לפני שאנחנו חותמות על חוזה שכירות, אנחנו שואלות אם יום אחד היא תרצה למכור את הדירה או רק להשכיר אותה.

Because the subject is אנחנו and the speaker is using the feminine plural form for we. In Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number, so:

• חותמות = feminine plural signing
• שואלות = feminine plural asking

This tells you the speakers are a group of women.

Then Hebrew would normally use the masculine plural forms:

• חותמים instead of חותמות
• שואלים instead of שואלות

So the beginning would become:

לפני שאנחנו חותמים על חוזה שכירות, אנחנו שואלים...

In Hebrew, masculine plural is also the default form for a mixed-gender group.

לפני means before. When Hebrew follows it with a full clause like we sign, it often uses ש before that clause:

• לפני ש... = before ...
• לפני שאנחנו... = before we ...

So ש here is a connecting word introducing the clause.

Not in this sentence. לפני can be followed by:

• a noun
• an infinitive in some cases
• or a full clause

Here the sentence clearly needs a full clause with an explicit subject, we, so לפני שאנחנו חותמות is the natural structure.

Because the verb לחתום usually takes the preposition על in Hebrew:

• לחתום על חוזה = to sign a contract
• literally closer to sign on a contract

Even though English says sign a contract, Hebrew normally uses על here.

It means rental contract or lease. This is a common Hebrew construct chain:

• חוזה = contract
• שכירות = renting / tenancy / rental

So חוזה שכירות literally means something like contract of rental, but in natural English it is rental contract or lease.

Both words are related to renting, but they are not always used the same way.

• שכירות often refers to renting/tenancy in general, especially in phrases like חוזה שכירות
• השכרה often refers more to the act of renting out

In this expression, חוזה שכירות is simply the standard phrasing.

Because the sentence describes two different time frames:

• אנחנו שואלות = what we do now / in general
• היא תרצה = what she may want in the future

So Hebrew is being very natural here: the asking happens now, but her possible wish to sell happens one day in the future.

Here it means whether. After verbs like ask, know, check, and similar verbs, Hebrew often uses אם to introduce an indirect yes/no question:

• אנחנו שואלות אם... = we ask whether...

In English, if is also possible in many cases, but whether is often the clearest translation here.

• למכור = to sell
• להשכיר = to rent out / lease out

A very important distinction in Hebrew is:

• להשכיר = to rent something to someone
• לשכור = to rent something from someone

So here להשכיר is correct, because she would be the owner renting out the apartment.

Because הדירה is a definite direct object. In Hebrew, when the direct object is definite, you usually use את before it.

Here הדירה means the apartment, so it is definite, and Hebrew says:

• למכור את הדירה

If it were indefinite, Hebrew would usually not use את.

Because אותה means it/her and refers back to הדירה. Since דירה is a feminine singular noun, the pronoun must also be feminine singular:

• הדירה → אותה

So להשכיר אותה means to rent it out.

It can mean either, depending on context. Grammatically, אותה is the feminine singular direct-object pronoun. So it can refer to:

• a woman = her
• a feminine noun, like דירה = it

In this sentence it clearly means it, because it refers to the apartment.

Both kinds of word order can appear in Hebrew, but אם יום אחד היא תרצה... sounds very natural. Putting יום אחד early helps frame the whole idea as a future possibility right away:

• if someday she wants to...

So the sentence first sets the time idea, then gives the subject and verb.