Rain in Israel is considered a blessing for the country, providing essential drinking water and helping local farmers, but rain is not a blessing when it enters your property. Creative Estates Israel CEO Shaun Isaacson explains why rain damage occurs in Israeli properties during the winter and how to fix it.

In many houses and apartments in Israel you will see damp patches on ceilings and external walls during the winter, with bubbling plaster and paint a common featureg. If you or your tenants notice that there is water coming through during the rainy season, you may want to send someone to check on the roof, window frames and walls.

Why Do Israeli Homes Leak in the Winter?

Leaks are a fact of life in many Israeli homes, old and new because Israeli buildings are made of poured concrete, stone and tiles, and rain water tends to find and infiltrate even the tiniest cracks. Because the dry, hot summer is significantly longer than the short, wet winter, homes are designed to stay cool and are poorly insulated. White walls, tiled floors, flat roofs and large windows are all excellent for summer living, but they present many challenges during the winter months.

In other countries where houses are constructed out of wood, the issue of water damage is much more serious because wooden beams can rot and collapse. However, in stone and concrete homes the water generally drains through the cracks and dries out, causing no long-term damage but only superficial patches.

Recurring leaks are hard to prevent because water may enter through a crack at one point in the external wall and emerge somewhere else inside, making it very difficult to identify and fix the source of the leak. Fixing one crack does not guarantee that further cracks will not open up, particularly where surfaces are exposed to baking hot sun for extended periods.

Fixing Leaks in Israeli Homes

Israelis love technology, so naturally they have created a solution for the problem of recurring leaks. It is a portable x-ray machine that sees through walls and identifies where the water is coming from. However, it is not a cheap machine and hiring the expert who can use it and read the results of the scan can be very costly. It is usually recommended to use this technology in situations where the source of the leak is hard to identify, in order to minimize the damage involved in opening up walls, floors or ceilings to fix the problem.

The problem of rain collecting on a flat roof is a familiar one, and it can be very difficult to fix the roof in such a way that rain water runs away from the cracks instead of collecting in the same places and making the cracks worse. Roofs – whether flat or tiled – generally only leak in the winter, so that is the busy season for roofing engineers. Calling a roof expert in the summer may be cheaper, but unless you have the roof fixed before the rains stop, it is impossible to know whether the fix that you are paying for is going to work or not. The best advice we can give is to call a recommended roofer as soon as you see any sign of water penetration, so that it can be fixed before the damage gets worse and you can see that the water is no longer coming in.

Leaks around your property can be aggravated by blocked external drains, including in the frames of patio doors, which can fill with water and leak into the house. It is worth noting that holes made in the external walls – for example, where planters or hammocks have been hung from hooks – can invite water inside. In properties facing the sea, the problem of water damage is compounded by the corrosion caused by salt in the water.

Managing Mold in Israeli Apartments

Whilst water damage to paintwork is unsightly, the real problems arise when mold starts to grows on the wet plaster. Mold is troublesome because it can be toxic and can cause health problems. People who live in damp and moldy environments can suffer from throat irritation, coughing or wheezing, eye irritation, or skin irritation, and some people have mold allergies which cause more severe reactions. Black mold must be cleaned off damp walls so that its harmful spores do not spread. It usually cleans off easily with a diluted bleach solution or a mold removal spray, sold in Israeli supermarkets.

The property owner is responsible for fixing leaks, but tenants have a responsibility to mitigate their effects by informing the landlord or property manager and by keeping the property ventilated. Ventilation is crucial to prevent the development of mold and to help wet plaster to dry out between rain storms. However, tenants are often reluctant to leave their windows open in the cold, wet weather. A good property manager will keep an eye on this issue and recommend adding air vents if they see that a room is becoming moldy in the winter.

You will probably want to replaster the walls and ceilings to fix the damage from a leakg, but it is always best to wait for rain damage to dry out completely before plastering and repainting. Remember that the last rains in Israel may only happen in April, so don’t rush to the paint store too soon!

Repainting in the Spring

Recurring rain damage from leaks has given rise to the tradition in Israel of repainting the interior of your home every spring with white paint. It also explains why white is the most popular color for internal walls – not only does it help keep homes cool in the summer, but white paint is much easier to match than other colors!

