How long it will take to find a pet-friendly (a dog) home?

Not long, there are about 50'000 flats/houses waiting for their new tenants... and perhaps just as many for sale...
Likki

Hi,
I have to disagree with Likki.  It is true that there are lot of empty apartments available, but unfortunately most of the landlords are not very keen on pets. We have a 7 years old beagle, and started to look for a place about 2 months before we moved. It is true that we were very particular about where we wanted to live (due to my partners work), so we could not move to the countryside or afford a house with garden, but at the end we had about 4  options offered. We have seen a lot of empty apartments listed on agencies websites,but most cases the landlord would not allow  our dog (the nicer, newer the apartment, less likely they will allow a pet). In my opinion there is no really point starting to look  well in advance,  if something is available when you look, it does not mean that it will be available when you actually want to move in, so you just set up yourself for a disappointment.

All well known brands are available. We live in Gzira and I have already found 4 pet shops within walking distance

Good luck

Evi

pet food really isnt an issue all major brands are found here...its only a matter of the price you will have to pay...but look around.

There are properties avaialble, but dont be put off by comments here they are both correct in their statements for sure - but in my experience even good properties landlords will negotiate to accomodate pets...but you may be asked to provide a hefty damages deposit, to cover damage cleaning and or replacement. they may even ask for it to be included in the lease contract.

I agree 100% in the comments regarding advance searches - they often dont work out as most property is not available (the websites are not updated as often as they should be, if at all) and even it is available at the time of search its highly likely to not be available when you arrive.....

good luck

Thanks for your quick response

So, what would you suggest? If I start send mail to agencies in March and hope they have something to show us in May, is it too early? If we found what we are looking, can we book it until July or is it better to pay deposit and commission etc?

Ok, how pricey IS the dog food in Malta? Well, I bet it can't be more than here... 3kg bag costs 4 OMR which is about 8€. And cans are ~1,7€.. And this price is just for basic Pedigree...   Here where we live is not any pet shops, nearest are in Dubai and Muscat...

most properties move very quickly....leave it as late as you can - theres not a lot of point trying to do it so early as many things can happen in two months...maybe consider a month....many agents will not even want to pursue it....

dont always go by the pictures either - they are often out of date and taken years ago - if something appeals to you get them to send timed dated up to date photos if you can.....

our old flat that we left 6 months ago and were in it for three years still has the same photos on the estate agents website that it had when we first saw and it has changed considerably due to our requirements and there is someone else in it now yet it is still being openly offered

as for the price of dog food - cant really comment but am sure there are dog owners here who can - we have a cat and that food is considerably cheaper than our UK equiavalents so i wouldnt worry too much about that

Thanks Toonarmy,again

Hmm... I'm just thinking.. May is our only chance to visit Malta before moving and only change for my husband to see available apartments coz he isn't moving with us yet,he has to stay here until some one takes his place. And it would be great if we had the apartment ready when we finally move; I might have dog with me and staying at hotel (with dog!!) don't inspire me..

Well, it's only january so we have plenty of time and luckily my husband has a friend who lives in Malta and he has promised to help us also.