Process of Selling a Property in Malta

Whether you are looking to sell a modest apartment, a luxury villa or a commercial establishment, listing your property in Malta or Gozo takes work. From getting it listed, valued and buyer-ready, you cannot afford to brush over any step of the selling process, as this could impact how long your Malta property stays on the market.

So, to help you have the best-selling experience possible, and to ensure that you sell well and fast, we have come up with this handy guide from years of experience helping other property owners achieve their goals. Read on if you’re ready to be next!

Professional help is a must if you want enquiries to come in thick and fast. Listing your property in a paper and posting in a Facebook group just doesn’t cut it anymore. In this digital age, effective online advertising is crucial for your Malta property to reach the right audience.

Our team of trained sales associates can guide you on the way forward to make sure your Malta property gets seen, and our strong reputation means that we have a wide clientele of interested buyers approaching us every day – which greatly increases your odds of a prompt and successful sale.

Take advantage and set an inspection appointment with one of our sales associates to come and value your property on-site.

Even though it’s a seller’s market, it is critical that you price your property correctly before listing it on the Malta real estate market. Do not fall into the trap of overpricing, as this will likely work against you and keep your property on the Malta property market longer than it needs to be.

Not only that, but setting a steep price tag, only to realise it won’t sell, and then lowering it down the line to reflect the real market value, can actually end up backfiring. How? Because prospective buyers who may have been interested but could not afford the original pricing might be put off and suspect that something is wrong with the property following a significant price cut. Our advice: get the price right from the start!

When a potential buyer is viewing a listed property in Malta as a potential home or investment, first impressions count, big time. Don’t miss the opportunity to get viewers to fall in love with your property, just because of bad lighting or chipped wall paint! Take a good look around the space with an outside eye, from out on the doorstep all the way to the spare bathroom. It may even help to take photos from different angles to highlight any glaring faults you’ve grown too familiar with to notice.

If need be, there are several low-cost ways to improve a space, such as touching up the paintwork, oiling squeaky hinges, polishing metal fixtures, replacing broken lightbulbs and removing threadbare soft furnishings. If anything looks dated (without the vintage appeal), consider modernising it to increase the property’s investment value. Try to stick to neutral shades that give viewers’ imagination a blank canvas to work on. And make sure to maximise positive features like windows, natural lighting, open spaces and views.

Don’t forget to clean, declutter and avoid displaying too many personal belongings that draw attention away from the property itself. Remember – not everyone is able to visualise how a space will look with their own furniture or in a different layout, so don’t make it more difficult.

Now that your space is nice and inviting, make sure you are too! Offer a drink or some nibbles, encourage viewers to look around, stand by for any questions they may have, and maybe even point out things they might not notice – as long as you don’t come across as pushy.

Interacting with buyers as you show them around your well cared for space and chatting about the bonuses of different rooms and how they’ve served their purpose over the years, might well tempt buyers as they imagine their own possible uses for the Malta property.

Once you find a buyer, engage a notary to guide you through the Promise of Sale agreement that binds both the selling and buying party until the signing of the final Deed of Sale. The preliminary agreement includes the agreed sale price, the deposit amount to be paid by the buyer, any terms and conditions such as those relating to repair work, and the timeframe for the deal to be completed, which is usually three months.

In regard to tax, it’s important to check with your notary whether you need to pay the Capital Gains Tax that may be charged on immovable Malta property, and if so, whether you are eligible for a reduction. Finally, make sure to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate from the Building Regulation Office, which you need to hand over to the buyer during the Promise of Sale. Learn more, in detail, about how to sell a property in Malta.

At JK Properties, we take you through each step of the selling process, making things as quick, easy and straightforward as possible so you can sell your Malta property with peace of mind.