People love to question many different subjects related to any type of property for sale. Investing in property is a large investment so you need to ask as many questions as possible. Here are some FAQ’s.
A konvenju is also known as a ‘promise of sale’ document, through which vendors (or sellers) bind themselves to selling a property to the purchasers (or buyers), who in turn bind themselves to purchasing the same property at an agreed price. This agreement also stipulates a fixed period of time, as well as any agreed terms and conditions (such as work that needs to be completed, or facilities that are included) by the time the property is officially transferred. The konvenju needs to be registered with the Inland Revenue Department within 21 days of it being signed.
If the parties (the buyers or sellers) want to extend the konvenju for whatever reason, a new document must be signed. This document will refer to the original konvenju and agree to extend the validity of that konvenju to a new, later date. This extension also needs to be registered with the IRD within 21 days of it being signed.
In Malta, notarial fees are fixed by law and the Notarial Council. These fees depend on the subject matter, the nature of work being completed by the notary, and the costs of certain subjective fees (such as title searches). Usually, these fees will also include fixed (established by law) Public Registry fees, which the notary will collect so as to register your contract. You can find a rough estimate of the fees stipulated by the Notarial Council, as well as a billing calculator, here.
Title searches are carried out in order to ascertain whether the property in questions really does belong to the vendor, and whether there are any debts on the property (such as bank loans). Title searches will also look into any other legal issues that need to be taken care of before the property can be officially transferred to its new owners.
Not long at all. Usually one of our experienced agents will visit your property to get a better idea of its features. We will then ask you the relevant questions and create a short write-up to promote it. We can either have photos taken on your behalf, or you can provide the photos yourself. Depending on how quickly all the information is provided to us, it usually takes around 4-5 days for each property to appear on our site.
RE/MAX’s Exclusive Added Value listing programme was designed to help those people who genuinely want to sell their property as quickly as possible. Once the criteria are met, then you will have a genuine chance of selling your property within 90 days – and we have had a lot of success in this area. The tools we use ensure that your property receives the maximum exposure required to achieve the successful sale of your property. So, if you are seriously interested in selling your home and would like to know more about this programme, please send an email to: marketing@remax.com.mt.
Capital Gains is a tax that applies to the sale of property. Capital gains earned when the property was owned for less than seven years can be taxed in two ways: at a flat rate of 12% on the selling price or at progressive rates under the old system. For detailed information on Capital Gain Tax in Malta, as well as certain exemptions, please click here.
In Malta, stamp duty is always paid by the purchaser. With the exception of a few cases (such as donations of property by parents in favour of their children and others), stamp duty is generally paid at rate of 5%. However, if you are purchasing a property with the intention to reside in it and make it your sole, ordinary residence, you will pay 3.5% on the first €150,000, and 5% on the rest of price. As of the 2013 budget, a new scheme has been approved whereby, until the end of 2014, people who will be purchasing a property for the first time with the intention of moving into it as their residence will NOT pay any stamp duty (the 3.5% mentioned above) on the first €150,000 of the price.