“I don't understand what they want from me. There are constantly payment surprises - when will I be able to profit from my investment?!”
“What do you mean,” I replied. “They write that you have a debt to the municipality that has not been paid for two years, and if it isn't paid they intend to file a claim against you.”
“But there is a management company and there are tenants in the apartment. I don't see the problem.”
It turns out that when he bought the apartment, nobody explained to him what he has to pay as an owner and what the tenants pay, according to the custom in the country and under the lease agreement. The management company performs its role at a basic level and communicates with him less on an ongoing basis. I understand that the apartment was purchased directly from an Israeli marketer who projected such confidence and familiarity with the market that the client signed the purchase contract without a lawyer and relied on the Israeli salesman.
“Was a lawyer involved in the deal?” I asked, and the investor tells me that this is an apartment priced at just one hundred thousand euros, and the lawyer asked for an expensive fee, so he signed a standard agreement... I ask for the agreement and discover that the apartment was registered in the client's name and the land remained registered to the seller.
I explain to the investor that he must immediately pay the required taxes before the municipality begins a process of attaching the apartment. In parallel, I connect him with two reputable management companies to get a price quote for proper handling of the property.
In addition, I recommend that we handle transferring the land from the seller to be registered in the name of a management company that will give him an irrevocable power of attorney, so that he will be able to sell the apartment at any time without any future problem or financial demand. The client adopts all my recommendations, and we set out.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית