A man contacted another in an oral agreement to purchase apartments for investment in the United States, but later discovered that such apartments are not inhabitable.
The Court ordered that the purchaser be compensated but reduced the compensation due to his contributory fault. Under Israeli law a contract can be oral, unless there is a specific writing requirement in a particular law. Transactions in real estate in Israel require a written document, but this is a purchase of apartments outside Israel and therefore the writing requirement in real estate does not apply and the oral agreement is binding. This is an agreement dealing with the purchase of real estate abroad, which is a complex transaction which terms should have been clearly stated and worded in writing, but nevertheless things were agreed upon orally and without the purchaser even examining the property in advance and then a dispute arose. The responsibility for this default rests on the shoulders of the parties equally and therefore the purchaser is of contributing fault and the compensation will be reduced.