Living in Malta has a lot of perks and many things are easy here, like finding a job, friends or making the residency papers. But to find an apartment in Malta might be one of the most difficult tasks when you are relocating to our beautiful rock.
What’s rather difficult though is finding a place to stay. As I mentioned on many occasions Malta is a small rock in the middle of the sea, so there is just a limited amount of space and apartments. There are also a lot of tourist and people moving to the island, what makes the rent expensive. It is not impossible to find a great place though, there are just things you should know about before you start looking for a place to live in Malta.
1. Don’t trust the Websites.
The websites of the real estate agencies are not updated! That’s a valuable lesson we learned in our first couple of days. They show apartments that have been on the market 5 Years ago and the corresponding prices.
Since then apartment prices have been skyrocketed and places are double the price that they have been before.
The agencies keep them there to make you interested but also because they cannot update as fast as they go away or the owner rents it out. The real estate market is a shark tank here which brings me to my next point:
2. 1000 Agents One Apartment
I would like to have a number of how many agents are out there, but it is hard to estimate. I can say though that there are a lot of them and sometimes they are fighting to rent out the same apartment.
Some agencies, like Quicklets, do respect one agent’s clients and apartments other agencies even have competition among the same company. As there is a limited amount of apartments and the owners contact several agents you have to be fast when you see an apartment you like, it can be gone the next our.
Regarding the agents’ fees, you should know that they will get half of the amount of the rent from you and the other half from the owner. Also when you rent an apartment you will have to make a deposit to the owner. There are some owners that rent out directly without involving an agent as well.
If you share an apartment rules can be different and usually you will be in contact directly with the people who will be your flatmates. Like in many situations here in Malta Facebook is the place to search for an apartment. A good agent could really help you to find an apartment in Malta
3. Facebook is the Way to Go
All in all, there are really nice apartments and good agents, you just have to find them and be patient!
As for other important searches in Malta, like the job search, facebook groups are the best way to find updated apartment listings.
In my post about Malta and Facebook, you can find some of those groups but also feel free to ask if you need a recommendation for good agents. Since they are hard to find. I also recommend that if you find a good one keep his or her number safe, you might need it again!
Be prepared for high prizes and make sure you get a confirmation that you paid the rent and your deposit. Because not all of the owners are easy-going in Malta and many people might try to screw you over. But keep your eyes open and be careful you will find the right apartment for you.
