Institute for Mediation, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Sell, buy out a spouse or stay temporarily in the family home in Israel

Compare sale, buyout and time-limited occupancy against the same figures. Separate ownership evidence, a mortgage payoff and the monthly cost of two homes.

Three housing options and the missing fact for each
ItemWhat you knowNext question
SaleExpected proceeds and one-time costs.Obtain a payoff figure for the same date.
BuyoutPayment to the other spouse and funding plan.Who seeks borrowing and who remains liable to the lender?
Time-limited useMonthly costs, review point and proposed end.What if a building repair or funding decision is delayed?
Three paths from one apartment for sale, buyout and temporary occupancy
Start with the same figures for all three options. Each has different cash needs and external approvals.
In this guide
  1. A date on the school calendar
  2. Make a dated record of the flat and the debt
  3. Understand what each figure buys you
  4. Test three choices against two ordinary households
  5. Put all three choices on the same date
  6. Work out what a completed sale could leave
  7. Test a buyout against the cash and the monthly budget
  8. Give temporary use a budget and an ending
  9. Find out who can give you the answer
  10. Work out what changes hands on each date
  11. Keep a delay from becoming an expensive surprise
  12. Hold a short meeting while the choice is still open
  13. Fill in a working sheet for the bank or an independent adviser

A date on the school calendar

Asha had the school calendar open when David suggested handing over their flat in July. “That would give us until the holidays,” he said. She ran her finger down the page. The holidays started before the date he had in mind. Their son would be at home while they packed, and the bus he took to school from their hillside neighbourhood would be of little use if they moved across town. David looked again at the date. He had been thinking about when they could get the flat empty. Asha had been thinking about where everyone would sleep that night.

There was another detail the calendar did not show. Asha’s aunt sometimes stayed at the flat after an appointment nearby. She could manage the path from the upper road but struggled with the steps from the lower one. When David said there were plenty of smaller flats in the area, he was picturing the buildings they passed in the car. Asha was picturing the walk from the bus stop with an overnight bag. Neither had yet looked inside a flat that was actually available for the week they might need it.

They had three possibilities in mind. They could sell and both move, see whether one of them could keep the flat and finance a buyout, or let one household use it for a limited time while they got answers. Each possibility addressed a real concern. A sale might give both households money for a move. A buyout might let their son keep one familiar base. Staying put for a while might spare them a rushed decision. Each also depended on something they did not yet know, including when money would be available and whether either household could manage until then.

If you are having this conversation, try putting an ordinary school morning beside the proposed handover day. Ask where your child wakes up, who has the keys, how the journey works and what you would have to pay for before leaving home. Asha realised she had allowed for movers but had left out the money needed to secure another flat. David realised that his idea of staying with his brother covered a few nights on his own. He had never asked whether his son could stay there too. Those were two different gaps. Knowing the likely selling price would close neither of them.

Make a dated record of the flat and the debt

Start with a question you can answer by looking at a document. Where do your names appear, and what flat does the document describe? In Israel, the relevant evidence for a particular home might include a Land Registry extract or a confirmation of rights from the body that maintains the rights record. If what you have is a purchase document, a mortgage statement or a municipal bill, call it that. A familiar address at the top of a page does not tell you what the page establishes. If you are unsure which body holds the relevant record, leave that question open until you have an answer for this flat.

In Asha and David’s fictional file, a Land Registry extract issued on 4 May 2026 showed both names against the entry they had identified as their flat. Asha also had a much older purchase document in a folder labelled “house.” Rather than use the folder as shorthand, she wrote down the name of the extract, its date and the entry they had checked. When David asked whether the parking space they used was included, neither could point to an answer on the copy in front of them. They kept the parking question open. They did not turn the appearance of their names into a calculation of what either person would receive.

Their bank statement answered a different question. It gave a loan balance as at 30 April 2026. The mortgage payment happened to leave David’s current account each month, so he knew the outgoing amount almost by heart. That told them something important about his present budget. It did not tell them who the lender held responsible for the borrowing or what the lender would require to release anyone. For those questions they needed the loan documents and a response from the mortgage provider about their particular loan. Moving the monthly payment to another account would answer only the question of where the money came from.

David had already spoken to someone at the bank. “They said they could look at it,” he recalled. In their record, the useful detail was that the conversation took place on 7 May 2026 and concerned a possible refinance in one name. No written decision had arrived. They wanted to ask the bank what information it needed, whether its answer would be conditional, and what separate steps would be needed for a change in responsibility for the existing loan. If a written reply arrived later, they would keep its date, its conditions and any stated period of validity with it. A response about considering an application could then be read in its own words.

Keep the same care with a proposed change to the rights record. Ask the body maintaining it what documents and acts it would require for the change you are considering. Record what it has actually confirmed and what is still awaiting a reply. This makes it possible to say something quite precise in mediation. “We know whose names appear on the May extract. We have the April loan balance. We have asked about a change, and we are waiting for two different answers.” Either spouse can then explore a housing choice without presenting that choice as confirmation from the bank or the registry.

Begin by establishing where the rights are recorded. The Ministry of Justice issues an extract for property registered in the land registers. For property managed by the Israel Land Authority, the authority lists ₪81 for a rights confirmation. Where a housing company or another housing body also manages the property, the authority describes a notice of recorded rights issued without a fee. That notice does not replace the legally effective confirmation from the managing body. Neither document tells you the current loan payoff. Keep the source of title information separate from the lender that can answer about debt or release of a borrower.

Understand what each figure buys you

Asha and David had two professional quotes on the kitchen table. One, dated 8 May 2026, was for preparing a sale listing. It described what the agent would do and suggested an asking price. The other, dated 11 May 2026, was for an assessment requested for the lender’s review. It set out the assessor’s fee and the proposed visit. “Which one are we using for the flat?” David asked. In fact, the second document did not yet contain an assessed value at all. Reading the description of the work before comparing the figures saved them from treating a fee quote as a second opinion on price.

A listing figure helps you discuss how a home might be offered for sale. Ask what the agent has assumed about the flat, the parking and the proposed handover. A buyer who needs to move in before the holidays may respond differently from someone who can wait. An eventual offer has its own amount and timing, and money promised for a later stage cannot fund an earlier move. If a lender’s assessment is completed, record the date the value relates to as well as the report date. Read what the assessment covers and ask the lender how it will use it. An assessed figure alone tells neither spouse how much the bank would lend.

The bank figures also need names and dates. The balance on an April statement is useful for understanding the debt recorded that day. For a proposed sale on another date, ask the provider for a written figure for settling the loan on the proposed date and an explanation of what that figure includes. Check whether any item shown separately is already included in the total. Otherwise it is easy to deduct a cost once as part of the settlement figure and again under a different heading. If the handover moves, mark which dated answers need refreshing before relying on the calculation.

Timing matters even when the arithmetic is simple. Suppose, purely as a fictional budget in Israeli shekels on 12 May 2026, Asha has NIS 18,000 available for her move. A flat she is considering would require NIS 6,000 for the first month and a refundable deposit of NIS 6,000 before she gets the keys. Movers have quoted NIS 2,000. Paying all three from that pot would leave NIS 4,000 available. Only one month’s rent is included. The deposit uses cash now even though it might come back later, and the movers are a one-time expense. None of the NIS 4,000 depends on a sale completing.

That example gives Asha a better question than “Can I afford the move?” She can ask what the remaining cash must cover before her next income arrives. David can do the same calculation using money actually available to his household. A shared account balance cannot appear in full in both budgets. A possible buyout payment belongs on the date it might be received, with the conditions still attached. Keeping the two calendars separate shows whether a choice that looks workable over a year leaves one household short in the week it needs keys.

Test three choices against two ordinary households

Before discussing which home either of you prefers, describe the least expensive arrangement that would actually work for each household. For Asha, a second bedroom sounded essential until she explained what she needed it for. Her son needed a dependable place to sleep on school nights, and her aunt occasionally needed somewhere accessible to stay. Different layouts might meet those needs. For David, living close to school sounded optional until he tried the morning journey from his brother’s place. The first bus that would get his son there on time left before David could finish an early work shift. A shorter distance on a map did not solve that problem.

Look at a real alternative closely enough to price an ordinary week. Ask when you could get the keys, what money is due then and what the building costs each month. Walk the route from the entrance to the bus stop. Find out how the return trip works when a child has an after-school activity and misses the usual bus. Include the cost of that journey in the household that expects to make it. Asha could describe access for her aunt as important while still asking how often an overnight stay was likely. These are practical needs to discuss. They do not establish what either spouse is entitled to receive.

With a sale, follow both households from the first viewing to the first night elsewhere. Asha and David could ask an interested buyer about timing before treating a July handover as settled. They would need to compare the timing of actual receipts with the dated loan settlement figure and the costs of selling and moving. Until they know what money each can use and when, “we can both rent once we sell” leaves a crucial week unaccounted for. One household might need temporary accommodation while the other can move directly. That difference belongs in the comparison even if both expect eventually to live near the school.

With a possible buyout, run the conversation from both doorways. The spouse hoping to stay needs to know what the provider would consider, what assessment it requires and whether the resulting monthly budget would leave room for ordinary living costs and repairs. The spouse moving needs a credible date for funds and a clear answer from the provider about any continuing loan responsibility. David might be comfortable with Asha keeping the flat and still be unable to commit to a new home on the strength of a pending application. Asha might manage the present mortgage payment yet find that the proposed refinance would leave too little for the school journey and household bills.

With time-limited use, describe the waiting period in terms both households can recognise. If Asha and their son stay in the flat while a lender reviews an application, where does David live during that same period? What does each household expect to pay for electricity, building charges, travel and its own accommodation? A working budget can show who expects to pay a bill without deciding anyone’s legal liability or whether any payment is owed for use of the flat. Give the waiting period a proposed end date and arrange a conversation early enough to look again at available homes. Ask what each household could do if the assessment has arrived by then but the lender’s decision is still pending.

For Asha and David, the question that brought the comparison into focus was surprisingly small. “If the keys have to change hands during the holidays, where does our son put his schoolbag for September?” A sale required two plausible answers and a way to fund both moves. A buyout required one new home and written answers about the old one. Temporary use gave them time to investigate, but David still needed somewhere his son could stay. They could return to the calendar with a dated record of what they knew, two household budgets and a short set of unanswered questions that mattered to the next move.

Put all three choices on the same date

Asha and David want to know whether one of them can keep their flat in an Israeli hillside neighbourhood. David would like to stay if he can afford it. Asha needs to know how much money she could actually use to set up another home. Selling would answer some of their questions, but a handover during the school holidays could be awkward. Their first useful step in mediation is to pick a date and work out what each choice would mean on that date. Otherwise it is easy to compare the proceeds of a sale today with the cost of a loan that might become available several months from now.

Their figures are fictional, all in Israeli shekels (ILS), with 1 July 2026 as the reference date. They use ILS 2,400,000 as a working figure for the flat. Nobody has offered that amount. Of the two professional quotes on their kitchen table, one gives the fee for listing and selling the flat, payable on a completed sale in this example. The other gives the cost of an assessment for a lender. The listing quote helps them estimate a selling cost. The assessment quote tells them what it will cost to obtain an opinion for a particular purpose. Neither establishes the price a buyer will pay or the amount a lender will advance.

They separate the papers according to the question each can answer. The record from the body that registers rights in their flat is where they start checking whose rights are recorded and what else appears against the property. Their loan documents are where they check who undertook obligations to the bank. A dated payoff statement addresses a third question, namely what the bank would require to settle the existing loan on the reference date. Asha can want her name removed from the loan even if she and David agree who will live in the flat. Moving out will not give her the answer she needs from the bank.

Asha draws another distinction when David says there is plenty of money in the flat. “What could I use for a deposit on a place next week?” is a different question from “What might I receive when everything goes through?” They keep the flat figure, the amount each might receive and the money each already has in separate columns on their own working sheet. They also keep a monthly budget. Money left after paying the bank once is a capital figure. Money left after groceries, travel and housing each month tells them whether the proposed living arrangement is affordable in practice.

