Israel was ranked as one of the happiest countries 
We’ve been ranked 11th place, not bad for a place
that people sometimes say “people are rude”
With all that “rudeness”, we are doing something right
Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Earth
Institute at Columbia University released their report for preparation
of UN World Happiness Day this coming Sunday.
* But we didn’t need the world to tell us that, we know the truth
Do you need to sell? 
Do you need to sell within a certain time period?
Do you want/need discretion for personal reasons?
Do you want a good buyer?
Do you want to receive maximum help you can get for your sale?
If you said yes to these questions, then set an appointment with me
If you own an apartment or home and you haven’t moved in yet?
You can get a waiver on payment for arnona . The apartment must be 
empty, there will be a municipality agent to photograph and check verification that no one lives in the property.
I see the date on my phone. It says Feb. 15,2016. Yet, it feels like Spring …. not good. We need more rain. Of course, if its lovely outside why not enjoy mother nature basking in the sun
There is an advantage that second hand homes have that new construction doesn’t have. That is, land.
While you may have large homes , one gets smaller gardens. Second hand homes were built at a time when builders were giving more land.
If you are a buyer who loves garden and it is important to you then you should consider second hand.
I love driving the Hadassah Ein Kerem route coming from Jerusalem towards Beit Shemesh. It is a breathe taking ride, gorgeous all year round, and you make breathe in fresh air. Here are photos of the rainy awesome day.
| *יום מכירה | *תמורה מוצהרת | ישוב | שטח | חדרים |
| 20/05/2015 | 1,037,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 63 | 3.0 |
| 04/06/2015 | 1,565,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 100 | 4.0 |
| 14/05/2015 | 900,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 81 | 3.0 |
| 21/06/2015 | 900,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 67 | 3.0 |
| 22/06/2015 | 1,050,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 116 | 6.0 |
| 30/07/2015 | 980,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 74 | 3.0 |
| 13/08/2015 | 1,000,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 82 | 4.0 |
| 17/08/2015 | 965,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 63 | 3.0 |
| 12/11/2015 | 920,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 63 | 3.0 |
| 06/12/2015 | 990,000 ₪ | בית שמש | 67 | 3.0 |
According to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, rent control is an awful idea considering in Europe its effect on housing causes a rise in pricing. Private homes being used as business offices may not have effected price rising in Beit Shemesh but other parts of Israel, it has.
One serious cause for shortage in residential apartment buildings is the usage of these properties as offices according to Shlomo Ben –Eliyahu Construction Ministry director-general.He said the next government will impose penalties on both tenants and local authorities that don’t crack down.
Tal Alderoti, Justice Ministry’s chief government assessor does not recommend regulators intervene in this branch.
Rental in Beit Shemesh
183-sq.m., 6 room home, in Givat Sharett was rented out for 6,000 NIS
Sale in Beit Shemesh
183 sq.m., 6 rooms, Hachavatzelet street, 2,050,000 NIS
67 sq.m., 3 rooms, Bar Ilan street, 2nd floor, 990,000 NIS
Rental in Jerusalem
142-sq.m., six room house with a storage room on Mishul Haozrad St. in Ramot was leased for NIS 6,500 per month
Sale in Jerusalem
A 68-sq.m. Three-room, third floor apartment with an elevator and no parking on Bialik St. in Beit Hakerem was sold for NIS 1.6 million. A 111-sq.m.
An 84-sq.m., 3.5-room, ground floor apartment with no elevator and no parking on Revadim St. in Arnona was sold for NIS 2.47 million.
The price of 95 octane gasoline will fall from NIS 5.99 to NIS 5.84 on January 1st. The main reason for it is the sharp fall of oil prices on the world markets.
Heat escaping from your home in the winter is from uncovered windows. Heavy, lined curtains which extend below the window frame will insulate your windows and help keep the warmth in. You can even make your own. All you need is a sewing machine or borrow one.
Seal up cracks and gaps around doors and windows, cracks in the walls . One can use a simple door snake for the bottom of the door.
A great way to keep the heat where you want it is to keep the doors to your living space closed. And if your heating system will let you, turn it off in empty rooms.
