Every seller would like to sell their home fast and for the best price possible. Unfortunately, several sellers have adopted a method of simply deciding to sell their home, and then placing a few adverts or spreading the word. We can help boost up your selling process with 10 tips on selling your home fast, and for the best price:

1) Price it right

A badly priced property will quickly become stale on the market. If you’re not sure of what price to ask for, simply check what other properties in your area are selling for. You can do this by visiting several real estate Malta websites and searching for similar properties.
2) Depersonalize it

Remove any personal items you may have running around. Ideally, your buyer would feel an immediate attachment to the place, but would only feel like an intruder in your home if your attachment to the property is visible. (more…)

Not every room within a property in Malta comes blessed with abundant natural light. Practically every piece of real estate in Malta has one – that light-eluding space that causes you to switch on the light bulbs even in broad daylight. This article is not about choosing lighting for a dim room but rather on how to lighten up the room naturally during the day before it gets dark. There are a number of practical and sometimes simple measures which can be adopted to make a world of difference to your dim spaces. You may be able to make some of the more radical changes suggested or perhaps adopt a few of the ideas that are less complicated to fulfil. Read on….

First things first – your dim room/space hopefully has a window. Check out the size of the window in comparison to the rest of the room. If the window looks out onto a narrow shaft, check to see if there is enough space to get the window slightly enlarged to allow more light to stream in. An architect or builder may be able to tell you if this enlargement is possible and safe to accomplish. If you do opt for a larger window, be sure to choose a window frame tha (more…)

The economy today is different to that from a few years ago. As it continues to change, our budgets also change. Taking out an insurance to cover the contents of your household may seem to be an extra payment we think we can do without, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves – home insurance should never be considered optional.

The average household continues to see bills rising, a trend that is showing no sign of slowing. Gas and electricity tariffs are also on the increase. A household’s fuel bill has increased by a good percentage over the past few years while food prices continue to spiral. On top of all these increases, a home insurance (more…)

It’s normal to be excited when buying real estate in Malta as this is not something you do every day. One may very well get carried away and purchase a property and realise later that they have overlooked the fact that the property had latent damages or hidden defects not visible to the layman’s eye, which could, a year down the line, turn your life completely upside down.

What you thought might have been a house you’d like to settle in for a substantial number of years turns out to be a property you may want to get rid of just after a few years. And what’s the cause for such a decision?

On purchasing a property, many – especially if they are first time buyers in Malta - fail to anticipate certain little defects that may turn out (more…)

Some of the most exhilarating rooms are especially important visually because they are decorated around a central theme. The theme becomes the characteristic by which this room is identified and may become the be-all and end-all of the room’s very existence.

But it takes some talent to actually know where the characteristic turns into becoming overwhelming and when to stop rubbing it in. Take colour. Some people decide their living room is going to be centred around red. So they go…. red settee, red curtains, red statement wall, red figurines, red painting – all you see is red. Typically this will be your red room, but the theme has now turned into exaggeration and seeing red (more…)

No it’s not a feature about weddings. If you follow the latest in interior trends, you will realise that mixing the old with the new is what the current inclination is all about. Grandma’s old table is actually something to vie for as it may add that certain ‘wow’ factor to your room. But how daring can one be when it comes to mixing old and new furniture and furnishings in any given room? I meet up with interior designer Vera Sant Fournier to ask her advice….

“Placing two distinctly different styles in the same ambience is all about creating a very delicate balance so that no piece is fighting for attention and no style must feel like it wants to dominate the scenario. You must plan ahead very carefully and decide whether it s (more…)

Two is two’s company….. three’s a crowd. They also say that once you have three of the same, you can already start boasting a collection. It might be three books by the same author, just as likely as three still life paintings. When you’re doing up your home, you have to take into consideration your collections, whether they are still in their initial phases of growth or whether they are fully-fledged collections that make other collectors drool from their eyes.

 What constitutes a collection?   (more…)

Bank of Valletta have come up with an intriguing new package for prospective home loan customers which targets the first time buyers in Malta but also aims to strengthen the refurbishment and second property market. The bank is also offering some very attractive discounts on its own fees as follows: (more…)

So you have just bought a new apartment in Malta and whilst it’s got the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, it does not actually boast of grand open-air space. In fact that small back terrace seems rather cramped, bare and miserable. You’re luckier than your neighbour, next floor up, whose only open-air access is a minimalist balcony, just one-foot deep. So you feel blessed in that respect. (more…)

When talking to people involved either in the Malta property market or in the auctioneering business, one is struck by the fascination with antiques that has gripped the local home-lovers.  