Work out what a completed sale could leave

For the sale comparison, Asha and David start with the hypothetical ILS 2,400,000 price. In their example they have a bank statement giving a payoff of ILS 800,000 for 1 July. The figure includes the bank’s stated charge for settling on that date. A balance shown in their banking app would have been a weaker basis for the calculation because it would not answer the same question. If a buyer proposes a later payment date, they will need the bank’s figure for that date. They cannot simply carry the July figure forward or subtract all the monthly payments they have made since July.

The sale listing quote would cost ILS 36,000 at the assumed price. A separate written quote for professional work on the sale comes to ILS 12,000. Both are total prices for the work described in this fictional case. Subtracting the ILS 800,000 payoff and those two one-time costs leaves ILS 1,552,000. That is the modelled net from the sale after the costs they can identify. If a further payment turns out to apply, they need its basis and amount before treating this figure as complete. An unresolved question belongs beside the result, where both can see it. Entering zero would make the result look more certain than it is.

For comparison only, they try an equal division of the modelled net, which gives ILS 776,000 apiece. That assumption says nothing about their actual shares. Nor would ILS 776,000 be available to either of them on the day they put the flat on the market. Asha asks which proposed buyer payment would go towards the bank payoff, what would still be outstanding after that payment and when money could reach her own account. Those are questions worth taking back to the people handling the sale once there is an actual offer. Until then, she keeps the proceeds out of the balance she could use to secure another home.

Handover also has a cost beyond the quoted sale work. Suppose Asha obtains a moving quote of ILS 4,000 for her own move. If she pays it from her modelled ILS 776,000, she has ILS 772,000 left for her other purposes. David’s moving costs belong in his own calculation. If both instead use one removal service and pay its invoice from the sale proceeds, they deduct the invoice there once. The question about the school holidays then becomes quite specific. Can they give a buyer the requested handover date and still move straight into their next homes, or would one of them need somewhere to stay and somewhere to store furniture between moves?

Test a buyout against the cash and the monthly budget

For a possible buyout, they keep the same date, currency and working figure for the flat. Subtracting the ILS 800,000 payoff from ILS 2,400,000 gives ILS 1,600,000. On their fictional equal share assumption, the starting estimate for a payment to Asha is ILS 800,000. That is ILS 24,000 more than her modelled receipt on a sale because this calculation does not deduct half of ILS 48,000 in sale costs. They have not engaged anyone to sell the flat under the buyout option. If either wants to discuss a different basis for the estimate, they can name it openly instead of quietly deducting a listing fee that the example would never incur.

David has ILS 350,000 available for the transaction after setting aside the money he wants to keep for ordinary expenses. In addition to the estimated ILS 800,000 payment to Asha, the lender’s assessment would cost ILS 3,000. A written quote for the other work involved in switching the financing and handling the proposed transfer is ILS 9,000. In the example these are separate costs, and neither includes a charge already counted in the payoff. David therefore needs ILS 812,000 for Asha and those costs together. Applying his ILS 350,000 leaves a gap of ILS 462,000 before addressing the existing debt.

If the old loan has to be paid off in full as part of a refinance, David would need ILS 1,262,000 in new borrowing under those assumptions. Of that amount, ILS 800,000 would settle the old loan and ILS 462,000 would cover the gap. He can cross-check the arithmetic by following the money. His cash and the proposed new borrowing total ILS 1,612,000. That covers one payoff of ILS 800,000, one payment to Asha of ILS 800,000 and ILS 12,000 in costs. If the existing loan can instead continue on changed terms, he needs a fresh calculation based on what the provider actually offers. The ILS 462,000 gap alone tells him little about his total monthly bill.

For a household budget test, David tries a purely hypothetical new monthly loan payment of ILS 7,400. He puts ILS 2,100 a month beside it for municipal and building charges, insurance and a maintenance allowance, bringing the housing total to ILS 9,500. With illustrative take-home income of ILS 16,000 and other ordinary spending of ILS 6,000, he has ILS 500 left in a month. He looks at what “ordinary” included. If he omitted a regular journey to school or counted an annual insurance bill both here and in the housing total, the remainder would mislead him. The full loan payment belongs in this cash budget, including the part that repays principal. He cannot spend that part on another bill.

