Viewing a home remotely in Amsterdam: the method that works (2026)

Here is how to run a remote viewing that actually protects you.

What a video call has to replace

An in-person viewing tells you five things a listing never does: the noise, the smell (damp), the real light, the state of upkeep of the building, and the neighbourhood at the hour you will live in it. A well-run video call covers four of them. The fifth (the neighbourhood) is replaced by a virtual walk through the streets and, better, by someone who knows the address.

The basic principle is simple: you lead the viewing, not the other way round. If the person at the other end just sweeps the camera across the rooms, you will have seen nothing.

The twenty things to have filmed

Ask to be shown, in this order:

The building and the access

1. The street from the front door, panning 180°.
2. The façade, the state of the windows, whether there is a hoisting beam.
3. The stairwell: treads, width, handrail, cleanliness.
4. The bike store or cellar, if there is one.
5. The letterboxes and the entryphone.

Inside, room by room

6. Each room filmed slowly from all four corners.
7. The windows open, so you can hear the street.
8. The glazing type: single or double, visible at the edge.
9. Ceilings and corners, looking for damp marks.
10. Skirting boards and the bottom of walls, for the same reason.
11. The bathroom: ventilation, sealant, water pressure (ask them to run the tap).
12. The kitchen: appliances included or not, condition, extractor.
13. Sockets and switches, which reveal old wiring.
14. The boiler (cv-ketel): make, year, last service.
15. The electricity meter and its rating.
16. The radiators, switched on if possible.
17. The floor: what stays and what goes.
18. Storage, and usable ceiling height in any attic space.
19. The view from every window, and what faces you.
20. The balcony, terrace or garden, with its orientation.

Also ask for a photo of the energy label and of the floor plan with measurements.

Questions to ask during the viewing

• Is inschrijving possible at this address? Get the answer in writing.
• What is the lease duration, and how can you leave it?
• Are the service charges itemised, and what did they settle at last year?
• Who is the landlord, and does the agency work for them or for you?
• When was the last renovation, and what did it cover?
• Is any work planned in the building or by the owners' association?
• What move-in date is possible, and when is it genuinely available?

Warning signs, more critical at a distance

Remote searching attracts fraudsters precisely because you cannot verify anything. Three absolute rules:

• Never pay before a signed, checked lease. No deposit, no "reservation", no application fee before signature.
• Refuse pre-recorded video. Insist on live, and ask for an unplanned action, open a specific window, show the date on their phone. A fraudster recycling a listing's video cannot do it.
• Cross-check the address. The same listing elsewhere at a different price, photos that surface in a reverse image search, a landlord "abroad" offering to post the keys: the three classics, detailed in our guide to rental scams.

What should not be signed remotely without checks

Signing a lease remotely is perfectly possible. What must be verified first:

• The landlord's identity and their right to let the property.
• The full lease, read clause by clause: duration, notice, indexation, service charges, deposit, any diplomatic clause.
• The exact deposit (usually one to two months' bare rent) and the account it goes to.
• Any agency fees, and who the agency represents.
• The check-in report: insist that one is made, with dated photographs, even if you are not there yet.

On key handover day, have someone on the ground check what the video could not show. That is the last moment when a reservation can usefully be raised.

Searching from abroad? Let's talk about your move: we view on your behalf with a detailed written report, and we read the lease before you sign anything.

In summary

A successful remote viewing rests on three things: a list of things to have filmed, prepared in advance; written questions whose answers stay in writing; and an absolute refusal to pay before a verified signature. The rest (light, noise, damp) shows up perfectly well on a screen, provided you know what to ask for.