What is a Real Estate Attorney? Decker, Pex, Levi

As you are about to finalize a real estate deal in Israel, you may wonder, “What am I actually paying for here? Can’t I manage without paying thousands of shekels to someone just to draft a contract?” The following article will explain what is a real estate attorney in Israel – their role, necessary skills, situations where their intervention is essential, their primary areas of expertise, and how to choose the right attorney.

What is Considered Real Estate?

The law that defines real estate regulations is the Land Law of 1969. According to this law, real estate includes: “Land, all constructions and plants on it, and everything permanently or temporarily attached to it.” Therefore, real estate laws govern relations and laws pertaining to land and everything attached to it. Whether it’s a building, residence, warehouses, or even ground structures like caravans, cranes, pillars, etc., these laws deal with the property rights of individuals or companies as outlined in the law.

What is the Role of a Real Estate Attorney?

A real estate attorney is a professional well-versed in real estate laws. It’s not enough just to be an attorney – a great deal of professional experience is necessary to be guard a client’s interest. Part of a real estate lawyer’s job involves dealing with buying or selling real estate transactions, and they are also responsible for handling property disputes that come their way.

What Legal Issues are Involved?

As mentioned, real estate transactions and issues relate to everything connected to lands and the structures attached. This encompasses a wide range of topics like trespassing, buildings constructed unlawfully, handling deeds of sale, real estate taxation, land disputes, TAMA 38 (Israel’s urban renewal initiative), registration of rights in the Tabu (the land registry), providing a registry extract from the Tabu as relevant, separating uses, property purchase, municipal taxes, land designation, representing in asset purchases from asset managers, representing contractors or entrepreneurs in real estate deals, combination deals, rental agreements, construction defects, protected leases, property transfer as a gift, contract drafting, and more… A real estate attorney would be responsible for handling these issues.

What are the Main Responsibilities of a Real Estate Attorney?

Real Estate Taxation: For certain transactions conducted by buyers or land/property owners, they might need to pay associated taxes. These could be appreciation taxes imposed on owners when approved plans enhance the property value, a betterment tax, which is the difference between the property’s cost at purchase and its price when sold, purchase tax for properties not intended for residential purposes, and a general sales tax. A real estate attorney should conduct optimal tax planning aimed at reducing the tax burden on the client.

Claims for Construction Defects: Sometimes, buyers purchase an apartment or other property from a contractor and discover defects after moving in. In such cases, a real estate attorney is responsible for demanding remediation from the contractor or developer and handling the associated costs. Severe construction defects can physically harm the residents, so it’s crucial to consult an attorney.

Guidance in Property Purchase: A real estate attorney plays a vital role in professional preliminary investigations before property purchase. The attorney checks for any warnings (“options”) in the land registry, any unnoticed demolition orders, zoning variances, permanent fixtures, or third-party rights. If found, an experienced real estate attorney ensures the property payment reaches the creditors to prevent any harm to the buyer’s property rights. After signing the sales agreement, the attorney registers a cautionary notice in the Tabu, finally completing the property’s full registration and transferring property rights to the client. TAMA 38 (Urban Renewal): After deciding to initiate a TAMA 38 project in a residential building, many residents may be dissatisfied with the agreement reached with the rest of the building’s residents by the contractor. A real estate attorney can represent such unsatisfied residents and ensure their properties remain unaffected.

Contract Drafting: This is one of the primary roles of a real estate attorney. In every real estate transaction, whether it’s a purchase, sale, or rental, parties must agree in written form. These agreements or contracts must be drafted by an attorney to ensure the transaction complies with the law, both parties have addressed all potential scenarios related to the deal, and the interests of both parties are articulated in writing.

Representing Developers and Contractors: Developers and contractors deal with transactions on a significantly larger scale compared to individual deals. Hence, it’s advisable to consult a real estate attorney. Engaging an attorney ensures that the deal is lawful and that parties uphold their personal interests. Furthermore, in large-scale transactions involving contractors and developers, it’s essential for an attorney to provide professional opinions on the transaction conduct and raise potential future issues.

Purchase Groups: In recent years, purchase groups have become increasingly popular among buyers. However, these groups can pose numerous legal challenges requiring the intervention of a real estate attorney. The attorney ensures the individual buyer’s interests within the group are protected and avoids future financial losses.

Rentals: Renting involves an agreement between a property owner (lessor) and a tenant. Many rental contracts may jeopardize the tenant’s interest. For instance, if the lessor imposes unlawful renovation and repair costs on the tenant. Similarly, a lessor using a generic contract might compromise their rights in the property. For example, not specifying when the tenant bears the property’s costs. Other conflicts may arise unrelated to the contract but stem from the relationship between the lessor and tenant, like misusing the tenant’s security deposit or a tenant refusing to vacate after the rental period ends. To avoid such scenarios, it’s vital to consult a real estate attorney to ensure the contract doesn’t breach laws and doesn’t pose potential challenges in the future. An attorney will also provide legal advice and representation in case of conflicts between tenants and lessors.

How to Choose an Attorney?

When selecting a real estate attorney, it’s not enough to approach a licensed lawyer; it’s crucial to consult a professional with expertise and daily practice in real estate laws. Lawyers not specializing in real estate might expose clients to risks leading to significant financial loss. Real estate laws demand thorough knowledge of transaction details and frequently changing regulatory procedures.

It’s vital to check the professional background of the attorney, past transactions they’ve handled, and their availability to clients. Additionally, an attorney who is also a notary can be an advantage as specific real estate transactions require notarial signatures. All these ensure the best care for the client.

Contact a Real Estate Attorney:

At Decker, Pex, Levi, you’ll find the most experienced attorneys in the real estate sector. The firm has extensive experience in managing real estate cases and addressing individual or business-related real estate issues. After reaching out to the firm, you’ll receive comprehensive and professional counseling and representation in real estate matters.

Now that you’ve learned what is a real estate attorney and how one can help you, you may contact us at: