After an asset recovery process that lasted about 4 years, the 'Neot HaPisga' affair came to a successful conclusion, with hundreds of ultra-Orthodox buyers receiving tens of thousands of shekels back.
Judge David Mintz of the Jerusalem District Court ruled about two months ago in favor of the recent buyers of Neot HaPisga (who signed contracts in early 2008) and ruled that "the appellants' debt claim will be recognized, and each tenant will receive additional compensation beyond the recognized debt claims.".
Over the past month, hundreds of buyers have been waiting anxiously for the ruling to be implemented, and on Friday morning, after a complicated and arduous process, they saw their bank account receive a refund estimated at tens of thousands of shekels. It should be noted that one of the people responsible for returning the money was Mr. Pinchas Salzman, who acted in the best interests of the residents despite his large financial losses.
Tenant representative Elchanan Wiener, who was in constant contact with the authorities, says: "Initially, when the company collapsed, the parents of the couples called me worried. Since our building was never built, we were promised that the guarantees would be returned to us, but we refused due to the increase in the price of the apartments.".
At this point, Wiener united all the tenants and, amidst all the claims of the major creditors, he firmly insisted that even the basic demand for a roof would not be affected. "Everything was equal, in the end, they also received the apartments, they also received a refund for the rent they had lost over the years and also the amount they had to add before construction. It was a great divine help.".
Attorney Mencha Beckerman intervened in the case, working day and night out of a sense of mission and justice, so that everyone would receive what they deserve with full transparency, fairness, and honesty. Beckerman did not give up or back down until the successful end.
""I thank MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, who, from the moment he heard about the story, provided immediate response and support, around the clock, down to the smallest details and even on issues related only to specific families, and for that I would like to thank him on behalf of all the residents," says Wiener.
The beginning of the affair
The real estate company 'Neot HaPisga', owned by businessman Pinchas Salzman [who, as mentioned, made every effort to return the buyers' money] and his partners, built the Neot HaPisga neighborhood. Over the past decade, the company purchased 560 dunams of land in Modi'in Illit, which was designated for the construction of a neighborhood, which includes 2,300 residential units, 3 neighborhood employment and commercial centers, and a large central station with an area of 28,000 square meters.
By 2008, the company had managed to build 540 units, and there were also 80 units in the construction stages that were sold "on paper.".
But all plans were cut short.
After a series of events that undermined the company's stability, on March 21, 2011, the company's CEO, Amir Zaken, and an outside director resigned. A major shareholder in the company, Robert Factor, stopped injecting money into its coffers.
Similarly, on 3/23/11, in the dead of night, dozens of buyers invaded the half-built apartments. Some of the apartment buyers found themselves paying mortgages while the houses were not yet built. Following the events, the bondholders called a meeting at which they decided to go to court and demand immediate repayment of the entire debt, due to a NIS 30 million arrears in payments.
As a first aid measure, the Jerusalem District Court jointly appointed the following attorneys as temporary liquidators of the company: Hagai Ullman, Alona Baumgarten, and Adi Figel, under the supervision of Jerusalem District Court Judge David Mintz.
On March 30, 2011, the Tel Aviv District Court approved the announcement of the liquidation of the Neot Pisga construction company. Since the company has accumulated debts of more than NIS 100 million to banks and bondholders, who will divide the remaining assets between them, the situation of the buyers has not yet been clarified.
The state of construction on the ground was: Of the three buildings that remained stalled, two were half-built. After construction work resumed under the management of Attorney Ullman, the project that had seemed stalled and hopeless was restarted.
But the buyers of the apartments in the last building could not afford to be optimistic, since their lot was without a trace of the building. There was talk that, for the sake of the treasury, it would be better to return the buyers' deposits and sell the land - which would harm the buyers due to the increase in apartment prices since 2008, which made it impossible to buy another apartment with the money.
In 5/2011, so as not to lose everything, the buyers of the last building rushed to sign an agreement with the liquidators.
According to the agreement, they were forced to add tens of thousands of shekels and start paying within a month. Most of the buyers who stopped paying for the apartment the moment they heard about the company's collapse, accumulated debt gaps even beyond the original payment, which resulted in high payments. There were those who did not meet them and, in addition to all the troubles, also accumulated interest.
Meanwhile, the liquidators sold all of the company's land through auctions, including those without building permits. Land owned by Neot Pisga was sold for over 200 million NIS.
The secured creditors - the Hapoalim and Jerusalem banks - have already received back about 15 million NIS, and bondholders are also expected to receive the full amount of the debt on 5/20/11, including all interest on the arrears - about 83 million NIS, which opened the possibility of discussing additional debts.
Thus, on 6/15/11, Judge David Mintz issued a liquidation order for the company and the three temporary liquidators were appointed as the company's special managers.
Later, the buyers brought Attorney Menachem Bakrman into the picture, so that she could sue for reimbursement of their expenses.
On 10/12, the construction of the last building was completed, and only after paying the full amount, including the accrued interest, did the buyers receive the keys, when the key delivery date specified in the last contract was supposed to be on 10/08.
As mentioned, after more than 4 years, most of the money was returned to the buyers.
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