Chaim

About Chaim Friedman

Having spent the first 5 years of his mortgage career in New York as a Licensed Mortgage Banker Chaim made the move to Israel and subsequently co-founded First Israel in 2010. Feel free to contact him at cfriedman@firstisrael.com

Knesset backs Mortgage Brokers in Israel

Mortgage brokers in Israel got a big win last week from the Antitrust authority and the Knesset Finance Committee.

In the wake of the recent 2% spike in interest rates despite benchmark interest rates holding steady, the Antitrust authority launched an investigation into mortgage banks’ pricing practices.

Advocate Michal Halperin, the leader of the investigation, reported: […]

By |June 6th, 2017|Points of Interest|0 Comments

Mortgage in 16 Days @2.4%: A Timeline

February 21: Application received.

The first thing I did was review the contract. The funds were needed on March 1 and there was only a 7 day grace period!

I immediately called the client and told him my feelings regarding the timeframe. “We had a disagreement with the seller which held things up. Do your best”, […]

By |March 10th, 2017|Points of Interest|0 Comments

Mortgage in Israel: Saving $500,000

I wanted to share a recent deal we closed:

Apartment price: $4,470,000

Offer secured through a different broker:

Loan amount: 8,500,000 NIS or 50% LTV – appraisal subject to review

Rate: 4.41%

Life insurance: required

Conversion fee to USD: $25,000
Our offer:
Rate: 3.58%

Loan amount: $2,235,000 -no review of appraisal required

Life insurance: waived

Conversion fee: $0

Total savings over the life of the loan: +$500,000

One […]

By |February 20th, 2017|Points of Interest|0 Comments