Here is how the Mortgage process has been so far...
Leumi: we will give you 70% and you only have to put 20% down to start
Me: Great!
Leumi: ummm.. no we really mean we will give you 60% and you have to put 40% down
Me: WHAAAT!
Leumi: ummmm we really mean we will give you 65% and you only have to put 20% down.
Me: Better but you promised me 70%!
Leumi: umm actually we can give you 65% and you really need to put 35% down.
Me: WHAT! #@#$##!!!!
Leumi: sorry.. This exhibit is closed........
Me: Bank Tefachot .. hello?
Tefachot: Thank you for applying, we will give you an answer in 48 hours.
Me ( 1 week later): Tefachot.. hello? hello?
... and all my friends here in Montreal are getting 95% mortgage approved in 12 hours... ..
AAAAARGH!
1 comment:
I can empathize with you, although my experience is a decade old. For starters, if you didn't know it already, the Israeli government makes it very hard for the local banks to re-possess a house, and therefore, they require a much more sizeable downpayment on a house in this country. In addition, it is always more difficult to apply for a mortgage from overseas (even if you were trying to do this in the States or Europe from Canada, you'd meet some resistance). This being said, you're also purchasing rural property. The banks in this country, except for Tfachot, do not look as favourably on lending large sums of money for housing over The Green Line. We had to put down 20%, when we built our own home, and the rest was a mortgage from Bank Tfachot plus a bridging loan from the British Olim Society. Good Luck! P.S. We got different feedback from different branches of the same bank. I recommend you ask around and learn from other Gush Etzion homeowners, although you might find that because you're still in Canada, you might have to deal with the central office. Shavua Tov and keep in touch.
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