Building a Home From Scratch in Jerusalem
If you are looking to build a home from scratch in Jerusalem, the first place to start is finding a suitable plot or building to purchase.
We have helped a number of clients with these types of searches - these are often not advertised in the same way or places as 'regular' properties and requires a bespoke search to be undertaken.
If you are interested in finding a suitable plot to build, please contact us directly and we will be delighted to be of assistance - sales@capitil.com
Pros of Building From Scratch in Jerusalem
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Fully designed and built to your needs - Unlike buying a property ‘off-plan’ in an existing development, building from scratch means that you can do almost anything that you want (within your budget of course) with the design and layout of your property. It’s an incredible opportunity to get a home that perfectly fits all of your needs.
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Lower cost (potentially!) - Obviously you can spend a small fortune on a building project if you choose to, but with care and some work finding the right suppliers and contractors, you can potentially build a new house for less than an equivalent second hand home would cost you.
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Less maintenance - The fact that the property is brand new means that there will by definition be less to maintain. Additionally, even if something does require fixing, many aspects of the build and appliances will be covered by warranty or guaranty for several years to come.
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Up to date - Building a brand new property means that your apartment or house will be up to date with all the latest standards, requirements and technologies, so you won’t have to mess around with that 20 year old heating system.
Cons of Building from Scratch in Jerusalem
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Long Planning Times - The planning and approval process in Jerusalem is notoriously slow to navigate. While certain developments benefit from a fast track approval (e.g. in theory TAMA 38 projects can be approved within 2 years), approval for building from scratch can take many many years.
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Availability of plots- There aren't that many plots or buildings suitable for complete redevelopment available in the main neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. The owners of these plots know that and often prices are higher than would be expected for such property.
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Construction Risk - There’s always a risk that there will be unforeseen problems during the construction phase, either with a flaw in the design, or an error made by contractors while building it - these are risks normally taken on by the developer to fix before they handover the apartment to you or non-existent in the case of a second hand property (since it has already been built).
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Time to move in - Building from scratch takes much longer than completing a transaction on an existing property. You will need to have the time in order to be able to go down this route.
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Visualising from Plans - Unlike a second hand home, which you can actually visit, walk around and sit in, a brand new home can only be visualised through plans, drawings, renderings and computer mockups (unless it’s a standard design in a large project with a showroom, which is rare). It can be difficult to visualise from plans what the property will be like to live in.
* This page is part of the CapitIL website guide to buying property in Jerusalem. You can jump around to any of the articles using the guide menu. The next page in the guide after this one, is Purchase Tax.