The success of many a real estate deal is connected to the question of when to buy. If you buy at a low price and sell at a high price you’ve made a profit. I haven’t discovered America here. The question is how to pay little and sell for a lot. Knowing the answer to this question is the secret to success in real estate transactions but it doesn’t come easy. It requires keeping your eyes and ears open and doing your homework. It means sometimes taking a chance. Very often it means investing the money and then waiting for the right moment to realize your profit. Sometimes there won’t be a profit at the time you hope and sometimes there will be a profit, a big one.
What do I mean? Do you know of a corner plot of land in a city? Perhaps it has a building on it. Perhaps it is slated for public use like a synagogue or nursery school. Check to see who is the owner of the property – the Israeli Land Authority or the local municipality. Check to see if they are willing to sell it. Check to see if there is a possible plan to change the zoning laws in the area so that the use of the property can be changed. If you can buy this property, hold on to it until the change of the zoning is passed then if all goes well you may be able to make a killing.
Here are some examples: The land of the old central bus station of Tel Aviv is up for sale by the municipality. In addition to this there is a proposal put forth by the municipality to drastically change the building rights in the area. Another example is the sale of a plot of land on the corner of Ben Yosef Street and Beit Tzuri in Ramat Aviv G in Tel Aviv. The plot was originally set to be used for a synagogue or some other public use so it was sold cheaply. However, shortly after the sale the purchasers submitted a request to change the use of the plot from public use to residential use. The request was accepted and the plot was sold to a purchasing group for five times the amount of the original purchase.
These are not isolated incidents. The annals of real estate transactions are filled with such stories. So if you see a building or empty plot that interests you and you dare to dream about what you could do with it if… then go for it. Check it out. Get in on the ground floor. Perhaps you will also be one of the real estate success stories.
