Remember that moment? Three in the morning, you're lying awake in bed, the phone next to your head. The last email you got from the contractor in Portland was two weeks ago. The project is supposed to be ready in a month, and you don't even know whether the renovations have started. You feel the pressure rising, trying to figure out where you went wrong, and you begin to consider flying there just to see what's going on.
I see this scenario again and again. Brilliant Israeli developers, with excellent business minds, investing in countries overseas - America, Greece, Romania, Portugal - and suddenly finding themselves stuck. Not because the deal isn't good, but because something in the communication with the people on the ground has collapsed.
And here is the truth nobody tells you at conferences: the problem is not the contractor, the problem is not “complicated” foreign markets, and the problem is not the distance. The problem is that most developers try to run international business with the same tools that work for them in Israel, and simply don't understand why it doesn't work.
The meeting where everything changed
A few years ago I sat with a client who had acquired a complex of three units in Dallas. An excellent deal on paper - a good neighborhood, a sensible price, high potential. He called me in desperation after three months: “The contractor simply isn't doing anything. Every time I send him an email, he answers after a week, and then does half of what I asked. I don't understand what happened here.”
I asked him a simple question: “Tell me, what do your conversations with him look like?”
“Conversations? I send him emails with a task list. He receives them, he's supposed to carry them out.”
“And when did you last talk? Really talk, not email?”
He was silent for a moment. “I think at the signing of the contract, three months ago.”
That was the moment I realized I had to explain to my client something that nobody had taught him: when you invest in international real estate, you are not only investing in a property, you are investing in a relationship with people you will never see on a regular basis. And if you don't know how to build that relationship - your deal is in danger.
What nobody teaches you about working remotely
Here is what I see again and again in accompanying developers who invest abroad: when they are not physically on the ground, they think it is enough to send emails and expect results. But in practice, when you're not there, you need to invest much more in the human side of the business.
In Israel, you can pop over to the site, see what's going on, corner the contractor and clarify things within five minutes. Abroad? You have to build a relationship so strong that your contractor, whether in Cleveland, Athens or Bucharest, will want to update you even when you have no way of checking.
My client with the Dallas property started applying a different approach. In every weekly Zoom, he decided to devote the first five minutes to no business. How was the week? How is the family? Did you manage to see the game yesterday? And at the same time, to share something real about himself too. Not polite small talk, but genuinely getting to know the person across from him.
After three weeks of that kind of investment, something amazing happened: the contractor began sending him photos from the site on his own initiative. “I thought you'd like to see how it's progressing,” he wrote. He went from a supplier doing the minimum to a partner who wants the project to succeed.
Communication is not just talking, it's building a framework
But wait, it's not enough just to “be a nice person.” One of the biggest mistakes I see: developers who communicate only when there is a problem, or completely spontaneously. You need a fixed structure.
Another developer I accompanied, who renovated three buildings in Greece, built himself a fixed working method with all the contractors and people on the ground:
- A fixed weekly Zoom call on the same day and time.
- A short daily update on WhatsApp or Telegram.
- A detailed weekly report at the end of each week.
Why? Because when there is a framework, there are no surprises. The contractor knows he will have time to present his issues, the developer knows exactly what is happening, and nobody feels he is “pestering” anyone with questions.
And one more critical thing I always tell my clients: keep your own schedule. If your Zoom is at seven in the evening (which is eleven in the morning in Texas, or seven in the evening in Athens), be there. Every time you cancel or show up late, you are telling the contractor the project isn't really important to you. Why should he treat it as important if you don't?
The cultural gaps nobody talks about
And now we've reached the point that causes some of the biggest problems - understanding the cultural differences between different countries.
The United States: there, people don't work on weekends. Period. No matter how urgent it seems to you on a Friday morning in Israel (which is Thursday evening for them), don't expect an answer until Monday. One of my clients learned this the hard way when he got angry at a contractor who didn't answer him over the weekend, only to discover that he had damaged the relationship for nothing. Americans also greatly value precise time management: if you said you'd call at 3, call at 3.
Greece: the developer I mentioned a moment ago, the one who operated in Greece, discovered that in August it is almost impossible to get people. The whole country is on vacation. That is not irresponsibility, it is simply the culture there. He learned to schedule all the critical work for other times, and not to frustrate himself in the middle of summer. Greek Easter and the religious holidays are also times when work simply doesn't progress. In addition, he discovered that Greeks greatly value respect and real listening. Greek culture is warm and human, and if you let them feel that you truly appreciate them, they will do anything for you.
Romania: another client who built in Bucharest faced an entirely different challenge. There, he discovered that the Communist history left its mark on the work culture. There is a tendency to do exactly what is asked, without self-initiative. He learned that you need to be very detailed in your instructions, make sure everything is documented in writing, and not assume that something will happen if you didn't explicitly ask for it. But when you work the right way, Romanians are very dedicated and professional. He also discovered that Christmas and the Orthodox Christian holidays (which fall on different dates than in the West) are times when people simply don't work.
Transparency - even when it hurts
The most critical point I always stress to my clients: say everything. Even if it's unpleasant.
I saw a project in Bucharest that almost blew up because the developer didn't want to “make trouble” with the contractor. He saw that the materials were not exactly what had been agreed, but thought “maybe it's fine, maybe it's almost the same.” Two months later, everything had to be torn out and replaced. Double the cost, a half-year delay.
If something isn't clear - clarify. If something isn't as you understood - say so. Respectfully, but say it. Better a small argument today than a big disaster tomorrow.
And when you explain something, especially in major renovations, make sure the other side really understood. Ask him to repeat what you understood together. This is not a lack of trust, it is professionalism. It saves money and time for both sides.
Make them partners, not just suppliers
Another thing I always recommend to developers: let your people on the ground feel they are part of something bigger.
A developer who works with me in the US started giving his contractor bonuses for finishing on time and for saving on the budget. Suddenly, the contractor began looking for ways to do things more efficiently, recommending cheaper materials of similar quality, and making sure everything progressed smoothly. Why? Because he became a partner in the success, not just an executor.
In Europe, especially in Greece and Romania, I found that this approach works even more strongly. When you let local people feel they are part of something important, that you trust them and that they are not just “another project,” they give you their best.
The small details that make the difference
One more tip that sounds small but works wonders - send a small gift on holidays. A 50-dollar Amazon card for Thanksgiving in the US, a local basket at Christmas in Greece, or a gift for Easter in Romania. It's something they don't expect, and it stays in their memory. It shows that you respect their culture and that you see them as human beings, not just cogs in a machine.
In closing: what your money really buys you
Here is what I tell every developer who begins investing abroad: when you invest in international real estate, you are not only building a building or a house. You are buying a partnership with people you will never see face to face on a regular basis.
The contractor, the property manager, the local accountant - these are the people who will determine whether your investment succeeds or fails. No matter how good the deal is on paper, if your relationships with the people on the ground are weak - you have a problem.
But when you invest in people, when you build real trust, when you create a partnership, suddenly everything flows. Projects finish on time, costs stay within budget, and problems are solved before they become catastrophes.
It's not rocket science. It's simply being human, respectful, transparent and consistent. And understanding that the cultural differences between the US, Greece, Romania or any other country are not an obstacle, they are an opportunity. An opportunity to show that you are a developer who understands that good business begins with good relationships.
And sometimes, that is exactly what is missing between the excellent deal on paper and success in practice.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית