Marina Rechter Rubinstein, ReMa Architecture (Photo: Amit Gosher)
Why for every change take a lot of money. Why does every move of a socket cost hundreds of shekels? Is it better to already get a key and renovate from scratch? Why do you need so much money on upgrades? And when will they even start building with you?
"Apartment from contractor". A phrase that has many advantages as well as disadvantages. After all, you get a new apartment. On the other hand, this apartment was designed in a completely standard, sometimes unimaginative design. So what do we do? Entering the apartment as is or renovating?
Architect Marina Rechter-Rubinstein refers to contractor apartments and explains: "The standard that comes today in a contractor's apartment does not satisfy everyone. Upgradeability is limited. Each contractor has his own price list and then you are basically in the hands of the contractor both in terms of suppliers and price. It is not possible to bring in other professionals until the apartment is delivered and in fact the tenant is obligated to work with the contractor and his professionals. This makes sense on the one hand – the contractor wants to speed up construction, even more so when he is responsible for dozens of apartments. On the other hand, the tenant pays for it and a lot."
Rechter-Rubinstein notes that "anyone who buys a contractor apartment wants to upgrade and doesn't always want to do so with the contractor's suppliers. The customer who buys a contractor's apartment does not choose the suppliers, he receives them AS IS from the contractor and they are dictated to him. In most cases when the client proceeds to independently renovate after receiving a key, he selects other professionals, all options open up to him. He's not beholden to anyone."
Marina Rechter Rubinstein, ReMa Architecture (Photo: Amit Gosher)
And maybe the solution is even a shell apartment? "A shell apartment means that the tenant receives the apartment in a shell condition and then the renovation is complete," says Rechter-Rubinstein, this is the preferred and cost-effective option for the client. It allows maximum flexibility. Economically it varies from project to project depending on finishing levels. For the most part, shell apartments are relevant in luxury projects, the contractor does not want to deal with each and every tenant right now. Very few apartments that are not luxury can be received in shell condition."
And yes, it will cost you quite a bit. "Whoever chooses a shell apartment is a client who wants to make a more substantial change and wants to invest in the apartment with all that this entails. Economically, the sky's the limit. The more prestigious the project, the richer the specifications. In most of the projects you have to do quite a bit of an upgrade and everything is very standard. Very variable depending on needs and budget."
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But there is the stage before that - the delivery of the apartment. Building starts are a problematic commodity in Israel today. "The Population and Immigration Authority's decision to bring in another 5,000 workers from China and 5,000 workers from India will reduce wages by about 20% for foreign workers in the construction industry," explains Eldad Nitzan, chairman of foreign manpower corporations in the construction industry at the Chamber of Commerce.
Nitzan says that the decision to sign bilateral agreements with other countries such as India and Turkey to import foreign workers into the construction industry contributes greatly to the industry, so as not to be dependent solely on Chinese workers. "The foreign workers from India are very professional and as evidence, they have been working very professionally in Dubai in recent years. Bringing about 12,000 new foreign workers to Israel will accelerate the construction of tens of thousands of new housing units and halt the rise in housing prices in Israel. The expectation is that towards the end of 10 there will be a decline in housing prices. Today, about 000,2023 foreign workers are employed in the construction industry, and the addition of about 18,000 new foreign workers will lead to a pace of construction of 10,000 new housing units in 2024."
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