How to inspect a property remotely

Ask the agent or seller for a continuous, unedited video walkthrough rather than relying solely on curated photography. A single continuous take, room to room, including hallways and transitions between spaces, gives you a far more honest sense of layout, proportions and condition than still images, which can be selectively framed and lit.

Ask specifically for the video to include ceilings, floors and corners of each room (common places for damp, cracking or wear to show), all windows opened and closed to check function and views, the electrical fuse board, the boiler or water heater, and — for villas — the roof, garden boundaries, pool area and any outbuildings.

Request footage of the building or plot from outside, including neighbouring properties, the street itself, and a short walk in each direction — toward the nearest amenities and away from them. This tells you far more about the actual daily environment than an interior shot ever will: overhead power lines, an unfinished plot next door, a busy road, or a construction site are all things that rarely appear in polished interior photography.

If the property borders undeveloped land, ask directly what is zoned for that land, since a quiet field today does not guarantee a quiet field in five years' time.

Photos are typically taken in favourable light and often in a favourable season; ask when the video or photos were taken, and if possible request a second video at a different time of day, since orientation matters enormously for how a property feels — a west-facing terrace can be glorious in the evening and unbearably hot in the afternoon.

Ask the seller or agent directly about noise: nearby bars, roads, church bells, roosters, construction sites, flight paths, or seasonal events. Many of these are absent or muted outside peak summer months, so also ask what the area is like in winter, when a large share of foreign residents are absent and businesses may close.

Where possible, ask your lawyer, agent or a local contact to knock on a neighbour's door, or simply ask them directly if you get the chance during a video call on-site, about anything from community disputes to noise, flooding history or planned nearby developments. Neighbours are often more candid than a seller with an obvious financial interest in the sale.

This is a small step that costs little effort but frequently surfaces information no document search will reveal, such as an unresolved boundary dispute or a persistent damp issue in a shared wall.

Ask for the nota simple, the most recent IBI receipt, the energy performance certificate, recent utility bills (useful for sense-checking running costs and confirming the property is actively occupied or maintained), and, for a villa in a community, recent community meeting minutes and a debt-free certificate.

Send everything to your lawyer for review before paying any reservation fee, not after. A remote video walkthrough handles the physical inspection reasonably well; it does not substitute for independent legal due diligence on the documents, which should proceed in parallel regardless of how confident the video makes you feel.

If you genuinely cannot visit before committing, consider hiring an independent local professional — a buyer's agent, surveyor or lawyer with no financial interest in the sale closing — to visit in person on your behalf and report back candidly. This is a modest additional cost against the size of a property purchase and provides a level of on-the-ground scrutiny that video alone cannot fully replace.

Whatever your route, plan to visit in person before final completion wherever practically possible; a remote-first process is about shortlisting and reducing wasted trips, not about eliminating the need to ever see the property yourself.