Asha’s question for the lender is whether it would release her from her existing obligations, on what conditions and at what point she could verify that it had happened. David needs to know what assessment the lender will accept and what payment terms it would actually offer him. They also need to ask the body that records rights in this particular flat what documents and steps it requires for the proposed change. Paying for an assessment buys the assessment. It does not secure financing, a release or a change in the rights record. Asha would want to know how those steps fit together before relying on the proposed payment for her next home.

Give temporary use a budget and an ending

A short period in the flat could give David time to obtain the lender’s answer and Asha time to arrange her move. They test a period from 1 July through 30 September 2026, with David occupying the flat. The opening reference point is the same ILS 2,400,000 working figure and ILS 800,000 payoff used for the other choices. Keeping that reference lets them see what changes during the three months. It leaves open what figure they would use for a later buyout. Asha’s older relative sometimes stays at the flat. Knowing whether a visit is planned during the school holidays matters now, while they can still discuss sleeping arrangements and who will have keys.

During temporary use, the existing loan continues. Its fictional monthly payment is ILS 5,200. David tests a budget in which he pays it, along with ILS 900 for municipal and building charges and ILS 700 for utilities and insurance. That makes his monthly cash outflow for those items ILS 6,800, or ILS 20,400 over the three months if the bills follow the estimate. Asha separately budgets ILS 4,300 a month for her temporary accommodation, or ILS 12,900 over the period. They can now see the cost of keeping two homes going. Neither person’s monthly total answers whether any payment is due to the other for use of the flat.

Suppose the bank’s statements later show that ILS 6,000 of the three loan payments reduced principal. David still needed the full ILS 15,600 in cash to make those payments. When they revisit the sale or buyout figures, however, the updated payoff should already reflect the reduction in principal. Subtracting ILS 6,000 again from that payoff would count the same reduction twice. Crediting David with ILS 6,000 in a division of proceeds is a separate proposal they would have to discuss. For that conversation they have the payment record and the bank’s breakdown. Neither the cash David spent nor the change in principal establishes how they should divide anything.

They set a review for 1 September, early enough to do something with the answer before the end of the month. They would meet sooner if the lender gives a decision, asks for something David cannot provide or offers terms that leave his monthly budget short. At the review, “the bank is working on it” would be less useful than knowing which document is outstanding, who can supply it and whether there is a date for a response. If the assessment has already been paid for, it remains a real expense even if the buyout falls away. In a later sale calculation they can show it as money already spent, separate from the cost of listing the flat.

For this example, the temporary use ends on 30 September. If a buyout has been completed by then, David’s continued occupation can be considered on that new basis. If no buyout has been completed and they have made no fresh decision together, their planning assumption is that David moves out by that date. At the September review they would therefore check his alternative accommodation, the arrangements for keys and how the flat would be looked after if empty. A sale could still take time. Ending temporary use and completing a sale are two different events, and the bills may continue between them. The question they need answered before July is concrete. If September comes without a lender decision or a buyer, can each of them afford and carry out the next move they have pencilled in?

Find out who can give you the answer

Start with the piece of information that could change your next housing decision. If David hopes to buy out Asha, the immediate question may be whether she can count on having money for a deposit on another flat by the time she moves. David can tell her how much he hopes to raise. His relative can say she would like to help. Neither answer tells Asha when she can put down a deposit. A useful question for mediation is “What would I need to see before I could book a move that costs money to cancel?”

Keep the papers about the flat separate from the papers about the borrowing. A current record from the body that holds the rights record for your particular flat is evidence of what that record shows. Note its date and the names and entries as they appear. If an entry is unclear, preserve the wording and take the question to an independent adviser. A mortgage statement answers a different question. It shows information about a loan at a point in time. A balance alone tells you neither what either spouse owns nor what the provider would require before releasing anyone from liability. Ask the provider to identify the borrowers on its records and explain what confirmation it can give about each person’s position.

