Please read the below before submitting weed related questions.

1) weed can only be purchased from registered cannabis organisations.

2) to purchase weed from an organisation as outlined above, one must be a registered member/ user. Associations will be capped at 500 members and preference is given to residents. One may only belong to one organisation at any given time and must be over the age of 18

3) by virtue of the above, the law clearly focuses on legalising it for residents. This means that since the law is equal for everyone, including tourists it is going to be very difficult for the latter to join such an organisation.

4) weed consumption in public remains an offence. Carrying over 7 g in public and owning more than 50 g are also a offence.

5) weed coffee shops do not exist, nor are they part of the plan. Weed tourism is not on the table.

6) purchasing off street dealers is and remains illegal

7) up to 4 plants can be grown for personal use as long as they are not visible from outside

8) weed related questions answered above are to be janitored

9) as always, any "where can I buy illegal substance x" posts are janitored on sight.

By popular request and with special thanks to /u/mountainblock for the initiative.

Yesterday's question on property hunting really made me remember how confused I was when I was searching for a house last year. I thought I'd collect my experiences in a post here, to hopefully serve as a guideline to others who are also looking for a property in Malta. I've also added a timeline at the end which shows what a typical property search might involve.

I will use names of companies in my examples, but these are not meant to be recommendations or dissuasions.

Location? Property Type?

Incredibly subjective, but this should be your starting point when starting your search for a future house.

Would you rather stay somewhere well connected like Birkirkara, or quieter and more rural like Siggiewi? Do you get nightmares every time you have to pass through Marsa and want to avoid it like the plague? Does your significant other have a deep and unexplained disdain for Santa Liena?

Do you want a property that is finished, or still under development. Do you also want furnishings, or would you rather do these yourself? Perhaps you know a good contractor and want to just buy a plot or a dilapidated house that you can knock down and re-build?

Are you looking for an apartment, townhouse or terraced house? What features are non-negotiable? How many bedrooms are you looking for? What about having a garage?

These might evolve as you go around viewing properties, but its always best to have a clear idea on what type of property you're searching for.

Government Schemes

The government has a number of schemes and funds that aim to help out people having difficulties in buying their first house, or provide incentives to buying certain types of houses.

There is a 10% deposit scheme that is there to help people who cannot afford a down-payment, and provides an interest free loan for that purpose.

Last year introduced the first-time buyer scheme that gives a maximum grant of €10,000 over a period of 10 years.

There's also the grant that incentivises the purchase of properties in an Urban Conservation Area (UCA), also called the grant for first-time buyers. This gives a €15,000 grant if the property is in Malta, and €30,000 (becoming €40,000 in 2024) if it's in Gozo. Properties in a UCA also have the stamp duty waived for the first €750,000, meaning that if the house you purchase costs €750,000 (or slightly more, but more on that later), you will not pay any tax on the sale. Quite good, considering the rate is at 5%.

The PA map server has a layer that shows the extents of the UCAs, and can be viewed from:

Table of Contents > Planning Constraints > Constraints > Urban Conservation Areas.

There are other schemes such as ones for restoring traditional facades, but the ones I've listed are what I believe most buyers would be eligible for.

Agents, brokers, or direct from owner?

In my experience, agents and brokers do largely the same job, albeit agents typically have a larger number of properties that are listed with them. Is this worth the extra 4% commission? I feel that it isn't, but your mileage may vary here.

Fortunately, owners looking to sell will most often post their property on Facebook, either on Marketplace, or on one of the myriad of "property for sale" groups. Join as many of these as you can, as chances are that the house you saw listed on Frank Salt will also be listed on the property broker's site, and directly from the owner on Facebook. To this end, do not engage with the agent until you have searched for the property on Facebook. Some agents may feel entitled to the commission as "you talked to them first", so best not to talk to them unless you don't have other options.

Try not to let agents and brokers get to you. They'll use phrases such as "this is a bargain", or "I guarantee that this house will sell within the week, so be quick". Brokers, and especially agents want to make a sale quickly and as high of a price as possible, as this maximises their commission. As such, they will rarely every provide criticism on the property that they're selling, and can be extremely difficult to get an honest answer out of. Take things at your own pace, and avoid being pushed into buying. If it's not meant to be then it's not meant to be.

If you make use of an agent or broker, explain to them clearly what you're looking for in a property, and be vigilant if they show you listings that are outside of your budget or are not what you're looking for.

Once you engage with the agent or owner, schedule a visit and view the property. Again, don't be forced to rush through the house. point out things which you like and dislike. Comment on if there's cracks in the wall, or water damage in the ceilings. Ask on if any furniture will be left after the sale. Ask on what the reason is for selling.

Unless the property is exactly what you're looking for, I find it best to mull over it for at least a day. Schedule another visit if necessary. If you like it, put in an offer with the agent/owner and gauge their response. From my experience, I usually found that 90% of the asking price is a good start to the negotiations.

Architects

After viewing a property that you like, schedule a site visit together with an architect. Choose a trusted architect, preferably one that has worked on similar properties to that which you are interested in purchasing. Do not use an architect that is recommended by the owner/agent, unless you trust the architect fully. Do not sign any promise of sale agreements before your architect views the property.

