[img]96|left|Shachar||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem — It is that time of year again when I have to renew the lease on my apartment. My landlord has not told me how much he will be raising the rent, but I expect it will be a hefty amount since he always increases it. Yet in the three years I have lived here, the only change to my apartment has been the rent. Landlords in Israel are like those nowhere else. Tenants are responsible for everything.

In addition to rent, I pay the landlord's property taxes, the homeowner association dues, gas, electricity, water, heating of water. If I want the apartment painted, I must do it. If I want the air conditioner or lights to work, I must hire the electrician. If I don't want the light bulbs dangling from the ceiling by a wire, I must buy the fixtures. If I wanted a closet, I had to buy an armoire. I use one of the bedrooms as a storage area/closet because my apartment has no closets.

I wanted to cook, so I had to buy the refrigerator and stove. Refrigerators usually don't come with unfurnished apartments, but not having a stove is ridiculous. I also had to buy the washing machine, but there was no room to put a dryer so wet clothes hang on a rack. But, most people do not have dryers and hang their clothes on a line outside their apartment window. I tried that once, but my clothes fell to the street. Without a garbage disposal I must wipe dishes clean and hope the liquids going down the drain don't clog the plumbing with pieces of soup meat and vegetables.

The Only Problems Are Internal

When I first moved into this apartment I was thrilled because it was considered large compared to most Israeli apartments. But the front door was so narrow that my sofa had to be delivered by a crane through the living room window and I am up several flights of stairs. My bedroom furniture was actually built in the bedroom. I am afraid to move because I do not think I can get my furniture out of the apartment. And my landlord knows it. That is why he can keep raising my rent. I am a “fryer,” which means “sucker” in Hebrew.

I figure it would cost close to $50,000 just to fix up this “dump” if I were to buy it. The landlord wanted to sell it last year. Everyone who came to see it said it was too expensive for the condition it was in. Although prices are skyrocketing, it is easy to find places to buy in my town. Renting is difficult. To buy, 30 to 40 percent is normal down payment. On top of that are attorney fees, realtor fees, taxes, and a myriad of other costs so that another 10 percent of the sale price needs to be paid in addition to the initial down payment. Then there needs to be at least one person to guarantee the loan and/or life insurance in order to be eligible for a mortgage.

But, when I look out my windows at the park next door, the synagogue across the street, the blue sky during the day and the starry nights, I realize that only the inside of my apartment is a dump and living here is worth the problems.

L'hitraot. Shachar

Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff who moved to Israel three years ago.