---
title: "How It Works | Regular Visual Updates. No Matter Where You Are."
url: "https://homecheckaxarquia.com/how-it-works.html"
description: "Step-by-step walkthrough of our physical property check protocol, key custody safeguards, weather damage detection, and sample WhatsApp photo reporting."
last_modified: "2026-10-02"
category: "Inspection Protocol & Key Care"
---

# How It Works: The Inspection Protocol

> **Regular visual updates. No matter where you are.**
> Fast, non-intrusive exterior checks designed to catch visible issues before they escalate, ensuring you never return to Spain to an unwanted surprise.

## 4-Step Process

### Step 1: Tell Us About Your Property
Fill in our short online enquiry form or send a WhatsApp message. Tell us where your home is located (Nerja, Torrox, Frigiliana, or Cómpeta) and choose between a single visit, a monthly care plan, or a flexible prepaid pack.

### Step 2: Key Handover & Perimeter Briefing
If your property requires gate access, we arrange a secure handover of your perimeter gate key. We tag keys with an anonymous numerical code (never the property address) and store them in an encrypted, off-site safe.

### Step 3: Scheduled Physical Visit
During every visit, we physically walk the perimeter, test gate padlocks and latch mechanisms, verify ground-floor window grilles and shutters, clear junk flyers from the letterbox, inspect terrace drains, and observe pool water levels and condition.

### Step 4: WhatsApp Photo Proof & Written Report
Within 60 minutes of completing the check, you receive high-resolution, time-stamped photographs and a brief status report directly on WhatsApp or by email.

## Our Universal Check Protocol (4 Core Pillars)
Every inspection strictly focuses on four essential exterior aspects:
1. **Intrusion Check & Signs of Disturbance (Perimeter Vigilance):** Comprehensive boundary inspection verifying that driveway gates, perimeter fencing, and boundary walls remain intact, latched, and secure. We inspect all exterior padlocks and entry gates for signs of tampering, forced entry, or uninvited visitors. Crucially, we clear away unsolicited flyers, delivery leaflets, and accumulated mail from gates and letterboxes that tell opportunistic scouts a villa is unoccupied, keeping your home visibly active and monitored.
2. **Weather & Storm Damage Check (DANA, Winds & Drainage):** Early detection of seasonal weather impact following heavy autumn DANA cloudbursts or fierce mountain windstorms. We physically inspect terrace drains, scuppers, and rainwater gullies to ensure they are completely clear of debris, pine needles, and calima dust before standing water causes structural leaks. We check roof tile alignment, exterior light fittings, awnings (toldos), and terrace retaining walls for visible shifts, water ingress, or storm impact.
3. **Doors, Windows & Shutters Check (Exterior Closure Integrity):** Physical verification of all ground-floor access points, including main entrance doors, patio sliding doors, and window security grilles (rejas). We check that lock cylinders are fully seated, deadbolts engage smoothly without sticking, and exterior roller shutters (persianas) are lowered, secure against heavy gusts, and free from salt-air oxidation or track jamming.
4. **Swimming Pool Check (Water Level, Clarity & Pump Protection):** Visual monitoring of swimming pool water levels and general surface condition. In hot Mediterranean summers, rapid evaporation causes water levels to drop below the skimmers, starving the pump and risking motor burnout. Following heavy rains, we ensure skimmer baskets and overflow weirs are not blocked by storm debris. We confirm water clarity and report any obvious surface anomalies or equipment leaks.

## Key Custody & Security Policy
- Keys are kept in an off-site, heavy-gauge steel safe when not in use.
- Keys carry zero personal identifying information or property addresses.
- Strictly exterior/perimeter keys only. We do not hold main interior residence keys to ensure complete owner privacy.
- Statutory compliance with Article 6.2.a of Spanish Ley 5/2014 (Auxiliary Key Custody).

## What Happens If An Issue Is Found?
1. **Immediate Notification:** We take clear, detailed photos and video of the problem.
2. **Owner-First Contact:** We message or call you on WhatsApp with our objective observations.
3. **Assistance On Your Terms:** If you need us to meet your preferred plumber, glazier, or insurance adjuster at the gate, we can provide auxiliary access assistance.