Planning a viewing trip: a week of viewings that works

Before you fly

The best viewing trips start at home. Narrow your search to two or three zones before you book flights, using area pages such as the Southwest, the North or the Southeast. Then ask agents for a shortlist in those zones and, where they will share it, the address or cadastral reference of each property.

• Look each property up on the cadastre website, which is free. It shows the plot outline, the built area and the year of construction.
• For a serious candidate, order a nota simple, a short land registry extract, online from the Colegio de Registradores.
• Ask whether the agent is on the Balearic government’s official register of estate agents. Registration is voluntary, but registered agents must show their number.
• Talk to an independent lawyer before the trip, so you can send them anything you like straight away. Our guide to choosing a lawyer explains what to look for.

One zone a day

The biggest mistake is zigzagging. Mallorca’s main roads run out from Palma like spokes, so going from one coast to another often means passing back near the city. Plan each day around one zone and fit the viewings to it, not the other way round.

A sample week

1. 1

   Day 1

   Arrive, collect the hire car and drive the areas on your list without appointments. Walk a town centre, visit a supermarket, notice the traffic.

2. 2

   Day 2

   First zone, for example Palma’s neighbourhoods and the Southwest.

3. 3

   Day 3

   Second zone, for example Valldemossa, Sóller and the Tramuntana villages.

4. 4

   Day 4

   Third zone, for example Pollença, Alcúdia and the towns along the Inca motorway.

5. 5

   Day 5

   A spare day for anything new the agents suggest, or a zone you had not planned.

6. 6

   Day 6

   Second viewings of your two or three favourites, at a different time of day.

7. 7

   Day 7

   Meet your lawyer if they are on the island, sort your notes and fly home.

How many viewings a day

Three or four viewings a day is plenty. Allow about an hour per property, plus the drive and time to find the place, as country houses often have no clear street address. After the fifth house in a day, details start to blur.

Leave gaps for lunch, for a wrong turn and for a second look at a street you liked. In winter the light goes early, and a sea view or a garden is hard to judge in the dark, so put the properties where the outlook matters in the morning.

What to bring

• Your passport, and your NIE if you already have one. Our guide to getting a NIE explains how.
• A printed list of the properties with addresses, agent contacts and times, plus offline maps in case the signal drops in the hills.
• A short checklist for every viewing: orientation, damp, noise, parking, mobile signal, water supply.
• Questions for the agent: yearly property tax (IBI), community fees, any holiday-let licence and the age of the roof, pool and installations.
• Comfortable shoes. Fincas mean walking plots, and old towns mean steep streets.

On the day and afterwards

Take photos and a short video of every room, and note the number of each photo against the house. Check the phone signal inside the house. If you are serious about a property, go back in the evening or at the weekend, and drive the route you would use for school, work or the airport at the time you would use it.

Do not let a trip deadline push you into signing or paying a deposit on the spot. A reservation or a deposit contract has legal consequences, and your lawyer should see it first. Our guides to the buying process and surveys and checks explain what happens next.