Renting a property - Can anyone recommend an estate agent, please.

Cheers. I've read on here the websites are always out of date, is it even worth contacting them before coming out or are you better off just going into their office without an appointment and seeing what they actually have?

in short NO

they probably wont even entertain you if you are not on the island

Toon wrote:

you will also see the same property on several estate agents web pages at different prices.. thus it follows that agents holdings at offices etc are likely to be the same hunt around for the best possible deal you can get

One of the farmhouses I was shown a few months ago was actually advertised twice on the same estate agent's website, at different prices!! One advert was 35% more expensive than the other. I was kind enough to point this out to the estate agent, who didn't have a clue about it. He quickly called the secretary and got the old one removed.

Toon wrote:

in short NO

they probably wont even entertain you if you are not on the island

Not so true.
I had received calls from 2 of the biggest Agencies here BEFORE I move to Malta.
They had shown great interest in helping.

What time of year did you move?

I'm going to be in Gozo next week. I've been trying various routes to avoid agents (Facebook, Maltapark, forums, etc) but haven't had any luck so far. Contacts we had on the island have rudely moved on so we are now having to go down the agency route. I am affected with being painfully polite which I sometimes irritate myself with, so I'm hoping my partner can act as bad cop.

So far two out of the three agencies we have contacted have sent us properties over our budget and the third hasn't responded. We used Frank Salt back in 2011 and they were pretty good then, but I guess a lot depends on the agent as much as the agency.

We have to get something, so it may just be a 6-month stop gap until we're out of the Summer period and we have time to find a more permanent home. Hopefully though something will come and surprise us like an icecream on a hot summer's day. Please feel free to PM me if you know of somewhere in Victoria

RASTAVIPER wrote:

Toon wrote:

in short NO

they probably wont even entertain you if you are not on the island

Not so true.
I had received calls from 2 of the biggest Agencies here BEFORE I move to Malta.
They had shown great interest in helping.

its very very true as many will testify - i think you were lucky or they were desperate

RASTAVIPER wrote:

Toon wrote:

in short NO

they probably wont even entertain you if you are not on the island

Not so true.
I had received calls from 2 of the biggest Agencies here BEFORE I move to Malta.
They had shown great interest in helping.

Next well be getting flying pigs
That's good at least they are doing something though it's unusual for them to contact those outside Malta - they don't even contact you in Malta if they don't like the look of you

Hi where is this property? I'm looking for a property to let later in year

I moved in during previous November, but I have sent some emails for general questions regarding flats months before. So, I can say that also the calls were around that period.

On the other hand I am pretty sure that their original interest was to check if I was willing to buy any property.

Is it best to look for rentals towards the end of the peak season, maybe Sept/Oct for more selection
and cheaper rates or is it only some areas where this will make a difference? Does it make a difference going for 6 months or 12 and should better rates be negotiated for 12 month lease?

Hi we are emegrating  to malta in December 2015  to live in bugibba and we are looking fore a good estate agent in finding property to rent must be dog friendly

b4bmm wrote:

Is it best to look for rentals towards the end of the peak season, maybe Sept/Oct for more selection
and cheaper rates or is it only some areas where this will make a difference? Does it make a difference going for 6 months or 12 and should better rates be negotiated for 12 month lease?

You will probably find that most Landlords are looking at 12 months minimum, there will obviously be some that will do 6 months but it will be more likely that they will want to negotiate the rent upwards for that sort of period.
I was also told by one landlord, who also has holiday lets as well as long lets, and an agent, that anything 12 months or under is considered a holiday let and as such has to be licensed by the Tourist Authority so they look for 13 months to avoid this. Obviously most landlords do not know of this and if it is correct just ignore it anyway.

Ray

Hazelhorton wrote:

Hi we are emegrating  to malta in December 2015  to live in bugibba and we are looking fore a good estate agent in finding property to rent must be dog friendly

Personally I can recommend Simon mamo estate agents. Sorted me out in 2 days when I got here.

Ok thanks for that

Hi we are reallocating to malta in December and need a shipping agent from newcastle can enyone recommend  anyone

I could highly recommend Cube Relocations....they recently moved me and I was very impressed with their efficient service. 
Ozchook

Hi we are moving to bugibba  in December  and are looking for advise on life insurance  company's  can enyone recommend  cheers

We used Cube also. Brilliant professional service.