Do I need a Moroccan bank account to buy from abroad?

Not necessarily. Many purchases go through with the funds wired directly from your account abroad into the account your notary specifies, without you opening a Moroccan account first. Opening one later can make paying local charges and any future rental income easier to manage, but it isn't a condition of completing the purchase.

Who should hold my power of attorney, a family member or a lawyer?

Either can, but the two carry different risks. A family member costs nothing and may know the area, but rarely has the training to spot a problem with the deed or the contract. A lawyer costs a fee but is professionally accountable for what they sign, and can act as your independent check on the property at the same time. Whoever you choose, limit what the document actually authorises them to do.

How do I get a power of attorney apostilled for use in Morocco?

You take the signed document to the competent apostille authority in the country where it was signed, which in most countries is a government or judicial office rather than the notary who drafted it. Since Morocco joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2016, that single certificate is enough to make the document valid in Morocco, without a separate visit to a Moroccan consulate.

How to Buy a Property in Morocco Without Being There

12 September 2026 · 6 min read · Buying · Morocco

You can buy a property in Morocco from abroad without ever getting on a plane, provided the right person is standing in for you at each step that needs a signature. Thousands of Moroccans living in France, Belgium or Canada complete a purchase this way every year, alongside foreign buyers who found a flat or a riad online and decided the distance wasn't worth waiting out. The mechanics are straightforward once someone lays them out in order: a representative signs on your behalf under a power of attorney, an independent person checks the property and the title before you commit, and the money moves through a bank rather than a suitcase.

None of that removes the two real risks of buying at a distance: signing away more authority than you meant to, and trusting a description of a property instead of an inspection of it. Both are avoidable once you know which steps in the chain need independent verification and which ones your notary or lawyer will simply handle.

This is the order we walk buyers through when they tell us they can't get to Morocco before completion, from giving someone the legal right to sign for you to the moment the sale is registered.

Give someone the legal right to sign for you

A power of attorney, a procuration, is what lets a representative sign the sale deed on your behalf in front of the Moroccan notary or adoul. Moroccan law requires that any document transferring property, or creating a right over it, be drawn up as an official act by an authorised professional rather than as a private letter you sign and post, under Article 4 of the Code of Real Property Rights. As of 2026, that rule extends in practice to the power of attorney itself, and the accepted forms for it have changed more than once in recent years.

Don't assume the process a friend or relative used a few years ago still applies. Ask the notary or lawyer handling your file, in writing, exactly which form of power of attorney they will accept before you sign anything in your country of residence, and get it in writing that they will register it once it arrives.

If you sign the power of attorney in front of a notary where you live, it will usually need an apostille to be recognised in Morocco. Morocco has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 August 2016, which replaces consular legalisation with a single certificate issued by a competent authority in the country where the document was signed. Ask that authority, not the notary, how long the apostille itself takes to issue, since it sits outside your notary's control.

Have someone view the property who isn't the seller's agent

A video call is a reasonable first look, not a substitute for an inspection by someone working for you. The seller's agent has every reason to keep the camera pointed at the good angles, so send your own lawyer or an independent surveyor to walk the property, check the utilities and compare what's on site against what was advertised.

The same person, or your lawyer separately, needs to check the actual title register entry rather than a photocopy the seller hands over. Whether the deed behind the property is a registered titre foncier or an older, unregistered melkia document changes how much protection you actually have, and that difference matters most precisely when you can't walk into the land registry yourself. The ownership rules that let you buy in the first place are the same wherever in Morocco the property sits and whichever country you're buying from, so that question is worth closing off early rather than assuming.

Fund the purchase the way your bank in Morocco expects

Wire the purchase price from an account in your own name abroad into the account your notary specifies, in foreign currency, and keep the transfer confirmation. Doing it any other way, in cash, through a relative's account, or without a paper trail, is the single most common reason buyers get stuck later.

Budget for more than the headline price. On top of what you agree with the seller, registration duty, the land registry's own fee and the notary's bill all add to the total, and none of them are optional. It's also worth knowing now, even if selling is years away, that how you fund the purchase today is exactly what a Moroccan bank will ask to see if you ever want to take the proceeds back out of the country. A clean, traceable transfer now saves an argument with a bank later.

Sign without flying out for completion

On completion day, your representative attends the notary's office in your place, presents the power of attorney, and signs the deed. The sale is legally valid without you on a video call at that moment, though most notaries will happily set one up if you ask ahead of time so you can see the signing happen.

Confirm the date and the exact documents required well in advance, not the week of completion. A power of attorney that the notary's office decides not to accept on the day means restarting part of the process from your home country, which can cost you weeks rather than the appointment itself.

Where remote buyers actually lose money

Buying at a distance doesn't create new risks so much as it removes the checks you'd normally do without thinking. A few habits cover most of it:

Never send a deposit to a personal bank account. Verify the notary's or seller's account details by phone, not only by email, since email threads are a common place for fraud to intercept a transfer.
Limit the power of attorney to this one property and this one transaction, with an expiry date, rather than handing someone open-ended authority over your affairs in Morocco.
Get your own lawyer, paid by you, rather than relying on the person who is also representing the seller or the developer.
Treat a price that looks unusually low, or a seller who won't put you in direct contact with the notary, as a reason to slow down rather than move faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. It's routine for Moroccans living abroad and for foreign buyers who found a property online, using a power of attorney for the signing, an independent inspection in place of a viewing, and a bank transfer for the funds. The steps take longer than being there in person would, so build in extra time rather than assuming it moves at the same pace.

Doing this from outside Morocco?

A consultant who works with buyers based abroad every week can walk you through the power of attorney, the funding and the signing itself before you commit to anything.

Speak to a Consultant