Warm yourself rather than your whole house. A warm pair of ugg boots and a snug sweater (or a snuggly thermal) could save you hundreds in heating and energy bills!
It’s intuitive, but fluffy blankets should be closer to your skin. Thin, dense blankets should be on top to prevent convective heat loss. Bonus tip: Don’t put your bed directly against an exterior wall. You’ll be warmer if you leave a little space.
If you’re already interested in composting, here’s another reason to do it: The microbial breakdown of organic material produces heat. Some people use it to warm up showers and greenhouses, but even small-timers in studio apartments can feel a difference.
This article is meant to give ideas to children who have elderly parents or parents that can’t care for themselves. I am not sure if the ideas in this article is ideal. Owning a home is a goal we all try to achieve, at least in Israel. To consider a reverse mortgage one must weigh its merits heavily.The new trend in purchasing a home or apartment is having a smaller unit attached to the property so it can either be rented out or used to care for elderly parents.
How to care for two parents at once without going broke
YOUR MONEY
By Chris Taylor
New York (Reuters)- For years, Madeleine Smithberg has been at the forefront of American comedy as cocreator of The Daily Show and a talent coordinator for Late Show with David Letterman.
That sense of humor was especially handy during the last few years. That is because Smithberg had to cope with not one but two elderly parents in rapid decline.”It’s heartbreaking”, says Smithberg, 56 who has a production company in Los Angeles. “And yet it’s invisible, because nobody talks about it”.
Dealing with one aging parent is challenging enough, whether you are helping navigate the complex health-care system, paying for an assisted-living facility or struggling with cognitive decline as the parent slips away. But the emotional and financial stress can be more than double if you are caring for both parents at he same time.
By Ilanit Hayut
GLOBES
The current wave of terrorist attacks has officially hit supermarket sales. Nielsen figures show that consumers bought 7 percent less food and groceries during the first two weeks of October as more Israelis choose to stay home because of the security situation.
Online sales,however, rose by double digits. But their jump did not suffice to make up for the overall gap from the drop in store sales. In that same period, online orders increased 30%.
The increase focused on several categories frequented by parents of young children and on perishable goods. For example, sales of baby formula jumped 151%.
The ongoing produce shortage, which was strongly felt during Succot, and the high prices of vegetables have also affected sales.
Sales of fruit and vegetable dropped (21%), as did cottage cheese (17.8) and bread (12.6%).
Other products that recorded a notable drop included dairy (6.5%), packaged salads (5.5%), oil and vinegar (6.2%) and fresh milk (5.5%).
Supermarkets that deliver in Beit Shemesh:
Supersol – 02-991-5219
Shop online and have it delivered to your home. This system allows you from the comfort of your home ,shop , pay and , have your food arrive at your home without leaving your home.
Super Hatzlacha- 02-991-4337
Shop what you need and have your food delivered to your home. If you live in a building that has lots of stairs, this is awesome. What’s great about this system? If you need or forgot an item last second, you can always throw it into your cart before you fill in your delivery information.
After years of decline in building starts for three-room apartments, Ministry of Construction and Housing figures for building starts in the first quarter of 2015 show an increase in the number of small apartments started. In addition, adjusted Central Bureau of Statistics figures for the first half of 2015 also indicate a surge in construction of these apartments.
According to the Ministry of Construction and Housing figures, construction began on 680 three-room apartments in the first quarter of the year, 5.5% of all the building starts in the quarter. Three-room apartments started totaled 1,764 in 2014, only 4% of all building starts that year, an average of only 441 per quarter, 239 (50%) fewer than the number in the first quarter of 2015.
The Central Bureau of Statistics’ adjusted figures for the first half of 2015 show that construction of no fewer than 1,871 three-room apartments began in January-June., including 1,191 three-room apartments in the second quarter, 57% more than in the first quarter. The first half total is more than the 1,764 three-room apartments begun in all of 2014. The standout cities in beginning construction on three-room apartments were Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Jerusalem, Ramat Gan, and Beit Shemesh.
