Property: Buying vs Renting

robpw2 wrote:

i have a thing for the blonde one too think his name Jonnie lol

An episode to keep both us happy then, TWO BLONDES!!

I don't think much of yours though. 

Lol mines in malta so I has more chance he he so far this family seem weird lol he's concerned about rising sea levels in Lincolnshire .... He does know Malta is an island lol

On the topic of buying vs renting, it seems most of the focus has been on possible trouble shooting when buying in Malta but I think a little more light needs to be shed on the pitfalls of the rental market here.
I have been living in Malta now for over 2 years, I was previously in Mexico for 2.5 but I am originally from the UK.
I have never experienced such an ill mannered, discriminatory environment as I have during these last 2 years renting in Malta.   I have lived in Sliema, Cospicua, and Gzira by myself with a budget of 500eur .

The first thing I noticed was the complete lack of customer service; false advertising (tons of properties listed on the net and in shop windows which are simply unavailable), very rude on the phone and via e-mail, incorrect information, too much focus on your nationality, no call backs, no assistance.     And I have to say this is from the Maltese agents of which the majority will go out of their way to make it difficult for non nationals.   The only time i have received help (i.e the simple things you would expect from an agent - a friendly manner, helpful advice and someone who looks for properties for you and calls you back with info and possible viewings) it was from a non native to Malta, in my case an English lady and then on another occasion an Australian guy. 
Secondly there are the utility bills; different charges on the bills for non-residents of Malta i.e those who do not own a property here.   You can at your landlords disposal have him/her sign Form-H, which would mean they put you as the resident in the property meaning you get the residential rate for bills - around 30% reduction in costs.  Unfortunately to dodge tax/reduce tax costs hardly any of the Landlords will do this, and the agents either will simply not give you the info, don't know it themselves, or explain that its not possible and for x amount of reasons you have to pay domestic rate.  The fact is anybody who is living in a single property which is their sole residence is entitled to the lower rate.
Thirdly the rental market in season is flooded with people searching for properties especially in the central areas single occupancy, and with zero or little help from the agents you are in for the long slog of doing everything yourself - I literally took three days off work unpaid to get up every single morning going straight onto malta parks website (amongst others), ringing, walking round, organising viewings, checking with agents every day to see if any properties have become available (as they were not letting me know). It was a nightmare - the amount of viewings I got compared to the number of calls and enquiries I made was ridiculous; after weeks of prep and 3 days of non stop effort, I got 2 viewings - 1 was awful in the middle of 4 different blocks of flats in Msida, the other was a tiny, tiny studio in Txbiex only enough room for a single bed in a very narrow L-shaped.    The decent ones were going at first viewing and to get first viewing is nigh on impossible for a non national.  I ended up taking a flat without viewing it first; a 1 bedroom came online in Sliema, I phoned immediately and told him i'd meet him at the flat first thing in the morning with deposit and I took it.   Not at all ideal.
Also the rental costs are very high in the central areas and when you compare this to buying a one bedroom of similar standard in the same area, the mortgage outlay each month is lower, so I can see it making sense.

There is a lot of scare mongering going on about low build quality in Malta, etc,  but I see this that the majority of this is from people who haven't lived here long term, perhaps trying to justify their reasons for living somewhere else, reassuring themselves they made the right choice,   but this opinion is very bias.

In short if you are already renting here long term, you know the quality and are happy with it as I am, then why not purchase a property if the cost each month is going to be lower; the quality of build you are living in now compared to the buy will be the same, the area the same, the way of living the same. 
It makes good sense.

The anti buying people are people like me who have lived in Malta for a while and have experience of buying and selling properties in Europe.

The Maltese market is over priced and is a very poor investment with low building standards and a difficult resale market.
We rented originally to get a feel for the market and we have seen nothing to change our minds.

Malta is not our forever home and we prefer the flexibility of renting as it allows us to move if we don't like our area, neighbours, landlord or noisy dogs!

Terry

We have been here for nearly 3 years and I would agree with Terry that renting is the way to go.
Houses in Malta are way overpriced, are very poor quality and resale is very, very difficult.

You can, if you wish, have the utility bill amended by ARMS without the permission of the landlord, although he probably won't like it!

As for customer service, it does not really exist with most businesses in Malta!

Ray

Have to agree with much of what chr11 has said in his post except the last bit -  i lived in Malta for 6 years renting .. and agree 100% with both Tearnet and Foxglove view of renting v buying - -  the build might be similar and if found to be lacking in certain aspects  - buying doesnt allow you to change easily nor quickly..  renting however does... but other factors change...neighbours, noise, dogs, cockerells, and in the case of apartment blocks issues between landlords and tenants spill over to the buyers in the block....... We eventually left because like Terry said we knew it was never going to be our forever home - bonus was we realised that within a couple of years, but that said we enjoyed our time there and have met and made some fab people many of which are still friends and in contact now. It was an experience i would not have missed, it taught me a lot.

Agreed many flats are badly built. As well it is unfortunate that successive governments protected limestone quarries to save jobs. these not only are bad for the environment but due to changing construction methods the limestone proves to be a negative impact. For example up to 80 years ago double walls were built especially external. Due to rising costs a single wall became acceptable. But the limestone is like a sponge so thats why the feeling of dampness inside in the short even if mild winter.

However if one can find some very good deals if one looks and checks carefully for these things before buying. At least one thing you do not have to worry about in Malta is hidden rot and damage.

Most new builds don't use limestone but use cement blocks and most still don't do cavity walls or insulation etc.
The quality of building is terrible, with tradesmen having little or no pride in the finishing of a job.
Just moved into  a new flat and have spent the last few weeks finishing off silly mistakes left by the so called tradesmen, including holes in the walls, pipes not connected and electric light switches that operate the wrong way .

