Last week the Knesset Finance Committee approved a bill by
Chaim Katz (Am Echad) that would provide homeowners flexible
mortgage payment dates.
The proposal would allow individuals to choose either the
1st, the 10th or the 15th of every Gregorian calendar month,
similar to the standard policy at credit-card companies. The
bill would give everyone with an outstanding mortgage loan
four months to alter the payment date without having to
supply any explanation.
At a Finance Committee meeting it was also decided that once
every 4-5 years a campaign would be held to allow people to
change their payment dates.
The banks agreed to set the fee for changing payment dates at
NIS 200. If the borrower has more than one outstanding loan
at the bank, the fee for the second and third loans would be
an additional NIS 50 each, with a maximum total fee of NIS
300.
This fee is lower than the NIS 400 charged by banks to alter
the terms of the loan.
