Malta is a very favorable spot. Being an EU member, with close proximity to Italy...and English is the main language (I spent a little over a week there last year). They do have some good visa options. There is a real estate investment visa which, off the top of my head, is about 300K. And there's a rental option, though that one has a few more hoops. There would be some secondary costs beyond those initial fees your friend is talking about, but the good thing is it can be spread out.

I would suggest to your friend to maybe move faster with Malta. The country just last year jacked up the financial requirements on its digital nomad visa, so I could see them doing the same with their other visas.