For a growing number of Jews living outside Israel, buying an apartment here is no longer just a real estate investment. Sometimes it is a plan for the future, sometimes a home for the children, and sometimes simply the desire to know there is a place to call home in Israel. Yet it is precisely financially well-off buyers who discover that securing financing can be more complicated than expected. At Pama Mortgages, they say the key is not just the level of income, but the ability to properly understand financial lives that span two countries.
The appeal is easy to understand, even without talking about money.
A family that has lived in Paris for twenty years visits Israel several times a year. The children speak Hebrew, some of the family is already here, and at some point an idea begins to take shape: Perhaps we should have a home in Israel. Not necessarily making aliyah tomorrow morning. Maybe not even in two years. But an apartment in Israel shifts from something “we might do someday” to a real possibility.
Among Jews in the Diaspora, there is even an unofficial term for this phenomenon: A “security apartment” – an apartment in Israel that serves both as an asset and as a kind of anchor for the future. The Jerusalem Post reported this year on growing interest in this concept among Jews living abroad, driven by the desire for security, a sense of belonging, and a real option to come to Israel when needed.
Then come the numbers. And here, somewhat surprisingly, even those who earn a good living may discover that their financing application is anything but straightforward.
The money is there. It just speaks French.
An Israeli salaried employee typically arrives with documents the system knows well: Payslips, bank statements, existing financial obligations, and property details. For a non-resident, the picture can look entirely different. Income is earned in euros or dollars. The business is registered in another country. Tax returns follow a different structure. Additional assets are held outside Israel. Some of the capital is tied up in a company, some in an investment portfolio, and there may be liabilities denominated in another currency.
The problem is not necessarily a lack of financial means. Sometimes, quite the opposite. The financial capacity is there, but you need to know how to assess it.
This is one of the areas in which Pama Mortgages seeks to distinguish itself. Pama comes from the financing sector, with more than three decades of experience within the group, and today positions its mortgage operations as a solution for clients with complex financing needs. When reviewing a loan application, it examines, among other factors, net income, financial obligations that will remain after the financing is obtained, the property’s value, and the amount of collateral.
In other words, rather than simply asking, “How much comes in each month?”, it is necessary to understand where the money comes from, how stable it is, and how much remains after all…
Read More: Living in Paris, buying in Jerusalem: Foreign income, Israeli mortgage