Continuation of the article – http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-small-apartment-building-starts-up-sharply-in-israel-1001072256
This article offers an idea that could help potential olim in the older bracket who can’t find a job so easily at their age, want, or require extra income.
By Christine Kim 
SEOUL (Reuters)- Ock Mi-eun, 57, has been taking care of her grandson since he was born two year ago so that her daughter could return to work. She receives 1 million won ($830) a month for her services.
It is not unusual for South Koreans to pay their parents to take care of their children. But the number doing so is on the rise, and the arrangement has become more professional as parents increasingly pay the equivalent of full babysitting rates.
“You’ve left your child with someone else: its only being responsible to pay some compensation,” said Ock , who picks up her grandson from his morning day care and looks after him until his mother retrieves him in the evenings.
Child-care classes for the elderly, rare before 2013, have cropped up at public health centers, They typically teach the resuscitation technique CPR, infant massage, feeding and playing with children.
“They’re very eager to learn modern-day child care because so much has changed from their time, and they don’t want to be looked down on by their children,” said Song Geum-re, who lectures at child-care classes for the elderly.
The trend is being driven by changes in South Korea’s population-the fastest-aging in the world. A record share of women work and a high rate of poverty amount the elderly means many older people need the income.
Even though government data shows almost 53 percent of women work, that level is low compared with other member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
As of April 2014, 22.4% of all married women aged 15-54 in South Korea had quite their jobs due to marriage, childbirth or child care, government data shows.
New mother are often deterred from returning to work by a lack of day are, where demand far outstrips available places. A ruling party lawmaker said last year there were 11 children for every day-care spot available, and in the more sought-after government facilities the ratio was 47 to one.
MUTUAL BENEFITS
The share of families whose children were looked after by grandparents rose to 35.1% in 2012, the last year for which government data is available, from 31.9% in 2009.
A survey by the Gyeonggido Family and Women’s Research Institute in 2011 showed nearly 80% of 300 grandparents who regularly took care of their grandchildren were paid.
Suh Moon-hee, a visiting research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said paying grandparents for child care is not new, but the prevalence and the amounts paid have risen, suggesting a more professional arrangement.
“In the past, South Koreans paid a third of what they would have paid visiting babysitters because they regularly gave their parents financial support. Now they pay them full wages,” she said. “It’s more of a transaction for services.”
For many families, enlisting grandparents to look after young children has mutual benefits.
Compensation for child care can be a key source of income for elderly people in South Korea, where government data shows that 49% of those aged 66 and above live in poverty.
One Seoul district began paying monthly stipends in 2011 to grandparents who regularly take care of their young grandchildren. A lack of funding has derailed similar initiatives elsewhere.
The new professionalism among grandparent carers even shares some traits with day-care centers. Many grandparents are strict about working hours, with some cutting off service at 6 p.m. sharp, Song said.
“Grandparents exchange information among their friends who’s being given how much and what not. It’s all businesslike,” she said.
By Roy Goldenberg
GLOBES
US venture capital fund 500 Start-ups is opening an Israel office. The fund, which operates one of the world’s five leading accelerators, has appointed Adam Benayoun and Diana Moldavsky as investment partners. They will be sourcing and investing in Israeli companies as well as supporting the existing 500 Start-ups network in Israel. 500 Start-ups has invested to date sums of between $100,000 and $250,000 in about 1,200 early stage start-ups worldwide.
Benayoun said that the fund plans making 10-20 investments over the next year. The total investment (each of up to $250,000) could reach $5 million. Some of the start-ups will be invited to join 500 Start-ups accelerators in San Francisco and Mountain View.
Founded in 2010, 500 Start-ups is a venture capital seed fund and start-up accelerator based in Silicon Valley with $200 million in assets under management.
By Hedy Cohen
GLOBES
Public transportation fares will be slashed as part of an effort by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon to contend with the work on the light rail in Tel Aviv and to encourage drivers to leave their cars at home. The projected costs of the plan stand at NIS 120 million.
The planned reform of the system would institute unified pricing for each of the major metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv , Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beersheba. It would radically decrease costs by allowing passengers 90 minutes to transfer between different modes of transportation – bus, train,light rail, and MetroFi rapid bus transit systems without paying an additional charge, as long as they remain within the designated area.
