Beit shemesh | Imamother

Reality

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 3:58 pm

amother OP wrote:

If rent is cheap it means that if I buy an apartment and rent it out for a few months until I am ready to move then the rental income won't necessarily cover my mortgage?
I prefer to buy something new obviously...

I don't know. You would need to figure out the numbers. Just know that if you buy as a non-citizen you need to put down 50%.

amother

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 4:01 pm

Reality wrote:

I don't know. You would need to figure out the numbers. Just know that if you buy as a non-citizen you need to put down 50%.

Yes I am aware. Which is why I need to crunch the numbers. I really want to make my dream a reality soon but its all so much.
My family is young so its doable now. I don't want to wait until it gets harder....

For Bet shemesh daled I would need like 350k or something like that - correct?

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 4:12 pm

amother OP wrote:

Very often rent is higher than mortgage. So it could cover the mortgage and you may even make a bit as well.

amother

Crystal

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 4:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

I think a bit more than 350k but maybe Im wrong.
I bought a 4 bedroom apartment, on paper, not in rbs, but bot jerusalem either, 8 years ago and it was 1.5 mil shek.

Reality

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 4:53 pm

amother OP wrote:

At the current exchange that's 1.3 million nis. So if you buy a 2.6 million apartment that's what you need for the down-payment. That's at least a four bedroom. It really depends what size apartment you want to buy.

LovesHashem

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 4:56 pm

amother SandyBrown wrote:

Yes. It's called Arnona.
The residents pay it so if you are renting you will have to pay it even if it's not your property.
They give discounts according to income and family size I think the largest discount is 70% but maybe you can get more I don't know.
You have to apply for the discount by August of that year.

They give up to 90% actually. Depends what your discount is for.

amother

Hawthorn

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 5:07 pm

amother OP wrote:

From the ads I see, a 4 bedroom apartment in rbsD would be in the 2.5-3 range or more. Check out sunshine magazine online to see more details https://www.rbssunshine.com/.
Remember than when you buy on paper or brand new there are other expenses, like air conditioning, bars and screens for windows, kitchen upgrades, one-time utility connection fees, etc that you don't have otherwise. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are buying on paper, whatever you don't pay in your down payment is typically subject to building inflation costs - meaning that in the 3 years from the time you sign until it's ready, if that index has gone up by 2%, your balance will increase accordingly. Finally, many mortgages in Israel have a large portion which is adjustable rate, which means that those who took out a mortgage a few years ago just had a significant increase in payment amount as interest rates jumped. Make sure you understand what you are doing when you take out a mortgage, try to get fixed rate if possible.

Also, by buying as a non citizen you will be subject to a purchase tax of 8% on your entire purchase vs 3.5-5% on the amount above about 1.8m shekel (below that, no purchase tax). I believe if you make aliyah within a year (I might have this detail wrong) you can appeal and get the difference refunded.

Property tax is based on apartment size (but includes also a portion of the building public areas) and in any RBS would be around 500sh per month, paid two months at a time, for a 100m 3 bedroom apartment plus a small machsan. https://betshemesh.muni.il/100474/ for more details.

amother

Outerspace

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 5:14 pm

amother OP wrote:

Ok this helps. I would still consider daled. I have young children that can easily adapt.

so its not like a city in terms of noise and streets being busy at night? (think yerushalayim)

Is there such a thing as me having a small backyard or its all only apartment buildings?

I live in Yerusalayim in a quiet neighborhood. It depends where you live. We were in RBS A in the summer near the shopping center and it was way noisier than we were used to.

There are apartments or villas with a yard etc - you'll have to balance that with a less gashmiyus life which you said you wanted

amother

Hawthorn

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 5:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

Approximately how much is the annual property tax for a 3-4 bedroom apartment in ramat bet shemesh or ramat shlomo etc?

And is utility costs comparable to NY/NJ or way less or way more?