When in the mid-60s the laws governing the importation of foreign furniture were revised it seems as if the passion to own antique furniture, pottery, porcelain, silver, glass and metalwork objects was given a boost. The advent of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti (Maltese Heritage Foundation) in January 1992, besides highlighting the islands’ cultural heritage and its welfare, was instrumental in creating an awareness about the joys of possessing antique objects which could boast of an existence beyond that of its owners. 

The art of collecting anything really, antique or modern, is limited by two factors; the money available and the space that it would occupy. Having determined these essentials it then becomes a personal matter. The taste of the collector may lead to watches or clocks, teapots, or innumerable other things. The lucky acquisition of an admired piece may lead to a determination to get more of the same, branch out onto other items, or at least to find out what the admiration is all about.

(more…)

According to sources close to the Malta property market, there seems to be one piece of furniture that is desired by most of the contemporary house buyers. These comprise the younger generation, or the first-time-buyers, right down to expatriates and other foreigners seeking real estate in Malta or Gozo.

As some ancient auction catalogues witness, Maltese furniture on the local market has always been around. However until the late seventies, when compared to other existent and imported furniture, Maltese antique furniture was not so much in demand. Malta’s colonial era, with its heavy dependence on the presence of the British Forces, had encouraged the consideration of certain foreign furniture as more prestigious and, in say catalogues from the 1940′s, the EM symbol, standing for ‘English Made’ frequently embellishes descriptions in catalogues.

Since the eighties however, following a period of stringent restrictions on the importation of antique furniture, indeed all furniture, under the auspices of protecting the local manufacture, saw a dwindling of requests in furniture emanating from a foreign market. Interest had shifted until it became focused on Maltese furniture and that naturally entailed a more inward looking search for Malta-made goods in general.

The past three decades have experienced a complete renaissance of the Malta-made product which now graces the antique market that has, as result, grown considerably in confidence. Besides, in these days of credit-crunch difficulties it has come to embrace fairer and sounder investments. Maltese antique furniture has become a most lucrative opportunity. This may be gauged by the mushrooming of local antique shops each with their own niche markets; a new and younger generation of buyers together with a stronger awareness and knowledge for the antiques world. Fairs, exhibitions, antiques courses, and well advertised and attended auctions also contribute to a general strong market feeling.

All these changing trends however, have never infringed on that ‘one piece of Maltese furniture’ whose value and appreciation has withstood the test of time, having gained the respect of buyers throughout generations.

More commonly known as l-Arloġġ tal-Lira (the one-pound clock) this unique Maltese wall clock could be found in palaces, convents, stately homes and Auberges of the Knights of the Order of St. John, especially during the late 18th century. Apart from telling the time, these clocks also served a decorative purpose. This rendered the clock’s case designer, as different from the actual maker of the clock movement, into a very important artisan.

A knowledge of fashionable taste, an understanding of furniture design, proportion, the rules of architectural composition, the art of ornament and an ability to appeal to the purchasing public, in this case, a discerning clientele, was, and still is, the responsibility of the case designer.

With comparatively rare exceptions such designers have remained anonymous in contrast to our knowledge of the actual clockmakers. With such decorated clocks it seems that this happened everywhere else in Europe except for one notable exception. In France of the eighteenth century, the case design of clocks was considered to be such an art-form in itself, that one may find lists of the case designers, but not the clock-makers whose work with the movement of the clock, was judged to be a necessary but not a dominating feature of the product.

The origin of the Maltese clock is unclear. What is remarkable is that a small island country was able to sustain an indigenous clockmaking trade. They were produced over a period of around one hundred and fifty years solely for the local market at a time when only the aristocracy and the Church could afford them. 

The older and more prestigious ones are often visually decorative; gilded and coloured. The dial painted with scenes or flowers, and the general effect is always pleasing. The clocks also contain varied images of landscapes and seascapes while some have floral motifs. Some feature scenes of Mdina and the Grand Harbour. Early examples had just the hour hand and later ones also had a minute hand.

My interest in antique Maltese clocks was instilled by the magnificent exhibition organised by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. It was held in April 1992 in ‘The Great Hall’ of the Auberge de Provence, Valletta, and seventy-three examples of these clocks were displayed, together with a selection of mantel and grandfather types.  Also exhibited were some clock movements including one from a turret clock, various sundials, and a full-scale diorama of a fully equipped clockmaker’s workshop of the period. The vast variety of the uniquely lavish and ornate baroque timepieces on display in this memorable exhibition were manufactured exclusively in the Maltese islands.  I wonder how many of these clocks can be found around the Islands of Malta in Malta properties that were rented in the old times and if the owners even understand the value, not only monetary.

