The singing and dancing estate agent with a beaming smile
Ian’s very first job was in printing, and before becoming an Alliance property advisor, he worked in customer care and sales, interior design and home décor. So, his approach with clients is always to naturally help them visualise the space as it will be when it’s built up, refurbished or decorated to their tastes.
Over the past year or so, apart from receiving extensive training at Alliance Academy, Ian took it upon himself to re-boot his work mindset for his new position, and judging by his performance so far, things are looking great for him already. Based at the St. Julians branch, Ian specializes mostly in sites and airspaces anywhere in Malta, and is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to pass on to his growing list of contacts.
Surely, many Maltese people recognise Ian from his frequent TV appearances as the somewhat eccentric Janvil stage persona – the singer, dancer and performer, who started modern jazz dancing at around age 11. The world of dance is where Ian also met his wife Nadine, and together they held the title of Malta dance champions for five years from 1990 to 1995. Ian and Nadine have been married since 1999 and are proud parents of Jade Marie aged 20 and Craig Roy aged 16.
After making his mark in dance, “Janvil” started his singing career in 2005 aged 30, when he performed “You” at the Malta’s Song for Europe festival. Although he didn’t go on to represent Malta at the Eurovision, he started voice coaching under the direction of Mro Brian Cefai, and as they say, the rest is history. Ian now regularly performs as a singer and still does a lot of compere work and appearances on television. His entrepreneurial spirit has also led him to support the production of The Entertainers – the most popular Saturday evening variety show on NetTV, which he has been hosting for the past six years.
Aged 45 and presently living in Manikata, Ian enjoys swimming and spending time outdoors in the summer months; and whenever he gets any free time, he’s happy to spend it with his family, and doing some drawing, which is another artistic talent that Ian has in himself.
Asked about his most memorable sale, Ian recounts a particular site that he had invested a lot of time and effort into. “I managed to trace the owners of the land and not only got them to list it with us to put on the market, but I also found a buyer for it. That was my second sale and I will always remember the satisfaction of being rewarded for so much hard work”, he explains. Ian laments the fact that some people seem to think that estate agents make a lot of money for not much work. This is a common misconception, as from the outside you don’t realize the long hours of research, legal issues and other difficulties that agents need to go through every day to put their property deals together.
Ian offers very pragmatic advice to buyers as well as sellers. He suggests buyers should view as many properties as possible with an estate agent of their choice, as this gives them knowledge and insight that nothing else can. To sellers, Ian’s advice is to showcase their properties in the best ways possible, as people are buying how they imagine themselves living in the space.
For a happier world, Ian recommends patience and tolerance and his dream is to one day be in a position to address homelessness as it is often a situation that people find themselves in without much control.
Ian Vella is based at Alliance St. Julians Branch and can be reached directly on ian@alliance.mt or +356 9930 3671.