Asha and David have two professional quotes for their hillside flat. One is for preparing a sale listing. The other is for an assessment requested in connection with borrowing. Before either spouse pays, they can ask each professional what the quoted fee covers, who receives the work and when the fee becomes payable. A suggested listing price will not tell David whether the provider will accept the flat as security for the funding he has in mind. He can ask the provider whether it will accept that assessor and that type of report before commissioning it. Even an assessment the provider accepts leaves the funding decision open.

Treat offers of family help with the same care and a little tact. “I can probably help once my savings become available” may be entirely sincere. Ask whether the relative has a sum available today, whether they expect repayment and when they could give a firm answer. David might decide he would rather leave the offer out of his working budget than press his relative for details. That gives Asha an honest figure to work with. It also gives David room to explore the offer without turning a family conversation into a promise about her moving date.

Work out what changes hands on each date

A handover can have several dates even when everyone calls it “the move.” Someone takes their clothes to the new place. Furniture leaves later. A set of keys changes hands. A utility account still carries the name of the person who moved out. Put an actual day beside each event you can arrange yourselves, and leave the others open until the person or organisation responsible has answered. If a date falls in the school holidays, check who will have the children that day and whether the new place will be ready to sleep in that night.

For Asha, a practical handover might start with taking the children’s beds and leaving the spare room furnished until an older relative finishes a visit. David needs to know whether that means one more night or an uncertain stay. The relative needs to know who can let them in and where their belongings will be afterwards. Asha and David can arrange those details directly. If they are considering a sale, they should take any proposed overlap in occupation to their adviser before telling a prospective buyer when the flat will be empty. An arrangement that works inside the family may depend on someone outside it.

Follow the money through the handover as carefully as the keys. Find the next mortgage debit, check which account it comes from and ask who will check there is enough in that account on the day. For electricity and water, take meter readings together if accessible, keep a dated photo and ask the supplier how it processes an account change. A final bill may arrive after the move. Make sure the person who receives it can get it to the other spouse. If one person covers a bill to keep service going, record the payment once and leave any disputed allocation for discussion.

Call the insurer with the proposed sequence of events. Explain who expects to be living in the flat, whether there may be an empty period and when belongings will leave. Ask what cover the insurer confirms for each period, whether any action is needed and when a change would take effect. Keep its answer with the handover dates. A spouse who says “I’ll handle the insurance” has taken on a phone call. The call is complete when both people know what the insurer said and which question, if any, still has to be answered.

Where sale of a home is required to implement a balancing of resources, section 6A of Israel’s Spouses (Property Relations) Law addresses circumstances in which the court considers suitable alternative housing for the minor children and the spouse with whom they live, including suitable temporary arrangements. It concerns a particular context for implementing a sale. That provision alone does not decide who can remain in your home, for how long, or what payment is due. Keep the family’s practical housing options separate from any legal question requiring advice on your situation.

Keep a delay from becoming an expensive surprise

A useful fallback starts with a decision you can still control. Suppose David has sent the provider everything it requested, but the funding answer has not arrived when Asha must decide whether to reserve another flat. Ask the letting agent what money she would have to pay, on what date and what she could recover if the move fell through. She can then decide whether to let that flat go, ask for more time or use funds she already has. Record the date of the provider’s next update separately. An expected phone call is a poor basis for a payment Asha cannot afford to lose.

Give a possible sale its own fallback. A buyer may express serious interest and then withdraw before the couple has money available to move. Ask the listing professional what work has already been done, what is still booked and which costs would arise if the listing continued or stopped. If a sale has progressed beyond a listing, ask your adviser what the particular documents and events mean before making promises to another buyer. The first household question is simpler. Can each person still cover the coming month where they are, and what moving expense can still be postponed?

A necessary repair can interrupt a period of temporary use even if the move itself is going smoothly. Imagine water leaking from under the kitchen sink while David is staying in the flat. He can turn off the water if he can do so safely, tell Asha what has happened and photograph the leak. Ask the repairer to distinguish the work needed to stop the leak from replacement of a cabinet that can wait. If insurance might be relevant, ask the insurer how to report the damage and what evidence to keep. Save the invoice and the insurer’s response without counting on a reimbursement that has yet to arrive.

