The Storm Before the Calm: Chapter 4

It was very much a machine gun approach when we started contacting agents and direct sellers. The criteria were few: terraced houses anywhere in Gozo except Marsalforn and Xlendi. Real estate websites, Facebook Marketplace, and even good old Maltapark were scoured. We were just dishing out calls and messages like call centre agents working on a commission.

 

Direct sellers were amusing. Pensioners who had their grandchildren list their properties through their Facebook. The prices were even more laughable. But they weren’t selling because they needed the money – and they made that clear. They just wanted to clear out before passing on, at no rush, so you couldn’t haggle with them at all. “If you don’t like the price, move on, son! I’ve got bingo in half an hour and I’m going to spend all the earnings I made from selling three other pieces of land in the past year!” Ah, to be a boomer.

 

Agents of course tried their best. There was a weird trend among the listings, though. All these new places being built up, being marketed as family homes, and they were completely impractical. Now, to be clear, I’ve always been a “less is more” guy, the simpler the better. But these new places being built up lack some basic necessities, like storage space. Or ample space to stretch your arms out. Or not looking like a humid underground dungeon without any natural light. Here’s the kicker though – they all have roof Jacuzzis! Who cares about storing your clothes in a neat and orderly fashion in a boring old closet when you can use a glorified bathtub 4 months a year right next to your neighbours doing the same thing!

 

After dozens of viewings, it was getting exhausting. We knew there had to be an element of compromise when choosing, but it started to feel like we would have to give up more than we would have liked to finally land something.

 

Then, one of our agents presented us with some drawings. Approved plans of a proposed dwelling with nice square-shaped rooms, big open plan, and all three bedrooms on the first floor.  Well, this seems promising. While it was still on plan, we agreed to drive up to the location and check out the area.

 

The village? Għajnsielem.

 

Now, I was still working in Malta and at the time I wasn’t quite planning on changing jobs, so all of a sudden Għajnsielem seemed like the ideal place for having to cross to the mainland multiple times a week. Coupled with the house layout, the puzzle pieces started to fit. Just like that, a sense of urgency came unto me and we told the agent to refrain from showing this listing to anyone else. We had seen enough; this was the one.

 

And while it was still on plan, we had the opportunity to look into making some small tweaks to the layout before construction. Nothing major, open up a wall here, put up a beam there. Remove the damn Jacuzzi from the roof. So before signing anything, we arranged an introductory meeting with the architect, and the seller who engaged him.

 

Enter The Developer.