What we do
Everything from the first applicant to the day the keys come back. Here is exactly what we take on, and what stays with you.
Handing over a property is not delegating a task. It is delegating a chain of responsibilities. The tenant has to be able to pay. The lease has to stand up in an Israeli court. The rent has to arrive. The charges have to be settled. And the apartment has to come back in the state it went out.
Each of those links breaks for a different reason. That is why our work is split into four distinct jobs, held by the same team, under the responsibility of Eric Chouraki and Franck Zeitoun.
Marketing, viewings, tenant selection, lease drafted by a law firm, condition report.
Rent collected, deposited to your account, building charges reconciled.
Contractors, quotes, insurance claims, preventive maintenance.
The apartment is inspected twice a year and every guarantee is in place before the keys change hands.
It starts with an honest rent figure. Pricing too high costs two months of vacancy, which is more than the difference you were hoping to gain. We work from rents actually being paid in the street, not from asking prices in listings.
An apartment lets on its photographs first. We have the property shot by a professional and write the listing ourselves, leading with what actually decides a tenant: the light, the floor, the parking space, the mamad, the schools nearby.
The listing then goes to our applicant list, built up since 2012, and out through our own channels and local network. A share of our lettings are agreed before the listing has had time to circulate, simply because someone was already looking for that kind of apartment.
We take the calls, filter the enquiries and hold the viewings, including evenings and Friday mornings when people are actually free. After each round you get a report: how many came, what they said about the property, and what is holding them back if anything is.
We meet the applicants, check their employment and their ability to pay, and require a guarantor. An incomplete file is a refused file. It is the least pleasant decision to take and the most profitable one over time.
Every lease is drafted and reviewed by a specialist law firm, and that service is included in the management fee. The lease sets the term, how charges are split, the exit conditions and above all the guarantees required from the tenant.
It also provides for the rent to be uprated, indexed to the cost-of-living index. That is what stops a rent agreed today from drifting away from the market three years later, without reopening a negotiation at every renewal.
Dated photographs, meter readings, an inventory of the equipment. That is the document that lets you tell, two or three years later, the difference between fair wear and damage the tenant owes for.
Before the tenant moves in we check the general condition and everything that tends to fail first: the air conditioning, the solar water heater, the plumbing, the electrics. A fault caught before handover is repaired once. The same fault discovered by the tenant in week one costs an emergency call-out and opens a conversation about the rent.
What sets us apart
Most intermediaries have you sign an agency agreement: a commercial document that organises their commission and the introduction. Useful to them, worth nothing the day a tenant stops paying or hands back a damaged apartment.
At GII, everything runs on legal instruments. The lease, the deposit, the guarantor’s undertaking, the Shtar Chov, the insurance certificate: each document is drafted and reviewed by a specialist law firm, and each one is enforceable. That is the difference between a file that stands up in an Israeli court and a file that collapses.
This legal work is part of the management fee. It is not an option and not an extra.
Rent is collected and deposited to your bank account. If a payment is late, the chase goes out immediately: arrears dealt with in the first week are almost always resolved, arrears left for three months become a legal file.
If the delay sets in, we do not stay at the polite-reminder stage. The law firm writes to the tenant, then starts proceedings if the situation requires it. You have nothing to arrange from abroad and no lawyer to find in a hurry.
We also track the charges that surround a property, and there are several of them in Israel:
| Charge | What it is | Usually paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Vaad bayit | Building committee fees, upkeep of common areas, lift | Tenant |
| Arnona | Municipal tax, based on floor area and zone | Tenant |
| Water, electricity, gas | Consumption in the apartment | Tenant |
| Exceptional vaad bayit | Works voted by the building: facade, lift, roof | Owner |
| Building insurance | Cover on the structure itself | Owner |
The exact split is fixed by the lease we have signed, and we explain it to you before the property is marketed.
A tenant reporting a leak wants an answer the same day. We take the call, send a tradesman we know, and pass you the quote before committing money that is yours.
Preventive work matters as much as repair: a descaled water heater, air conditioning serviced before summer, roof sealing checked before the winter rains. Modest sums that prevent expensive damage.
This is where it is all decided. Exit condition report against the entry one, a figure put on what is damage rather than wear, deduction from the deposit or a call on the guarantees, then works to get the property back on the market without losing weeks. We run the works and send you the quotes.
Between two tenancies, some works pay for themselves in a few months of rent and others never do. We tell you which is which: a refreshed kitchen, a redone shower room or a replaced air conditioning unit do not carry the same weight in an applicant’s decision.
Inspections and guarantees
Three documents and one habit. That is what separates a quiet tenancy from a file that ends up with a lawyer.
The security deposit is collected before the keys are handed over, not promised for later. It covers arrears and any damage found when the tenant leaves.
The tenant provides a guarantor and signs a Shtar Chov (שטר חוב), a promissory note for an agreed amount that becomes enforceable if the property is damaged.
The lease requires the tenant to hold third-party liability cover (צד ג׳), which protects you against damage to the apartment, the common areas or the neighbours.
The habit is the twice-yearly inspection. Twice a year somebody walks into the apartment, looks at the walls, the equipment and the upkeep, and flags what needs dealing with. A fault caught in time costs a call-out. The same fault found when the tenant hands back the keys costs a refurbishment.
We do not handle short-term holiday letting. It is a different trade with its own rules and its own rhythm, and mixing it with long-term management serves neither.
We do not give tax advice. We supply your accountant with the statements they need, and point you to an English-speaking professional in Israel if you do not have one.
We do not charge for management we could not deliver properly. If a property sits too far outside the area we cover, we say so before signing.
Good to know
Finding and vetting the tenant, drafting the lease and the guarantees through the law firm, condition reports in and out, rent collection and transfer, reconciliation of charges, coordination of repairs and claims, and the twice-yearly inspection.
What remains yours are the costs that belong to an owner: works, building levies and taxes payable by the owner, and insurance of the structure.
Small everyday repairs are dealt with straight away so that nothing is left to get worse. Beyond that, you receive a quote and we wait for your approval before committing your money.
The split follows the lease: routine upkeep falls to the tenant, structural repairs and worn-out equipment fall to the owner.
We chase from the first day the rent is late, then use the protections written into the lease: the deposit already collected, formal notice to the guarantor, and the Shtar Chov where the situation warrants it. You are told at every stage, and the law firm takes over if proceedings become necessary.
Yes. The Israeli market rents mostly unfurnished or part-equipped, with a fitted kitchen and air conditioning, and we handle furnished lettings as well, adjusting the inventory in the condition report accordingly.
We do not handle short-term holiday lets. That is a different business with different rules.
A few minutes are enough to locate your property, estimate a realistic rent and tell you exactly what management covers. In French, with no commitment.