Use a cash figure to see what the repair does to the next week. In a fictional budget dated 4 November 2026, David has ILS 6,000 available after setting aside that month’s mortgage debit. He has allowed ILS 3,200 for food, utilities and travel, and ILS 1,000 for a van. That leaves ILS 1,800. If he pays an ILS 900 repair invoice from the same money, he has ILS 900 left after those planned expenses. The van is already in the calculation. The mortgage debit was set aside before it began. This tells David what he can pay this month. It leaves open how he and Asha will ultimately treat the repair between them.

Hold a short meeting while the choice is still open

Give the meeting one question small enough to answer. “Can either of us confirm a moving date today?” works better than trying to settle the whole future of the flat. Bring the latest provider message, the next payment date and the calendar showing when the children are out of school. If the message says an assessment has been received, read the words together. Asha can reasonably ask what happens next. David can reasonably say he does not know yet. They now have a specific question for the provider instead of an argument about how optimistic David sounds.

Give each person time to explain what waiting costs them. Asha might say, “I can stay with my sister through the holidays, but she needs her room back when school starts.” David might say, “I can cover the next debit. I need to check what I would have left if I also paid for another month here.” Neither needs to defend a preferred housing choice to make those facts relevant. The mediator can ask which decision expires first. It may be Asha’s chance to arrange somewhere to sleep, several days before the next mortgage payment matters.

Keep a small decision record in ordinary speech. A useful entry might read, “Today we could confirm who will meet the repairer. David has the appointment and will send Asha the invoice. The provider has received the assessment. We still have no funding date. Asha will check how long the room at her sister’s is available. We will speak again on Thursday after David calls the provider, even if there is no answer.” That is enough for both people to remember what happened. It records no conclusion about the future of the flat or who should bear the cost of the leak.

At the next meeting, start with what changed. If the provider still has no answer, ask what remains under review and when it can next give an update. Then look at the room, the debit and the repair invoice. A short extension of temporary use needs a practical check of that period’s bills and occupants, even if it feels like carrying on as before. Set the next conversation before the earliest decision that would cost either person money. This gives both people a chance to reconsider while there is still something they can change.

Fill in a working sheet for the bank or an independent adviser

Use the following paragraphs as a sheet for one appointment. Fill in the spaces you can, write “unknown” where an answer is missing and keep a copy of the documents you refer to. Prepare the sheet for the person you are meeting. The bank can explain its loan records and its own process. An independent adviser can help you understand a rights entry or a question about liability and identify what you need from the relevant registry or provider.

We are asking about the flat identified in our papers as . The housing decision we face this week is . We need an answer by because on that day one of us must decide whether to . The latest rights record we have came from and is dated . The entry we want help understanding reads . We would like to know whether a more current or different record is needed, who can obtain it and what the relevant body must check or do itself.

Our mortgage provider is . Its latest statement is dated and shows a balance of ILS . The next debit we can see is ILS on from the account ending in . Our question about who is currently liable for this borrowing is . If the loan were to change or be repaid, we need the provider to explain what figure to request for the intended date, what steps would be required for each borrower and how each person would receive confirmation of the outcome.

As of , the cash I can actually use is ILS . Of that amount, I have already set aside ILS for . My ordinary household expenses through come to ILS , excluding amounts already set aside. The one time expense I may have to pay first is , estimated at ILS on the basis of . The money I hope to receive later is ILS from . I have kept it outside the available cash figure because . Each spouse can complete this paragraph separately so that a balance held by one person does not appear in both budgets.

The professional quote we are considering is for . It costs ILS , payable when . The person or organisation that needs to accept the work is , and the answer we have from them so far is . While we wait, the flat will be occupied by until . The current payment or repair that needs attention first is . The person checking it is . If funding is delayed or the sale does not proceed, the first booking, bill or living arrangement we need to reconsider is on .

The precise question I want answered at this appointment is . The answer I received, in the adviser’s or provider’s own terms, was . The document or confirmation still needed is , and I expect to hear from on . If that date passes without an answer, I can still . I will take this sheet back to mediation on , before I need to spend money or give up a place to stay.

A conversation to try

The home is to be sold. What happens in the meantime?

If we have agreed to sell, I want to move out next week.

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