Is your Property in Malta Fit to Sell

So, for some strange reason you want to sell your property in Malta. You decide on an ideal price, you decide to call in a real estate agent in Malta and you decide to sit by your phone and wait for the viewers to come by. When they do, they give a cursory glimpse at the works, sniff twice, ask one question and head for the door. They should have been amazed. Instead they seemed downright indignant. Perhaps you should do some serious soul-searching to find out why.

Take a look around your house. Start from across the street and really look. Does your property in Malta look interesting? I mean, does it look clean, attractive, nice and homely? If the answer is a dubious ‘maybe’ or an outright ‘no’, then you know that your potentential buyers got that very same impression. Walk into the hallway. Does it smell of dead cabbage, burnt toast and smelly socks? Is the paint peeling on the walls and are the curtains hanging off odd hooks and looking slightly awry? Look at the coffee table. Does it have an ashtray full of cigarette butts, old newspapers, gnawed corners and a filthy carpet beneath? 

This doesn’t bode well. Walk on through the property. Check the first impression you get of the kitchen which is the surest giveaway of lethargic ownership and move to the bedrooms, bathroom, stairways, etc, etc. Do you really feel disheartened about it all? Does it re-confirm your gut feeling that you really need to change house? Well, this feeling is probably going to rub off on all your potential buyers so you’d better shape up and try changing things.

First impressions always influence people immensely when they are looking to buy a property in Malta or anywhere else for that matter. So start at the start and invest a little time and money in re-ordering the façade. Give it a whitewash, clean the front garden of weeds, and if it’s just potted plants you have there, make sure they look thriving. If need be, buy new ones and if you haven’t any, get them anyway to liven up the works. Wash that front door down or give the old wood some polish.  Even a shiny brass knocker makes a difference. Revamp the letter box and get a new door mat.

Indoors, air the house. Clear up the clutter, throw out old newspapers, put away dirty shoes. If you haven’t the time or energy to spring-clean, hire out a cleaning company to do the job under your supervision. The effort will be well worth the trouble.

Give those old curtains a wash and an ironing, and hang them up properly. If they are simply un-see-able, buy some cheap but new ones just to refresh the feel of the rooms. Plump up the cushions and get them new covers. Re-order the books on the shelves,

Move furniture around just to make more space.  Add a few vases of fresh flowers and use some floral incense or air freshening gadgets. Make sure all the light bulbs on the chandeliers are working – there’s nothing more dismal that a room with half the lights off.

When you know you will be having visitors, make sure bathrooms are clean and towels are nice and crisp-looking. Don’t cook pungent foods and steer away from fries, fish, onions or burnt toast. Instead cook a pie or prepare a lovely stew – anything that provides mouth-watering sensations. And then you can sit back and really expect to get good news from your real estate agent in Malta…… unless of course you fall in love with the house again and decide to keep it for keeps!

Marika Azzopardi is a freelance writer and journalist. A frequent contributor to national English language papers and magazines, she writes about a bevy of topics including art, people and life in general. She is also the author of children’s books and short stories, delving into adult fiction from time to time.