Thank you so much for everyone who is helping me with information and making my dream come closer.

Utility costs tend to be less here than in the US, I think, partially because we don't have keep our water hot all the time, and most if the year the sun heats it for us. Also, apartments are smaller than US homes, so less space is heat and cool.

Cellphone service much cheaper. Can be 20-40sh a month per line.
Internet I think we pay about 120sh per month for fiber
Gas about 100sh for two months
Water about 400sh for two months
Electric about 1000sh for two months but really depends how much a/c or heat one uses.

What are your bills like, as I'm curious how it compares?

amother

Hawthorn

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 5:34 pm

amother Outerspace wrote:

Agree, if you are on a main road or near a shopping center you will have noise at night. But if you are on a side street or not near stores there really isn't much noise at night.

Keep in mind, though, living in apartment buildings is definitely noisier than living in suburban, private home/property USA (or anywhere). So if my neighbors decide to have a party on their porch with loud music they legally may, and do, until 11pm. And if another neighbor has a conversation outside my window at 2 am, I will hear them (windows here are open 24/7 usually).

Apartments with yards are somewhat more expensive than those without, but it's not so unusual or "exclusive" here in RBSA where there tend to be smaller buildings and plenty of buildings built "medurag" on hills so several floors have gardens. (Not sure about RBSD where the buildings tend to be taller.)

amother

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 5:57 pm

amother Hawthorn wrote:

Its just hard for me to go from a rural area to a complete city. I currently have a large front and backyard that I used to garden, sit out and daven and kids play in. So a small something is important to me not because I need the gashmius but rather because I need the fresh air and space to see greenery. Perhaps that is gashmius.

amother

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 6:03 pm

amother Hawthorn wrote:

I pay $65 for 2 cellphones
$50-70 internet monthly
$50-60 water monthly
$650-$750 property tax monthly
$250-350 gas and electric monthly
sewer is quarterly and I don't recall exactly how much

I have a single-family home so heating and cooling costs are obviously much higher than an apartment would be...and obviously also larger.

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 6:18 pm

amother Hawthorn wrote:

This will differ depending where you drive and how often. And how big your tank/engine is.
We have a small car. When I travelrd to work, we were paying 150 per week. Now my ride to work is much closer so the 150 lasts almost 3 weeks to a month.

amother

Thu, Nov 09 2023, 6:25 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Oh I didn't realize she meant gas for car. That's a whole different story. Gas in US is half price of Israel. I've been to Israel a number of times so we were able to compare. Cars and anything car related are double in Israel.
(besides toll maybe)
But I have tremendous fear of public transportation so we will need to figure something out.

mezzyhed848

Fri, Nov 10 2023, 1:54 am

Please come visit before you choose a community!

Do not make any purchases or big decisions unless you or a family member comes to see what the different parts of RBS or other communities you are interested in are like.

You may be thinking rbs daled sounds great in theory and then get here and be very disappointed and your children will have a hard time adjusting vs. if you came here and saw “oh looks like gimmel 1 is less congested/construction zone and my kids will have friends”.

Or you can plan to come a couple weeks before the school year begins and rent a short term rental while you scope out the communities with your kids.

My sister moved from an out of town community where she had a home a big backyard and front yard and two cars and I was scoping out RBS hey for her becuase of the cheap prices and a realtor gave me the best advice:

It is already hard for children to adjust to smaller apartments, no yard, new everything - don’t start off in a new construction zone being built. Do the first year in an established part of RBS - alef or gimmel, and then after one year of being adjusted then you can make an educated decision with your family to move into a part of the city that is still being built like daled or hey.

I found an apartment for my sister in a newer part of alef (though only three bedrooms and tiny compared to her past home) but all of her kids have friends and she is so happy.

amother

Hawthorn

Fri, Nov 10 2023, 2:05 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Cooking gas for the stove. I guess I should have been more clear.
Gas for car is a different story entirely, and I wouldn't include it in utilities.