No hidden rot but mould is still a huge problem that should be a thing of the past with todays tech.

Terry

Yes agreed. The problem is that decades of a construction boom following independence that started to finally decline in late 90s was given a new lease of life due to the euro changeover.

Demand far outstripped supply and since Maltese never really had good finish in the first place viewed it as a luxury. Lets face it when you are earning LM7K a year before tax and face a mortgage of LM30K unfinished the least of your worries is the paint.

Still If one really cared about that it should be negotiated in the price. For example say the asking price of the flat is 90K euros then simple deduct say 3K for the finish or be prepared to do i yourself anyway. In reality competition is now so fierce that the finish has become very important and Maltese now understand that given all else being equal it is the finish of your property that can beat competition.

Regarding mold that is yes another problem that could have been easily solved with just a little care but most times especially new buildings even those using concrete bricks need a couple of years to dry. By the way there is a misconception that concrete blocks should be filled. That is wrong. If your flat is not groundfloor then the reason for moldy walls is usually due to the building settling and pointing coming apart on exterior walls. There is also an issue of badly thought out rain water draining from upper balconies.

These problems however can all be easily and very cheaply solved compared to the UK

If you need any help with that let me know.

For example my home which I am trying to sell is a 400 year old house and I did certain work myself. I checked by digging exploratory holes and found there used to be a cellar. So for the living room I did 2 inches concrete, 1.5 inches spray-on foam, one layer of waterproofing membrane, 2 inches concrete, a layer of cheap mix and match terracotta tiles, styrofoam sheet and engineered wood flooring. However all that would have been useless had I not left an inch gap around the whole room.

Demand far outstrip supply! in that case why are there loads of unfinished and unsold apartments?

"For example my home which I am trying to sell is a 400 year old house and I did certain work myself. I checked by digging exploratory holes and found there used to be a cellar. So for the living room I did 2 inches concrete, 1.5 inches spray-on foam, one layer of waterproofing membrane, 2 inches concrete, a layer of cheap mix and match terracotta tiles, styrofoam sheet and engineered wood flooring. However all that would have been useless had I not left an inch gap around the whole room."

Pity you didn't add under floor heating, now that would have made sense!

Terry

Heh. I did specify that the euro changeover gave the industry an extra lifeline albeit short lived right?

The story starts from the 70s. At that time there was a huge shortage (some 50% owned their own property) and property was cheap all the way till the 80s. Up till then mortgages were almost non existent and taboo. As well following independence it was thought that Malta would not survive on its own and fall into political chaos. Hence property was cheap. In come a helping hand from the former Lohombus part of MidMed (now HSBC) setup specifically to give first time homeowners cheap loans. Thats when the market really took off all the way till 2000. Thats when it should have ended but instead the euro changeover meant a scramble to hide all that money mostly made from the same construction industry to be taken out of the bank and/or repatriated into something safe - tax wise. Thats why property and loads is empty. However that is all coming back into the market as inheritance for the most part or to earn its owners extra pension income.

Now you may understand why the market has not really bottomed as expected. However it is at its limits and already flats in some villages are loosing value due to an aging population. You can get a flat in Zabbar or Zejtun for 70K- 80K. Thats very low considering that the land on which is built will not go for less than 150K and the highest you can go is say 3 floors and a penthouse. Keep in mind garages are obligatory so thats another floor (unless underground) that you cannot use as living space.

Under floor heating for 2 months of the year? And what fo? to beat a once every ten year 5 degree Celsius record low? Normally its 10-15.

Sorry does not make sense to do that. Besides the wood flooring is great and I have also put in a wood burning fireplace.

Wow I arrived here on the 18th Feb  for a week to check out if I'd like to retire here. Easier said than done.. Think I may postpone my intended move until later after more research. but the weather is the biggest draw, I will rent if/when I come, I guess I need to spend the rest of my week just checking out locations. Gozo maybe needs a visit. From what I've found so far everyone I've come into contact with has a relative in the flat rental market  I was expecting to pay around €500 a month for a 2 bed furnished but it would appear all the online ads are either bogus or not available. I've even found ads for different properties using the same photos.
This can be a hassle to say the least 

never ever trust online ads anywhere  = get there first then look around and view - dont sign anything dont pay anything out until you ve seen it and are satisfied the guy renting it to you has the right to do so... and you have the keys and that all that you agreed prior to occupation is actually in place. Also before signing ask the pertinent questions regarding form H and the utility bills at residential rate dont assume that it is - dont accept the "dont worry its cheap" comments from agents and landlords - dont sign anything unless you are 100% happy to abide by it.

Chalks1 wrote:

Wow I arrived here on the 18th Feb  for a week to check out if I'd like to retire here. Easier said than done.. Think I may postpone my intended move until later after more research. but the weather is the biggest draw, I will rent if/when I come, I guess I need to spend the rest of my week just checking out locations. Gozo maybe needs a visit. From what I've found so far everyone I've come into contact with has a relative in the flat rental market  I was expecting to pay around €500 a month for a 2 bed furnished but it would appear all the online ads are either bogus or not available. I've even found ads for different properties using the same photos.
This can be a hassle to say the least 

chalks what areas are you looking in ?
i may be able to help you find somewhere in malta

try maltapark or better still put an ad in the times of malta?

hello Chalks

yes, it's a full time job looking for a place, eh
I could help too - have learned a lot since December!
Are you still in Malta?
Give me a shout if so
all the best
Jeannie