Written by Tony Cassar Darien

When you first walked into your new Malta property, you were faced with a bare paved back yard. It could have been a bare terrace, or a bare patio. Whatever sort of outdoor space your piece of real estate in Malta could boast of, was very outdoor but also very bare. Glum predicament, and although the Malta real estate agent tooted about it and its potential, now that you’ve bought it, you still have to find a way of arousing that potential. If you don’t exactly have green fingers, then you will need some practical advise on the easy way around getting it revamped.

First consider how large your given space is. Then determine what you want to do in it. If its small size fluctuates somewhere between that of a spare bedroom and a bathroom, then you are probably just hoping for enough elbow space in which to stretch out and gasp in some fresh air. But don’t lose heart – even the pokiest outdoor space can be totally transformed if you only put your mind to it.

1. Clear up the space from any rubbish in the corners and take stock of the character of the place. Does it have high walls all around? Does it have a balcony which overlooks a lovely sight or one which overlooks more brick and mortar? Does it lead anywhere else?
2. Is the outdoor space very sunny, semi-shaded or very shaded? This will determine the kind of plants you will need to include when you start off your greening list.
3. Decide on a colour scheme. You might fancy terracotta walls or whitewash, or a primary colour like blue. You might decide to have some sort of mosaic detail on one wall or perhaps just leave the walls in natural stone and decorate with the greenery. One of the most exciting walls I have seen was a whitewashed backyard wall carrying an impressive collection of terracotta sun plaques.
4. For those who are faced with four bare walls, the good news is that bare walls are excellent for climbing plants. These can be helped in their climbing by the addition of pretty wooden or plastic trellises that can be easily attached to the wall. If you seek the advice at a reliable nursery, you will be able to get a fast-growing plant which potentially also produces flowers, such as the white stephanotis. Using this plant against a terracotta coloured wall is great for visual impact.
5. Choose succulents such as the Paddle Plant or the Sempervivum for sunny areas. These grow so easily in Mediterranean Malta. If you manage to get cuttings of varied succulents from the neighbours, just leave each cutting sitting on a ledge to dry in the sun, and once the cut-off stem has dried out completely, plant in the soil and water sparingly. You can plant multiple cuttings in one trough or large round pot, to eventually get a lovely crowded effect. Succulents grow with minimal care and thrive best in sunny places which offer just some dose of shade during the day.
6. Get hold of geraniums. Geraniums, both regal and not, will grow brilliantly and thrive where there is sun. Don’t try to plant them in shady places – they will just wilt away.
7. For shadier places choose simple things like the Asparagus Fern, Flowering Begonias, Spider Plants or Umbrella Grass. The latter loves having its tootsies immersed in water.
8. Choosing pots that complement your idea of a haven. If you’re after a modern look – choose elegant stream-lined shapes and bold colours. If you’re after a more country-fairy look, choose natural terracotta and rounder shapes. For the classical look try porcelain pot holders. Always put saucers beneath the pots as Maltese summers are very dry and water must be conserved as long as possible. Once the rain starts, turn the saucer upside down and put the pot on it like a pedestal.

Adapt garden furniture according to your space. A hammock can be hung from two sturdy hooks on either side of the yard; a small round garden table and a couple of chairs; a wooden bench in one corner. Try wind chimes, plaques, festoons, hanging flowering pot plants and coloured cushions to make the transformation complete. 

Redesigning or nuturing your backyard/terrace will not only benefit your well being but will also add to the value of your Malta property, especially if it is flourishing during the time that you are selling your property in Malta.  A buyer would definately appreciate what they see and won’t get a bad impression if your were to leave it bare.

Marika Azzopardi is a freelance writer and journalist. A frequent contributor to national English language papers and magazines, she writes about a bevy of topics including art, people and life in general. She is also the author of children’s books and short stories, delving into adult fiction from time to time.

When one is involved in theatre one is immediately aware of lighting. Putting it crudely: it either makes or breaks your set design.

Having spoken to friends who are involved in the Malta property market I get the impression that most home buyers treat home-lighting as an afterthought. In fact the subject is treated as part of their list of accessories to be dealt with in conjunction with the home’s final touches. (more…)

Today more than ever homeowners need to focus on creating a comprehensive plan for marketing their property. Use this video to learn why RE/MAX agents are uniquely qualified to help you successfully market your home in today’s real estate market

At RE/MAX we have the tool to Successfully sell your home in Malta.  View this video for some tips courtesy of the Malta Real Estate leaders.  We have eight strategically located offices waiting for your phone call.