The plan also calls for significantly reducing the prices of monthly hybrid passes that allow unlimited rides on both trains and buses throughout the metropolitan area.
For example, under the new regulations, a monthly pass for rail and bus use between Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion would cost NIS 252 instead of NIS 400, a decrease of 37 percent. Between Tel Aviv and Rehovot, the cost of the pass would fall to NIS 286 from NIS 491, down 42%, while commuters making the journey between Tel Aviv an Netanya would save 30%.
By Niv Elis
The housing cabinet on Monday approved two plans to boost housing supply and bring down the cost of apartments, particularly for young couples and first-time buyers.
“Our younger generation has rights, not just obligations, ” Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said. “A roof over your head is a basic right, and it’s our duty to supple one.”
The plans will produce a “massive supply” of apartments aimed at young couples, both in the periphery and high-demand areas, he said.
The first of the plans will broaden a mechanism for doling out subsidized state land to developers who promise the lowest cost for their units. Young couples who are first-time buyers will have first dibs on the apartments, on condition that they do not sell them for five years.
A tenth of the apartments wil lalso be designated for local residents. The land subsidies can go as high as 80 percent of the appraised value of the land, benchmarked from the beginning of June.
In areas where the scheme is expected to have less of an impact, the state will also offer development subsidies of NIS 40,000 to 60,000. The Finance Ministry estimated the grants and subsidies of the whole program would amount to NIS 200,000 on average per apartment unit.
The second plan will allow construction projects that are already in the works to expand by 20% without needing additional approvals. The temporary order, which will apply to buildings that do not yet have a frame built, allows developers to get on=the=spot approval to add more units, on condition that half those units are small apartments (under 75 square meters) appropriate for young couples, and none of the units exceeds 150 sq.m.
The plan is intended to make a quick push for new apartments using existing infrastructure, thus sidestepping the lengthy and costly approval process and need to build further infrastructure to accommodate new buildings.
Local authorities will exact a fee from increased building that they can use toward developing public spaces.
Overall, the Finance Ministry expects its initiatives to get 82,000 units into the planning process by the end of 2015, 45,000 of which will be on state land. The Bank of Israel has estimated that the country needs roughly 40,000 to 45,000 construction starts each year to meet the growing demand for housing.
The plans must still be approved by the Knesset before becoming law.
By Irit Avissar
GLOBES
May appears to be a particularly strong month for mortgage taking due to concerns that the purchase tax on home purchases for investment might rise. Sources in the banking sector estimate that mortgage taking in May might cross the NIS 5 billion threshold, about 10 percent above the monthly average in the past year.
“The past month has seen hysteria for mortgage banks, and contractors have also witnessed and encountered huge demand,” a senior banking source said. Recent months have been strong in the mortgage market. Mortgages worth NIS 5.6 billion were taken in March, with more modest amounts of NIS 4.71b. in April, NIS 4.62b. in February and NIS 4.57b. in January
The positive sentiment began with the cancellation of former finance minister Yair Lapid’s 0% VAT plan, which brought many young couples off the fence and into the market. The aftermath of the cancellation is still being felt.
Another likely factor is that Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon plans to raise the purchase tax on homes bought for investment.
By Hedy Cohen
Globes
The price of a liter of 95-octane gasoline at self-service pumps in Israel is set to rise NIS 0.10 to NIS 6.62 on Thursday night at midnight, May 1, sources in Israel’s energy market believe. The rise is caused by higher oil prices on global markets.
This would be the third consecutive month that fuel prices have risen in Israel after falling sharply to their lowest level in five years in February.
On global markets, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has reached a three – month high of $57.15, and a barrel of Brent crude is selling for $65.28, a three-month high. Prices are influenced by growing demand, dwindling supply and Middle East tensions.
The price of gasoline fell by NIS 0.63 per liter at the beginning of January, by NIS 0.15 at the beginning of December and by NIS 0.27 at the beginning of November due to the decline in the price of oil on world markets.
Tivuch Ida 