land assessor in Israel

Land assessors and the profession of land assessment

The field of real estate and construction has acquired tremendous impetus in the past few decades in Israel, and, as a result, the need for land assessors has steadily grown. Land assessment in Israel, which is a statutory profession, is one of the liberal professions and its status is defined by Israeli law and by various institutions in Israel. Land assessment is a multidisciplinary profession that requires knowledge not only of the theory of land assessment but also of a wide range of subjects, such as construction engineering, mapping, surveying, laws and ordinances, planning and construction, economics, taxation, accounting and funding. It can be said that the role of the land assessor is to thoroughly learn and understand all the components of a real estate deal.

Land assessment includes the assessment of the value of real estate properties because the need for assessment stems from the very nature of the real estate market, where there is no central arena of commerce and where there is thus a need for carrying out individualized value assessments. In accordance with Israeli law, land assessment must be conducted by a certified land assessor.

The work of land assessors is multi-variegated and is multidisciplinary. Land assessors evaluate and establish the value of the owners of land rights, advise on real estate investments, deal with land taxation, etc. The work of land assessors has connections with all categories of real estate and, in order to conduct value assessments and provide expert land assessment opinions, land assessors must see the property and carry out various checks on such subjects as the current planning situation, the current legal situation, the property's surroundings, etc.

To obtain a license to work as a land assessor in Israel, you must have a university education, must past all the examinations of the Council of Land Assessors in the Israeli Ministry of Justice (in accordance with the law on land assessors in Israel) and must complete a one-year period of specialization (internship). If you have met the conditions of certification, you can be registered in the registry of land assessors in the Israeli Ministry of Justice and receive a license to work as a land assessor in Israel.

Land assessors - institutions and legislation

The work of certified land assessors in Israel must comply with many regulations and laws, including the law on land assessors and the supervision of the Council of Land Assessors. In order to work in their field, land assessors must be registered in the registry of land assessors (which is maintained by the Council of Land Assessors in the Ministry of Justice).

The following are the principal laws and institutions governing the profession of law assessment in Israel:

• Council of Land Assessors - The Council of Land Assessors in the Israeli Ministry of Justice derives its mandate from Israel's law on land assessors. The council's chief functions are to maintain the register of land assessors, to conduct certification examinations for land assessors, to register interns, to supervise the process of internship in land assessment, to handle complaints of conduct unbecoming the profession of land assessment, etc.
• Bureau of Land Assessors in Israel - The Bureau of Land Assessors in Israel is a recognized association whose goals are to organize and represent land assessors in accordance with the Israeli law on land assessors, to protect the interests of the profession, to represent land assessors vis-a-vis all bodies and all authorities, to establish and safeguard the rules of professional behavior among land assessors, to deal with the legislative aspects of the profession, etc.
•  The law on land assessors - The law on land assessors, 5761 - 2001. This law is binding on all certified land assessors and all those who have a license to work as land assessors in Israel, and obligates them to operate in accordance with the definitions of the law, professional regulations, and the ethical rules applying to assessment; to be registered in the registry of land assessors; to take certification exams; etc.
• The law on planning and construction - The Israeli law on planning and construction assigns land assessors a number of key functions in the fields of planning and construction: the conducting of assessments related to property improvement, the drawing up of balance tables, the evaluation of the doubling of value (fine for construction deviations), the conducting of an assessment in connection with expropriations, compensation for damages due to planning, etc.
• Professional ethics - The regulations on ethics and the code of conduct for land assessors are of immense significance for the profession; they determine the rules of conduct and general regulations and cite those activities that are not becoming to the profession.

Situations demanding an evaluation by a land assessor

The following are some of the instances requiring an evaluation by a land assessor:

• Land taxation - The planning and reduction of land taxes
• Assessment of the value of a property before purchase/sale and the conducting of comprehensive checks of the property
• Examination of the property's characteristics for the purpose of investment; examination of the value of the rights to a property
• Liquidation of a partnership related to a property; distribution of inheritances involving property
• Land assessor's expert opinion on a property before the submission of a proposal to a tender
• Land assessor's expert opinion on a property submitted to a court of law
• Drawing up of balance and distribution tables
• Responsibility for and consultation on the leasing of properties, real estate deals, and payments to the Israel Lands Authority
• Advice on expropriations of fields and buildings
• Estimates of compensation payments for depreciation
• Obtaining of building permits and rights
• etc.

In addition, in the business sector, land assessors sometimes accompany projects, promote real estate projects, estimate the value of properties owned by companies, deal with the planning of land taxes, conduct negotiations for the purchase of properties, accompany discussions and committees, help in the submission of bids for tenders, etc.

It is important to know....

Many people who purchase apartments and other properties in Israel are unaware of the immense importance of the work of the land assessor, who accompanies the purchase/sale deal, carries out comprehensive checks on the property in question and provides the client with a large body of significant data on that property. In many cases where the purchasers of apartments did not use the services of a certified land assessor, they were hurt in economic terms and in terms of their quality of life; they could have avoided such a scenario had a land assessor accompanied the deal concerning this property.

The services of a certified and experienced land assessor can help you in the purchase or sale of a property: You can save a lot of money in the future and, of course, you can avoid any impairment of your quality of life.

For further information on Israel's most comprehensive package of pre-purchase land assessor checks, click here.

How to choose a land assessor

Before hiring a land assessor, you must make sure that the land assessor in question has a license to work in this field, has professional experience, and is familiar with a number of subjects in the field of land assessment. You must also make sure that the expert opinion of this land assessor will, if needed, be admissible in a court of law.

The land assessors in our company

Miki Edelstein Land and Agricultural Assessments and Economic Counseling Ltd. was founded in 1998 and is a leader in land assessment in Israel. Over the past decade, the company has provided  comprehensive land assessment services to clients in the public, business and private sectors. It has enabled them to benefit from a broad parcel of services and from the adapting of optimal solutions to their particular needs.

For the company's profile, click here.

The company is headed by its founder, Miki Edelstein, who also serves as its executive director. Miki is a graduate of Bar Ilan University in the fields of economics and business administration, and a graduate of the Technion in the fields of land assessment and property management.

Additionally, Miki is recognized by the Council of Land Assessors in the Israeli Ministry of Justice as a certified land assessor (license no. 434). He is a member of the Bureau of Land Assessors and a member of the Academy for Research and Applied Studies in Land Assessment in Israel, and has vast experience in real estate, construction and infrastructures. Our office employs a team of expert land assessors who work under Miki. Every land assessor in our company is recognized by the Council of Land Assessors, has a license to work as a land assessor and has immense experience in the field.

Furthermore, our land assessors all have a unique area of expertise in addition to their expertise in land assessment: Our team includes, for instance, agronomists, engineers, economists and certified surveyors.

Our company's operations comply with the international quality control standard, ISO 9001:2000, which enables us to upgrade the nature and quality of service we offer our clients. The company encourages its staff members to participate in professional conferences and training programs and sees to it that they are continually updated on new standards and legislation relevant to the field of land assessment and on developments in the sphere of real estate.

Our many areas of expertise, the amount of knowledge and experience we have acquired, and our expert team of land assessors enable us to provide comprehensive, integrated professional service to all our clients and to offer optimal solutions to meet their particular needs in the fields of land assessment and real estate in Israel.

The road to a solution begins when you contact us.

To contact us, click here.