Need someone to act for us

Martin.Kain wrote:

We are moving from Australia to Malta but need to be able to appoint someone in Gozo who will look at a property for us, determine if it is structurally sound, etc. Essentially act on our behalf.  Anyone know of this kind of service?

What we need to do is have someone appraise the property as we would. Almost act with our power of attorney.

Help!

Presumably you are talking about a surveyor/architect to act on you behalf after you have chosen a property and not an individual or estate agent to choose a property for you!

If you are moving to Malta then I would suggest you rent first and look at different areas and properties at your leisure, indeed most expats would recommend not buying at all.

If you feel you must buy straight away you really should come over and sort it yourself, you can't expect any agent/surveyor/architect you wish to act for you to know what your thoughts, likes and dislikes are, or what is acceptable and what is not.

Ray

I agree with Ray, don't even think about buying until you have spent time in the area you choose.

With renting you can remain flexible and try out various locations.

There's no shortage of properties for sale, with some being on the market for years and most are overpriced.

Terry.

Thanks, Terry.

Much appreciate your thoughts.

Many thanks, Ray for your thoughts.

I keep hearing about the whole not buying thing. Why is that particularly. We know the area well enough and have found a property that we really wish to own. Why the general antipathy to purchasing?

Martin.Kain wrote:

Many thanks, Ray for your thoughts.

I keep hearing about the whole not buying thing. Why is that particularly. We know the area well enough and have found a property that we really wish to own. Why the general antipathy to purchasing?

Houses are way over priced here and Maltese owners don't seem to care how long it takes to sell so don't normally drop the price much, if at all. Many Maltese families are 'property rich' and don't need to sell. Also many houses are not well built and may look nice but are not built to the standards of many other countries.
As you can rent a 3/4 bedroom house in Gozo with pool from around 600€ a month there is no point in putting your money at risk as the odds are if you ever wanted to sell you will lose out big time unless you don't mind waiting a few years.
Buy in a country which has realistic house prices with the prospect of an increase in value and rent that out to cover your costs here.

Ray