3 room with an option - what does that mean?

You may have seen in various publications 'three-room apartment with an option', so in the following article, we will explain what this option is and what you need to check before buying such an apartment.

To answer this question, we need to give a brief introduction to construction in Israel. Each Lot of land has a specific designation. This designation determines whether a school or a residential building will be built, and how many square meters can be built in the specific lot. The designation is defined in a plan called the 'Taba', an acronym for 'City Building Plan'. Once there is a specific designation for the lot, you can request a building permit to build according to the designation.

For example: If a developer purchased a lot on which a 3,000 square meter residential building can be built, the developer will design a building that contains 3,000 square meters and submit an application for a building permit. The developer can also design a building with 2,800 square meters, but if he tries to build more than 3,000, he will probably encounter a refusal from the municipality.

In the event that the developer does not use all the meters designated for the plot, he can sell these rights to apartment owners in the building so that they can use them in the future.

Neve Shamir's plan stipulates that each project will have 3-room apartments that will have future building rights, usually an area of ​​10 to 20 meters per apartment.

However, there are conditions for this construction option:

1. A building permit can only be submitted after 3 years of occupancy of the building (Tofes 4)

2. Construction must be done together with all the other apartments with the option in the building.

The meaning of the second condition is that the consent of all apartment owners is required, but there is also the possibility of asking the municipality to waive the second condition and allow construction of the option even without the consent of all the owners of the option apartments.

What is the cost of the apartment and the construction?

Today, 3-room apartments of 83 square meters with an option can be found for 2,100,000 NIS. To such an apartment, you can add about 15 meters at an estimated cost of 150,000 NIS, so that for a total cost of 2,250,000 NIS, you can get a 4-room apartment. A similar 4 room similar apartment would cost around 2,500,000 NIS, about 10% more.

It is important to pay attention to the location of the additional room. Sometimes the option is at the expense of part of the balcony, or even of the Succa balcony, and sometimes it is 'up in the air' and depends on the construction of the neighbor below. It is also important to pay attention to where the additional room will be located in the house. Will it be next to the other rooms or will it be off the living room, which is great as an office or a guest room, but would be less comfortable as another bedroom.

In conclusion, 3-room apartments with an option are a good and economical option for those who can currently make do with a 3-room apartment, but would like a fourth room in the near future, but it is important to understand the meaning of the specific option in each apartment.

If you would like to receive details about 3-room apartments with an option for sale in Neve Shamir, click here.