Buying at a distance is not riskier because the documents are worse. It is riskier because every piece of information reaches you through someone with an interest in the sale.
1. Why buying at a distance raises the stakes
A buyer who visits sees the cracked façade, hears the building site next door, notices that the street is impassable at six in the evening. A buyer 2,000 kilometres away sees a set of photographs taken on a bright morning from the one angle that flatters. Nothing in that is necessarily dishonest — it is simply what selling material is for.
The remedy is not more photographs. It is independent verification: documents you asked for rather than documents you were given, and one visit on site by someone whose fee does not depend on the sale going through. Every point below is built on that principle.
2. The 12-point checklist
Point 1
Land title (ANCFCC)
Ask for the certified copy. Confirm the seller is the recorded owner and that no blocking easement or charge is entered against the property.
Point 2
Registration application
If there is no title: check the status of the registration application under way. Timescales in Morocco are often long, and the outcome is not guaranteed in advance.
Point 3
Approved building permit
For a recently built property: the municipal building permit and the occupancy permit. Without them, you are looking at an unauthorised construction.
Point 4
Planning compliance
Compare what stands on site with the approved plans. Look specifically for undeclared extensions or added storeys.
Point 5
Condominium rules
For an apartment: read the rules, check permitted uses and restrictions — short-term letting in particular.
Point 6
Managing agent's statement
Unpaid charges, charges registered against the lot, pending disputes. To be requested before signing, not after.
Point 7
Apparent condition
Video walkthrough, drone footage of the façade, 360° capture of each room, high-resolution stills.
Point 8
Hidden technical condition
Electrical and plumbing tests, waterproofing, inspection of structural cracks. This is what a video call cannot show you.
Point 9
Recent comparables
Five to ten recent sales (under 12 months) in the same district, adjusted for area and condition.
Point 10
Recurring outgoings
Local council charges, service levies and the average building charges — the running cost that turns a headline yield into a real one.
Point 11
Immediate surroundings
Nuisances: a building site next door, noise, safety. Ask for footage at midday and again in the evening.
Point 12
Regulatory change
A development plan under revision, or a planning classification that could change what the plot allows tomorrow.
Points 1 and 2 decide whether the rest is even worth doing. If the property is registered, the title is the sovereign piece of information — our guide to verifying a land title sets out how to read it. If it is not, you are on the ground of possession and of the adoular moulkia, which is a different exercise with a different discount.
3. Instructing an expert on the ground
- Instruction signed online — a firm quote within 24 hours, settled by international transfer.
- Documentary brief to the expert — exact address, contact for the seller or agent, and any cadastral references you already have.
- Inspection on site — the seller or agent is convened, the administrative documents are collected, the property is photographed, filmed and measured.
- Report within 5 to 8 working days — a defensible value range, the legal points that need clarifying, the technical condition with the cost of putting it right, and documented comparables.
- Video debrief in a slot that fits your time zone — questions answered, negotiation scenarios discussed.
Reports are produced by RICS-certified experts and set out the method, the comparables retained and every adjustment applied. Fees start at 3,500 MAD excl. tax. A private valuation of this kind is built to inform your decision and your negotiation — it tells you what to pay and what to ask the seller to fix before you do.
4. The five traps of buying at a distance
- The agent who offers you their own expert. The conflict of interest is plain. Choose an independent RICS-certified expert, instructed by you.
- The preliminary contract signed before any valuation. You commit before you know. Make the undertaking conditional on the valuation report.
- Money transferred before the notarised deed. Nothing leaves your account before the deed is executed before a notary.
- An over-broad power of attorney. Your attorney signs in your name with powers wider than what you agreed to. Restrict the mandate to the precise acts intended — see transacting remotely under a power of attorney.
- Online estimates used as a reference. Automated tools give you a first order of magnitude. They are not a basis for committing capital in a market where advertised prices and achieved prices diverge.
If any of this feels familiar, our article on property scams and how to avoid them covers the patterns that recur most often with buyers based abroad.
5. What good looks like
A remote purchase that goes well has a recognisable shape. The documents were requested and received before any commitment. Someone independent stood in the property and reported what they saw. The price was set against comparables, not against the asking price. And the undertaking was conditional, so that a finding on site could still change the outcome.
None of that requires you to be in Morocco. It requires that the person who is there works for you.
Buying in Morocco from abroad? Have the property inspected and valued by someone whose fee does not depend on the sale.
Request a valuation →