or some of a part of a percent from the manager price and not a standard fee for each one.
Mostly because it reflects on the insurance issues of us as lawyers and you have to be covered from a policy standard view.
Because I can tell you between us that most lawsuits against lawyers for negligence against lawyers is in real estate.
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