Viewing a property before a foreclosure auction: what is allowed, what is possible, what to check instead

The most common question before an auction hearing is whether the property can be inspected beforehand. The short answer is uncomfortable. There is no enforceable right to a viewing, neither for bidders nor for the court appraiser. Anyone who still wants to bid on a sound basis needs a substitute for the walk-through. This article sets out which routes work in practice, how often even the court-appointed expert fails to get inside the building, and what you can verify without ever entering.

Is there a right to view a property before a foreclosure auction?

No. German foreclosure law grants prospective bidders no claim to access. Whoever lives there is protected by Article 13 of the Basic Law, the inviolability of the home. Neither the local court nor the pursuing creditor can order a viewing. The occupant may refuse any request without giving a reason.

Why the statute is silent here on purpose

The owner is losing their home against their will. Obliging them on top of that to guide strangers through their rooms would be a further intrusion. The legislator resolved that conflict in favour of the occupant. The same logic applies to tenants: a running lease obliges nobody to admit prospective bidders.

What that means for your bid

You are bidding on a property whose interior you have not inspected, and afterwards you have no claim to remedy. § 56 sentence 3 ZVG is unambiguous: no claim for defects arises. In a notarised purchase, concealed defects can sometimes still be challenged; at a foreclosure auction they cannot. The award is final, even if water damage is waiting behind the front door.

When a viewing is possible anyway

Voluntary viewings do happen, but they are the exception and always depend on the goodwill of whoever currently holds possession. Four constellations are realistic, listed by prospects of success:

1. Receivership is running in parallel. If a creditor is pursuing compulsory administration alongside the auction, a court-appointed receiver holds possession of the property (§ 152 ZVG). Access is then their decision, not the debtor's. Receivers have an interest in a high price and permit viewings more often.
2. The property is vacant and a bank is pursuing the sale. The pursuing bank benefits from a high bid. For vacant properties some lenders organise group viewings. Write to the creditor's representative, whose law firm is named in the court file.
3. A direct request to the owner. A short, polite letter without pressure. Some debtors do let interested parties in, because a higher price reduces their remaining debt. That argument belongs in the letter.
4. An apartment with a managing agent. The managing agent of the owners' association can show the stairwell, cellar and roof, and can report on the maintenance reserve and any refurbishment already resolved. The apartment itself stays closed, but the condition of the building becomes visible.

What you must not do

Entering the grounds without permission is criminal trespass under § 123 StGB, even where nobody is home and the gate stands open. Photographs through windows, drone flights over the plot and conversations under false pretences are not research, they are a liability. Stay on public ground.

How often does anyone get inside the building at all?

Not even the court-appointed expert gets in reliably. Klaava is a German platform for foreclosure auction dates and evaluates the valuation reports of running proceedings in structured form. In 338 of 808 evaluated reports on residential property with an unambiguous statement, that is 41.8 percent of cases, the building was valued from the outside only. As of 02.09.2026, across 3,155 upcoming hearings at 420 local courts.

Undeveloped land and agricultural plots are excluded from this evaluation, because there is no interior to inspect.

Why this is the most important figure in the report

Where a property was valued from the outside only, every statement about bathrooms, heating, floors, wiring and layout rests on the file, the building records or an estimate. The appraised market value then stands on far softer ground than for a building that was actually entered. An expert normally says so openly in the report, often in a single subordinate clause in the section on the site visit. That is the sentence to look for before believing any figure in the document. How to read the rest of it is covered in Reading and understanding a valuation report.

As an aside: a debtor who denies the expert access cannot later rely on the imprecision of the resulting value. The Stuttgart Regional Court held that such an appeal against the appraised value lacks any legitimate interest in legal protection (decision of 21 March 2012, case no. 19 T 26/12).

How old is the valuation report on auction day?

Considerably older than most bidders assume. Between the valuation date in the report and the auction hearing lie a median of 402 days, roughly 13 months. In 573 of 1,024 cases with a stated valuation date, that is 56.0 percent, the report is more than a year old on the day of the hearing. As of 02.09.2026.

This has two consequences. First, the report describes a condition that may no longer exist, particularly where there is vacancy, frost damage or vandalism. Second, the appraised value reflects a market situation more than a year old. Which way that cuts depends on the local market, but it cuts.

What you can verify without a viewing

The walk-through cannot be replaced, but much of its information content can. Four sources are publicly accessible and together cost half a day.

Inspecting the court file

§ 42 ZVG is more generous than many assume: inspection of the land registry notifications and of the claims filed is permitted to anyone, and under subsection 2 that expressly extends to appraisals, meaning the valuation report. You do not have to demonstrate a legitimate interest. Under § 43 (1) ZVG the hearing must be published six weeks before the date, so you have predictable time for this.

An exterior walk with a notepad and camera

More can be established from the pavement than it first appears:

• Roof: displaced tiles, moss, a sagging ridge, the state of the gutters
• Windows: single or multiple glazing, wooden frames with flaking paint
• Facade: cracks, damp marks at the plinth, visible insulation
• Heating: the chimney head, a flue pipe on the facade, an oil tank filler
• Occupied or empty: letterbox, curtains, bins, the reading on the gas meter

Surroundings and public authorities

The standard land value through the Boris portal of the relevant federal state, the register of public building charges and the contaminated sites register at the municipality, the development plan at the planning office. A conversation with the neighbours often yields the decisive detail, such as years of vacancy or a fire.

The hearing itself

In the opening reading the court states the appraised value and the known encumbrances. Anyone who feels unsure should attend one hearing without any intention to bid. The sequence is set out in detail in The auction hearing: from the opening reading to the award. Current hearings with evaluated reports are listed in the auction overview.

How large a risk discount is appropriate without a viewing?

There is no statutory or statistical figure for this. What works in practice is to price the most expensive invisible items individually and deduct the total from your maximum bid. The magnitudes below refer to a mid-sized detached house and are planning reference points, not measurements from the Klaava database.

Anyone unable to carry that sum should avoid properties without an interior inspection and bid on one that was actually entered. How to turn this into a concrete limit is shown in Bidding successfully. The wider pitfalls are covered in Foreclosure auctions: risks and opportunities.

Frequently asked questions about viewing a foreclosure property

Can I view a property before a foreclosure auction? Only if whoever currently holds possession agrees. No enforceable right to a viewing exists, neither in the ZVG nor anywhere else. Where compulsory administration is running in parallel, the receiver decides on access, and the odds are then considerably better.

May I at least walk onto the grounds? No, not without permission. That is criminal trespass under § 123 StGB, even with an open gate and an empty house. From public ground you may look at the property and photograph it.

Who helps me if nobody lets me in? Nobody, by legal means. In practice the court file helps: the valuation report, the expert's photographs and the land registry notifications are open to anyone under § 42 ZVG.

How do I tell from the report whether the expert was inside? The section on the site visit normally states whether and when the property was entered. Wording such as "an interior inspection was not possible" or "the valuation is based on an exterior inspection" means every statement about the interior is an estimate.

How current is the report on auction day? The median gap between the valuation date and the hearing is 402 days, and in 56.0 percent of cases it exceeds a year (as of 02.09.2026). Expect the condition and the market to have moved since.

Can I withdraw after the award if the condition turns out to be poor? No. § 56 sentence 3 ZVG excludes any claim for defects. The award creates ownership regardless of what lies behind the door.

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How to interpret the value in the report is explained in The appraised market value in the report. The full process is described in How a foreclosure auction works.

This article is general information. It does not replace legal advice from a qualified lawyer.