It can easily be said that purchasing a Malta property is one of the biggest investments several people will ever make. After the hassle of saving up, or possibly getting the purchase financed, you certainly want to avoid making any mistakes that will counter all your hard work. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of things to look out for so we can help you ensure your transaction goes through as smoothly as possible.

Many people usually buy real estate in Malta with a long-term investment in mind, hoping to re-sell in a few years and make a profit despite making no alterations to the property. This can be true for some properties, however properties do not (more…)

It may be difficult to find ways and means to keep all rooms in your property in Malta cool during a typically hot summer of Malta – when temperatures soar.  Most properties in Malta suffer the heat terribly and keeping a home fresh in peak summer can be exceptionally hard. Keeping out the sun may be an easier thing to do than trying to keep the house fresh by spending a great deal of money to run air conditioning systems around the clock.

There are several ways of blocking the sun and its heat. Here are some ideas:

Changing patterns – the patterns (more…)

Most people experience life visually. When we have difficulty understanding written text, we try to picture it – the human brain tends to remember images better than it can memorise text. Based on this alone, it has become common practise to use visuals when advertising any product or service.

The same is to be said when it comes to marketing your Malta Property. If you plan on selling your Malta real estate through an estate agent, be sure to provide the them with some good high resolution photos.  To help you with this, we’ve jotted down a few tips that will help you show your property in Malta in the best possible light. (more…)

Many people prefer to purchase real estate in Malta in a finished state rather than one which is still in shell form and requiring quite a fair bit of work. The difference in price between a shell and finished property caters for the works carried out by the previous owner, including labour, installation and the actual purchase of several goods (kitchen, bathrooms etc). It also allows the new owner the added advantage of being able to move in almost immediately. However, for those who are not in any rush to settle into their new property in Malta, the purchase of a shell property maybe ideal. The difference in price allows them use those funds (and possibly less) towards customising the property to their exact requirements. (more…)

Rooftop gardens in first floor Maisonettes in Malta, Duplexes, apartment buildings or even Terraced houses in Malta are a very feasible option, where roofs are flat and most homes have the privilege of having either an entire roof space to enjoy, or a considerable part of it. If there is no other outdoor space to enjoy such as a terrace, yard or veranda, then the rooftop option becomes a very inviting one especially if you enjoy having barbecues and entertaining people in your property in Malta.  The other great advantage of creating such an improvement in your property is the fact you will also increase the value of your precious piece of real estate in Malta.  However there are some key points to keep in mind when embarking on the project of turning a plain roof into a green haven. (more…)

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…)