It may also be a good idea for property owners to paint the outside of the building with waterproofing chemicals, particularly if the building is covered with Jerusalem stone. Although the indigenous yellow limestone is beautiful, giving Jerusalem its legendary golden glow, it is actually porous and not particularly helpful in protecting your property against the rain!

Creative Estates Israel has a team of maintenance experts who spend most of the winter months attending to leaks and water damage, and then repainting the properties that they manage. Contact us about managing your Israel property today.

The new network of light rail lines across the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area will not only relieve traffic congestion throughout central Israel, but it will also change the real estate market in the towns that it connects.

The long-awaited Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area Mass-Transit system is now under construction, starting with nine underground rail stations being built in central Tel Aviv along what is known as the Red Line. These stations will be connected by a light rail network across the city, with multiple train lines reaching out to connect the surrounding suburbs and towns, in addition to and intersecting with the existing bus route network.

NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit System Plan for 2024

Tel Aviv–Jaffa is already Israeli’s largest metropolis, having absorbed many of the surrounding towns into its suburbs. The planned train system will enable commuters to live and work in different towns and to travel to work on public transport instead of sitting in traffic jams.

The Red Line will connect Petach Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv–Jaffa and Bat Yam. The next line slated for construction is the Green Line, connecting Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Holon and Rishon LeZion. Simultaneously, work will start on the Purple Line, connecting Yehud, Or Yehuda, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, Kiryat Ono, Givat Shmuel and Petach Tikva. The Green and Purple lines are planned to open in 2024. Four additional lines are planned, eventually connecting more towns to the commercial heart of the country.

Tel Aviv’s New Red Line

The Red Line will be the first to open, hopefully in 2021. It will start in Petah Tikvah and continue along Jabotinsky Street in Bnei Brak, and through Ramat Gan. The tracks will continue to the Arlozorov train station, run along Begin Street and near the Azrieli Center, from where they will head south of the Kirya to Manshiyya and Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, ending in the southern suburb of Bat Yam. In the future the line may be extended to meet the Moshe Dayan road interchange in Rishon LeZion.

The Red Line will cover a route of 24 kilometers, including 11 kilometers of underground lines running beneath the streets of  Tel Aviv. Twenty-four of the stations will be above ground, and 10 are being built underground. The plan is for trains to run 90 seconds apart during rush hours, and three to four minutes apart during off-peak times.

Planning Ahead

Anyone considering investing in real estate in Israel should check out the plans for the various rail lines and look for properties within walking distance of the planned stations. There is no doubt that proximity to the Tel Aviv Metropolitan rail network will increase the purchase and rental value of properties as commuters discover the benefits of light rail travel in Israel.

Talk to Shaun Isaacson today about opportunities for great real estate investments in Israel, and how we can help you to purchase and manage your properties in Israel for profit.

Creative Estates Israel manages many rental properties in Israel and sends in teams of professional cleaners between rentals and before owner visits. We asked our cleaning crew for the 7 best cleaning products for cleaning house in Israel, so here are their recommendations for keeping your home in Israel clean and shining!

• Economica – household bleach is the universal cleaning product in Israel. It is used generously to clean floors and surfaces, often with pleasant scents added to the bleach to mask its unpleasant smell. It is easy to forget how caustic it is – always wear gloves and beware splashes on clothing.
• Magic Sponge is the secret product that we use to keep our white walls white! Almost any mark comes off with a damp magic sponge, and it is not impregnated with chemicals so it is easy and safe to use.
• Calgon often provides the remedy for those annoying limescale deposits that appear wherever water sits. Because water in Israel is ‘hard’, it leaves behind white calcium deposits. Accumulated deposits can block pipes and inhibit the functioning of kettles, hot water heaters, shower heads and washing machines, so look for appropriate Calgon descaling products for your appliances too.
• Sponga Stick – it’s not a product, but it is the “weapon” of choice for most Israeli cleaners in the war on dirty floors. Simple but effective – simply wrap a damp cloth (shmatter in Hebrew!) around the rubber floor stick and wipe your floors quickly and easily. Sponga is the Israeli way to clean!
• Window Cleaning Spray – this is a no-brainer for keeping windows clean so that you can see the sunshine and enjoy those bright blue skies. However, pick your season – there is no point cleaning your windows in the winter or the spring until the last rains are over, because rain in Israel often carries dust or sand, and you’ll just have to clean them all over again!
• St. Moritz Oven Cleaner – if you need to clean your oven after a spill or to prepare for Pesach, this is the strongest cleaning product we know! It attacks baked-on greasy spills, but it is also highly toxic – open the windows to ventilate the kitchen, wear gloves and old clothes to use this product, and always keep it far away from children.
• Vinegar – some people swear by natural cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda because they don’t like using dangerous chemicals. Vinegar can often help to remove light limescale marks and to clean windows, so you can save your chemical weapons for the heavier cleaning tasks.

