This week I received a video message on Messenger. I pressed play, and on the screen appeared a client - a veteran real estate investor, a self-made man who knows how to read numbers and isn't afraid to take calculated risks.
But this time, something in his voice was different.
“If I wait I lose, and if I jump into the water I'm afraid of making an expensive mistake. So in the end I do nothing, and meanwhile half a million shekels have been sitting in the bank gathering dust for over a year,” he said with obvious frustration.
“And I don't even know what's crazier - investing in another apartment in Israel at these crazy prices, or jumping into the water of real estate abroad and starting the whole story from scratch.”
The trap everyone knows
He is not the first client stuck in this dilemma. In fact, it may be the most common question I hear today from Israeli real estate investors.
On one hand - Israel is familiar, convenient, close. You speak the language, you know the laws (more or less), you can manage the property yourself or drop by to check on it at any moment. You know which neighborhoods are rising, where it's worth buying, which contractor you can work with.
But on the other hand - prices in Israel are no longer serious. A 3-room apartment in the suburbs of Tel Aviv? 2.5 million shekels. Rental yield? If you reach 3% you'll celebrate. And most likely you'll have to renovate, deal with problematic tenants, and watch most of the profits disappear into taxes.
And then you read online about apartments in Portugal with a 6% yield, about properties in the United States that pay off from the first year, about investments in Greece that combine yield with the possibility of European citizenship.
And you freeze.
Because on one hand - you know that prices in Israel have hit the ceiling, but on the other hand - going abroad? That means diving into an unfamiliar world. A different language, a different legal system, complicated taxation, remote management.
And in the end? You do nothing. The capital sits.
Ronit's story
About a year and a half ago Ronit called me. The owner of a real estate portfolio in Israel - three apartments for rent, all rented, everything running. “It works,” she told me, “but I feel I'm working too hard for it.”
Her average yield? 2.8%.
“I wanted to buy another apartment in Israel,” she told me, “but then I sat down and did the math. Another 2 million shekels, more hassle with contractors, more tenants who'll complain about every faucet. And in the end - another 2.5% yield if I fight for it.”
So she began looking at options abroad.
And that is where the real dilemma began.
“I have money to invest,” she said. “But where? The United States? I read that the taxation there is complex. Portugal? I saw there are special programs for investors, but I didn't understand exactly what. Greece? It looks attractive, but how do I know the market won't collapse?”
And she kept reading, researching, agonizing. Four months went by. The capital sat.
Until one day she called and said: “Enough. I need to take a step.”
We sat down. We broke the whole dilemma down into its components. What is she really looking for? Yield? Risk diversification? Maybe also a base for a future abroad?
In the end, she invested in Romania, in Bucharest. An apartment in a central location, a price that made sense, a rental yield of 6.5%.
Today, a year and a half later, the apartment is rented consistently, she manages it remotely with a reliable management company, and her yield is double what she gets in Israel, with far fewer headaches.
Why is it so hard to decide?
After years of accompanying investors in the move to international real estate, I identified the three main barriers:
1. Fear of the unknown. When you invest in Israel, you know what to expect. Abroad? Everything looks more complex - the laws, the taxation, the management. But the truth is that once you have the right people beside you, it's exactly like in Israel. Only with a better yield.
2. The inability to choose the “right” country. There are so many options. The United States, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Spain, Germany. How do you choose? The answer: you don't look for the “perfect” country, you look for the country that suits you. For your goals, your budget, your risk tolerance.
3. The feeling that if it isn't perfect, it's better to do nothing. This is the biggest mistake. People wait for “the time to be right,” or for “more certainty.” But the right time is when you have the tools, the knowledge and the right team, not when the stars align in the sky.
How do you stop agonizing and start moving?
After hundreds of conversations with investors torn between Israel and abroad, I developed a simple process that helps reach a decision:
Step 1: Ask yourself - what do I really want? This isn't about “where is it worth investing.” It's about what you want from this investment. A higher yield? Geographic diversification? A base for a future abroad? Financial security for the children? When you know the goal, it's easier to choose the path.
Step 2: Understand that Israel and abroad is not either-or. You can do both. Many investors hold properties in Israel and in addition invest abroad. It's not a competition, it's diversification. An apartment in Tel Aviv + an apartment in Bucharest = a more balanced portfolio.
Step 3: Choose one country and focus. Instead of trying to understand all the countries in the world, choose one. Learn it in depth. Understand the laws, the taxation, the market. And start there. Afterwards you can always expand.
Step 4: Build a professional team. A lawyer who works in international real estate (not a general lawyer), an accountant who knows international taxation, a reliable property manager in the target country. This isn't an expense, it's insurance.
Step 5: Take a first step - even a small one. You don't have to buy a half-million-dollar property in the first step. You can start with a smaller investment, learn the process, understand how it works. And then expand.
What happened to my client from the beginning of the story?
The same investor who sent me the video? We sat down for a long conversation. We broke down the dilemma - Israel or abroad, and if abroad, where.
It turned out that what really preoccupied him was not the price or the yield, but the fear of an irreversible mistake. The fear that he would invest the half million shekels in the wrong place and lose it.
So we changed the approach. Instead of looking for the perfect investment, we began looking for an investment that is good enough with managed risk.
In the end, he invested in Portugal, in Lisbon. A small apartment, but in an excellent location. The yield? 5.8%. He manages it remotely with a local management company, and he sleeps well at night.
And most important? He stopped being stuck. His capital is working.
So if you find yourself asking - “Israel or abroad?”, “and if abroad, where?”, “and when will be the right time?”, maybe it's time to ask a different question:
“How do I build a clear plan that will get this right for me?”
Because your capital doesn't need to gather dust in the bank. It needs to work for you, whether in Israel, abroad, or both.
And the right answer is not where, but how.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית