I first met S. when the phone rang during a busy working day between Yom Kippur and the eve of Sukkot – one of the busiest times of the year, when the Holy City fills with visitors from abroad arriving to celebrate the festival.
On the other end of the line was a pleasant and courteous man. He introduced himself, described in general terms what he was looking for, and asked whether I had anything interesting to offer him.
After more than three decades in real estate and conversations with thousands of people, one’s instincts and internal sensors become finely tuned. When you encounter someone with positive energy, an open heart, and a subtle sense of humour, you immediately want to work with them.
I asked him several questions to better understand and define his requirements, and I soon knew exactly what he was looking for: the kind of property and opportunity for which dozens of buyers sit patiently on waiting lists.
As always in life, timing is everything.
Just two days earlier, an exceptionally complex opportunity with extraordinary potential had landed on my desk: a neglected historic building designated for preservation, situated in a prime and highly sought-after location on a double plot, with preliminary approval for additional building rights – and, as a bonus, a protected tenant, just to ensure that nothing would be too straightforward.
I explained the complexities, advantages, and challenges to S., and we arranged to meet at my office two hours later.
During our meeting, we displayed the plans on the large screen in my office.
I presented my vision for the property: what could be created from the existing structure, the planning changes I believed would be necessary to transform it into a luxurious boutique building, and how we could design a dream home for him and his family – one in which they would be truly happy to live.
The additional apartments we would create could be sold on the open market. Alongside the development profit, S. would also have the right to approve and select his future neighbours.
We prepared a detailed business plan projecting the anticipated profit after all expenses. The moment had arrived to make a decision.
Before he did, I looked S. directly in the eyes and spoke to him with complete honesty:
“You are about to fulfil a dream and build a home in the Land of Israel.
However, the reality here is entirely different from what you know in the United States. In Israel, things are rarely black and white – there are shades of light grey and dark grey.
Matters that appear straightforward today may become complicated tomorrow.
The bureaucracy can wear you down, and you will need an abundance of patience and faith. But with the right team, this journey will end successfully, with an extraordinary permanent home of your own in Jerusalem.”
S. listened carefully and replied:
“I have heard many stories about Americans who came to do business in Israel with considerable wealth and returned home with very little. I am not sure that I can manage such a complicated venture from the other side of the ocean.”
I fully understood his concerns and responded:
“I have accompanied dozens of complex development projects like this.
Clients who recognised the limits of their own knowledge, placed their trust in us, and relied on our professional experience reached the finish line satisfied and with a profit.”
S. considered my words and said:
“I am prepared to proceed, on one condition: that you accompany and advise me at every stage of this journey.”
We shook hands.
The first and most critical step was assembling the right team. In a transaction as complex as this, no two teams are alike – each project requires a tailor-made group of professionals.
We brought together an experienced and highly respected real estate lawyer whose personality was also well suited to S., an international tax specialist capable of bridging the tax laws of Israel and the United States, and a leading financial adviser specialising in financing for foreign residents.
Once the acquisition structure had been finalised, we assembled the implementation team: a meticulous project manager, an experienced building contractor, an architect to handle zoning amendments and permits, an interior designer, and a landscape architect.
We began the journey with cautious optimism.
As expected, the complications were not long in coming.
Surprisingly, the protected-tenant issue was resolved quickly.
However, planning and engineering challenges emerged one after another over the years. Anyone who believes that a construction and preservation project can be completed without obstacles probably lives on another planet.
Nevertheless, with a united and committed team, we overcame every challenge through patience, transatlantic telephone calls, and Zoom meetings that continued into the small hours of the night.
Through the revised planning process, we created eight exceptional luxury apartments and penthouses. We chose to market the project discreetly and off-market, with the goal of building a high-quality, like-minded community.
The results exceeded every expectation. Eight outstanding families – each personally approved by S.-joined the project, and the apartments sold for more than double the prices projected in the original business plan.
Over the years, S. went from being a client to becoming a close friend and almost a member of the family.
I had the privilege of joining him at family celebrations and his children’s weddings in the United States, and our relationship became part of our daily lives.
During Chol Hamoed Sukkot, exactly seven years after that first telephone call, we all gathered to celebrate, with great joy and splendour, the building’s dedication and the welcoming of a Sefer Torah for the communal minyan established there.
S. received the keys to a rare and spacious home, large enough to comfortably accommodate his entire family and the grandchildren who, thank God, had been born during those seven years.
Today, I meet the building’s other purchasers as old friends – whether sharing a meal in their beautifully designed Jerusalem homes or visiting them in the United States, where they graciously open doors for me and introduce me to other families seeking to participate in our future projects.
To my mind, real estate is not about concrete and steel. It begins and ends with people.
With good and honest people, it is possible to cross oceans, overcome every obstacle, and build remarkable things.
The sparkle and emotion in S.’s eyes at the dedication ceremony – as he described to everyone present the journey from that first telephone call to the moment he fulfilled his dream of building a home in Jerusalem – were worth the world to me.
We work extraordinarily hard, investing our heart, soul, and all the experience accumulated over many decades, precisely for special moments like these: the privilege of helping another eight wonderful families establish joyful homes in the Land of Israel.
