affordable property gozo/malta

HI
I HAVE A VERY SMALL BASIC MAISONETTE SECONDS AWAY FROM THE SEA IN THE OLD PART OF ST,PAUL,S BAY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED LET ME KNOW HOW LONG YOU REQUIRE IT FOR AND WHEN U WLD BE COMING OVER.

what do you consider affordable ?

Hello Maria

Could you please, avoiding using Caps lock?

Thanks

uktrucker wrote:

Hi, I have looked but cannot find any affordable rental or property to buy in either Gozo or Malta itself.

Plenty of "top of the range" apartments (not for me) or villas with pools but no small houses/bungalows in any condition out in the country.

Does anyone have any leads I can follow up please.

Very grateful,

uktrucker

Hi there

So, there are some companies here in Malta which can help you find a property you`re looking for.

ownersbest.com.mt is one of them, As far as I know, if you`re the one looking for a property (not selling) It`s free, and you can contact them for help. Also, if you`re ever here in Malta, every month I think, they publish this magazine which is free and delivered all around Malta for free by post I believe. It contains a huge ammount of properties ranging from all types and categories. Hope I helped

Thanks for the information, I will contact ownersbest.com.mt

I have seen nothing for sale under Euro200,000 which to me is
millionaires paradise!  I am looking for something small, quiet
and out of the way for less than half of that amount, I am quite happy not to have a sea view.

Thanks.,

UKtrucker

There are loads of apartments for sale for under € 100,000 in Gozo

Hi, thanks for your reply but I really don't want to end my days in an apartment.  I was led to believe that it was possible to buy a small bungalow/house for well under 100,000 but I think this is now a pipe dream. 

As I intended to live permanently on Malta or Gozo I don't think an apartment is for me.

Thank you so much for your help. I do so appreciate it.

Uktrucker

Try searching on dhalia.com (they are one of the local Estate Agents - there are many others) for a House Of Character - they have some listed for less than 100,000€...you'll have to ignore the "unconverted" ones as you would spend time and money to get them habitable...but they do have them, such as P000158271 which is described as:
"Very cosy one bedroom house of character, nestled in a quiet alley close to the main square and all amenities. Property comprises a kitchen/dining and living area and a spiral staircase leading to a double bedroom with open en-suite. Ideal for single person or bachelor. Early viewings recommended." and is listed at 65,000€
Of course, that particular listing may be out of date, but I would say don't give up hope, contact Estate Agents and give them your criteria, I think you'll be able to find what you're looking for.

Rgeards
Tim

renting is alot cheaper than buying

100,000...lol. If you find a house at that price, you'll need another 100,000++ to fix it up. And forget about the time and headaches you'll go through chasing the contractors around.

I agree with George...renting is a lot cheaper. I know you probably dont want to rent your whole life, but I'd do it for at LEAST a year. It will give you time to find something affordable and it will also give you a chance to see if Malta  really is for you. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a house you cant sell if you decide you don't like it here. I've seen it happen to friends and I have a feeling it's going to happen to me.

I could be wrong, but I think non-Maltese are not allowed to buy properties under a certain ammount. I think it was around 35-45Lm...which is around 80,000-100,000. This was a few years ago though...this may have changed or not apply anymore.

Of course renting is cheaper...in the short run - maybe not in the long run...30 or 40 years of renting vs house price appreciation, something to leave the kids etc. It depends on a lot of factors and personal beliefs/motivations. This is a global argument - nor specific to Malta, though the disparity here at the moment between buying prices and rental prices make it more clear cut to rent on a financial basis.

But it's not just about the money. We rent and have what we consider a good landlord, but the apartment is still furnished in someone else's style/taste and is not what we consider comfortable, and we are not allowed to put anything on the walls so we can't personalise it with out own artwork or pictures of the kids etc....this is worth something to us...but obviously is a very individual decision.

If you can feel "at home" in a rental property - lucky you! I can't - at least not yet. Having said that I certainly DON'T miss the maintenance and costs that I used to have in the house I owned (actually still own - I'm a landlord myself in another country).

Tim

That's what I miss about renting...something breaks...let the landlord deal with it.

Maybe it's my imagination, but things seem to fall apart faster here. We did a complete renovation two years ago and already the faucets need to be changed, cracks have appeared, things that arent suppose to rust are rusting and paint is pealing. Everyone tells me it from the water and humidity. Im just glad  my husband is handy or we'd spend a fortune on upkeep.

Renting is certainly cheaper short term, but for a moment consider the long term implications.
Current Inflation rates Malta 4.5 - 5 % p.a
Interest Rates assuming youre on a mortgage between 3-5% depending on the bank and rating.

Which property anywhere is returning more than 10% growth per annum.
The Maltese property market is hugely overinflated, it takes time before a cyclical boom , transcends into a cyclical slide.

Your net returns even after adjusting only for inflation are negative in Malta.
Be careful as well about using the Central Bank House price index as a barometer for pricing, crazily its based on asking prices, yep.
Unlike other surveys which are on actual sales prices.

So the true reflection of the market is very much manipulated, and creates an illusion of stability.
Apartments or houses in the same street are sometimes priced very differently. Can they be that much different if the features and construction are similar?  Some are at 100 k with similar at 500k. It also depends on the developer and what kind of a liquidity squeeze they are facing.

I do not want to discourage anyone from owning, only do the homework. And question the surface appearances to find the underlying substance of your transaction.
Understand also the developer and his company if purchasing direct, as you will sometimes be surprised at the situation.

Good luck

inflation in Malta is 1.5-2%

Correct , however 2008 was 4.8% I believe.
Of course you would need to have "faith" in how the statistics are calculated in the first place and what constitutes the basket. For foreigners it may well be a different basket of comparison.

The other point being that a property is a long term purchase generally. Inflation expectations should be forecasted using realistic averages of future growth. So using one years inflation projection or result would not be realistic over such a long timeframe imo.