If cleaning house in Israel sounds like hard work that you don’t have time for, the Creative Estates Israel cleaning and maintenance team would be happy to take care of your Israel rental property. Talk to Shaun Isaacson about our property management services today.

If you are renting out a house or apartment in Israel, one of the most important features to potential tenants will be the kitchen. Shaun Isaacson of Creative Estates Israel explains how to add value to your Israeli property by renovating the kitchen.

As in many other cultures, the kitchen is often the center of a Jewish home. Family life and social life in Israel tends to focus around eating, so your tenants may expect a fully-equipped modern kitchen in their rental apartment. So here are some helpful points to consider before you start to renovate:

Kosher Kitchens

Not everybody in Israel is religious, but a 2016 poll revealed that even one-third of secular Israelis said they keep a kosher home. This usually involves keeping dairy and meat dishes in separate cupboards, washing them in separate sinks, and sometimes – at the more religious end of the spectrum – even having two separate ovens. You may have to consider the size of the kitchen and practicality of installing multiple sinks and appliances, but there is no doubt that advertising a kosher kitchen will add to the rental value of your property in most areas of Israel.

Israeli Plumbing

Depending on the age of the building in which your kitchen is located, you may encounter practical challenges when trying to upgrade the plumbing. Installing a second sink, for example, may involve adding additional water and waste pipes. It is not recommended to throw food waste down the sinks in Israel because the pipes are often narrow and can become blocked easily. Unblocking pipes will usually be the landlord’s responsibility, so you may want to install filters in the kitchen sinks that can be easily cleared. For the same reason, sinks with food disposal systems are not common in Israeli kitchens. You will save yourself money in the long term if you help your tenants to avoid kitchen sink disasters and pipe blockages.

Chilling in Israel

Refrigerators and freezers are an essential feature of any Israeli kitchen. Because of the hot weather during most of the year, some Israeli cooks will keep almost all their ingredients in the refrigerator. It is considered good practice to keep flour, rice, sugar, and many dried herbs and spices refrigerated to avoid possible infestation and to conserve their flavor. When planning your kitchen renovation in Israel, we recommend leaving large gaps for your tenants’ to install their refrigerator and freezer.  Some tenants may also want to install a cold water dispensing machine, which requires a thin pipe from the main cold water feed.

What is Shayesh?

When potential tenants walk into your new kitchen, they may ask about the ‘shayesh’. This is a catch-all Hebrew term that describes the kitchen surfaces that are usually made from stone. When renovating your Israeli kitchen you may want to choose natural granite or marble, but we recommend installing counter-tops made from caesarstone or other engineered stone materials. The advantage of these part-synthetic stone surfaces is that they are heat-treated and less likely to crack or show scratches. They are cheaper to install and maintain and will keep your kitchen looking good!

Creative Kitchens in Israel

Creative Estates Israel has renovated numerous kitchens in our clients’ rental properties. We have a team of contractors who have extensive experience in the various tasks involved in removing the old kitchen and installing a new one. We recommend that our clients talk to us before bringing in an expensive kitchen company, because we can always beat their prices and install a great-looking kitchen for less. Talk to us today about your rental property and any renovations that you require.

A typical Israeli kitchen renovation – taking it back to  the basics!