Realistic chances of finding an apartment in a couple of days ?

Hi SunshineLover,

The sun is definitly here now and free of charge.

Your basis for negotiating an apartment might be a bit weak for this time of the year. The summer season is just starting and short term means tourist apartment and prices.

You should be better of looking for a place in Qawra/Bugibba than here in Sliema though. There are many signs around but whether they are what you are looking for is questionable so you will just have to try. With an agent you pay half a months rent but might be on the safer side.

I wish you luck with accomodation and job.

Ricky

The half a months rent isnt really an issue,its the fact that I would lose hundreds of euros if I had to leave after 2 months as the deposit gets kept if you leave the apartment before the 6months

I would start calling all of the #'s on the signs, it's really the only way to know for sure.

the agencies can and do charge between 50% -100% of rent for their fee and that depends on who finds you the apartment...

you can do a short term let for up to 3months - wee bit more expensive but it may suit you.

when we came here, we pre-booked a hotel for 6 days - we found our very good apartment in 3days so that may give you some confidence - it all depends on what you are prepared to accept - we would definitely have found one quicker had we not been so picky.

sometimes it can be put in the contract that f you have to leave the island and can prove a genuine reason why you are leaving the landlord can still give you your deposit back.....its possible not necessarily true to reality but i have known people in this position and they got theirs back.

50% of 1 month rent paid by you, 50% paid by property owner....   is the standard in malta.

Other than that toon and ricky are dead on.

me3512 wrote:

50% of 1 month rent paid by you, 50% paid by property owner....   is the standard in malta.

Other than that toon and ricky are dead on.

then stay away from dhalia as its not their standard....100% is what they quoted us - mind you that was three years ago they may have changed.

Another point to consider is the fact that the 'downpayment' is usually seen as a guarantee against utility costs as often the costs are in the landlords name and passed on to the tenant every few months by the landlord when he is billed himself.

So often,inbetween, you actually can be owing your landlord more than the downpayment amount as the bill is in his name.

So unless the appartment rent includes the utilities or you pay a fixed amount every month it might be difficult to negotiate the amount, especially on a short-term contract.

And the lower the rent the higher the utilities will be , relatively speaking , especially if AC is used a lot.

Cheers
Ricky