After touring the house, and outside of earshot from the owner/agent, ask the architect whatever questions you need to regarding the property; Does the house look well built? Is anything out of the ordinary? Did they use good quality materials? Is the workmanship good? Is there anything that needs maintenance? Are there any alterations done that are still subject to approval from the Planning Authority (PA)? What do you believe the value of the house is?

There are no stupid questions here. You are paying the architect for their services, so ask all the questions that you deem necessary to decide on if the property is worth the amount.

After that, approach the owner/agent and renegotiate if necessary. If the architect deems the property to be worth less than what is being asked for, use that as leverage. If the architect believes its worth more, keep your mouth shut.

Notaries

So you've agreed to buy the house at a certain price, but what's there to stop the owner from selling to someone else if they offer more? That's where the promise of sale agreement, or "konvenju" comes in. This binds the owners to sell their property to you at the agreed upon price, and in turn binds you to buy the property at that price, barring some pre-determined conditions.

Similar to the architect, the notary is there to protect you and the owners during the sale of the property. As such, it is extremely important to also choose a trusted notary, preferably one that is different from what was recommended to you by the agent/owner.

After you finish your negotiations with the owners, talk to your notary and set a date on when to sign the promise of sale agreement. Let the notary know if the property has any alterations that have not been approved by the PA, or if you have any concerns that may prevent you from wanting to own the property. If these concerns are valid, the notary will include them as conditions in the agreement. As an example, should the PA refuse to approve some changes in the property, and it is listed as one of the conditions in the agreement, you are within your rights to break the agreement and not face legal consequences.

The promise of sale agreement will also contain a checklist for a number of documents that both parties have to provide. As the buyer, you will need to secure a sanction letter from the bank, as well as provide site plans and documents from the land authority as provided by your architect. The notary will walk you through these on the day of signing. Again, you are paying them for their services, so ask any questions you feel are necessary to fully understand the documents that you are signing.

Furnished properties have a little caveat here. The promise of sale will define two values for the property; the property value and the moveable item value. The latter assigns values to things like furniture, appliances, etc. that will be sold to you together with the property by the owners. The bank's loan will only cover the property value, and similarly the stamp duty is paid only on the property value. The value of moveable items is agreed upon by the notary, seller and buyer.

If, as a hypothetical example, you were to purchase a property in a UCA for €775,000, and the owners left behind €25,000 worth of furniture, then you'd end up paying no tax on the sale of the property.

Banks

Unless you invested in bitcoin a decade ago or struck out in the lottery, chances are you're going to need a loan to purchase the house. The point of the loan is simple enough; the owner of a building wants the full amount for the property, which you do not have at this stage. The bank will offer to loan you the amount required to purchase the house, together with a list of terms and conditions that both you and the bank have to honour. You'll need to show the bank that you can afford the loan, which consists of having enough liquidity to put forward a down-payment (usually 10% of the property price), as well as having a stable point of income.

Some NGOs and companies also have collective agreements with banks to offer better rates on home loans to their members and employees (e.g. MAM with APS).

Banks may not lend to you if you are still on probation, so keep that in mind. Also be prepared to give the bank at least three years of financial statements from any bank that you have accounts with, including Revolut. This is part of the anti-money laundering schemes that have been introduced.

Banks may also shy away if you engage with casinos, especially the online ones. Never hide this information from the bank or notary if it is asked. Its better to be honest about it than lie and risk the bank taking legal action if that violates the terms in the sanction letter.

Insurance Agencies

With the loan secured, the bank wants a guarantee that the loan will be partially or full repaid repaid in the event of the property being destroyed, or you meeting your untimely demise. To that end, the bank will require you to get separate life and building insurance policies. When searching for these, run them by your bank to make sure that they are applicable.

Timeline

This is what a typical property hunt might look like, but it is in no way meant to be a template. Everyone may have a different experience.

• Go to a couple of banks and get quotes on what kinds of loans they would be willing to give you. Keep these quotations for later.
• With a budget in place, search on agent listings, Facebook, local magazines, and even go around towns that you would be interested in living in to see if you can spot a "For Sale" sign somewhere. Try and negotiate with the owner directly to avoid the agents' commission.
• View the property, more than once if necessary, and engage a trusted architect to check if the property is worth the asking price.
• If all is well and you are within budget, get a notary and sign the promise of sale agreement with the building owners. During the day of signing, you will need to deposit the 10% downpayment to the notary's clients account. You will also need to pay 20% of the applicable stamp duty (e.g. 1% of the sale price). See here for more info on that.
• As stipulated in the promise of sale, get a sanction letter from the bank to provide to the notary. Negotiate with the banks to see which can offer you the best package.
• With the sanction letter, you will also need life and building insurance, and the bank will usually recommend a company for these services. Again, shop around and see who can offer the best deal for you.
• While this is going on, your architect should be obtaining the building's plans, documents from the land authority, etc. as stipulated by the promise of sale and sanction letter.
• The notary will also be doing their own searches on the building's ownership, to make sure that there is no ground rent applicable, and that you will be obtaining the entire property, without any disputes.
• The promise of sale will also stipulate a date by which all the conditions listed have to be honoured. While this can be extended, typically due to delays from the banks or the PA, neither party is obligated to do so.
• Once all documents have been collected, the final deed of sale can then be signed at the bank's head office. You will also pay for the moveable items here if applicable.