How to visit and inspect a property at auction

A viewing helps you understand the visible condition of a home, but it does not by itself settle legal, technical or cost questions. You may not be able to enter the property. Prepare one plan for an authorised viewing and another for working with incomplete information, without turning photos or missing data into certainties.

This guide explains how to request a viewing through the appropriate channel, what to record during the walkthrough and what to ask for if you commission a professional review. It focuses on the property's physical condition; to understand the notice and organise the case file, also see the step-by-step auction buying guide and the guide to reading an auction listing.

Identify the procedure before requesting access

The BOE Auction Portal publishes judicial, notarial, tax and administrative auctions. Two notices appearing on the same website does not mean they follow identical rules. Identify the authority managing the auction and review the notice, its conditions and attached documents. The official Auction Portal help page says who manages each type and that the managing authority is responsible for the published data and its clarifications.

For a civil judicial auction of real property, section 669.3 of the Civil Procedure Act (LEC) allows any interested party to ask the court to inspect the property during the bidding period. The court notifies the person in possession and asks for their consent. The rule does not authorise an interested party to enter on their own, and making a request does not guarantee a viewing. Section 668 provides that the notice should state, where appropriate, that a viewing may be possible.

Do not automatically apply that mechanism to other proceedings. Ask the authority named in the notice in writing whether there is a way to arrange a viewing, what conditions apply, who coordinates it and the last date for making a request. Do not contact occupants to enter without authorisation or try to access locked areas. Keep the reply with the notice and check whether the case file is updated.

Prepare a checklist and route for the viewing

Before travelling, confirm the exact address, contact person, time, who authorised access and which areas you will be allowed to see. If the viewing is not confirmed, do not assume it will happen: reorganise your review around the limits you do know. Bring the notice and any available plans so you can distinguish the property you see from the lot being auctioned.

Prepare a sheet for each room with four fields: observation, location, evidence and question to follow up. Add the date, time, lighting or weather conditions if they affect what you can see, approximate duration and the names or roles of the people taking part. Ask permission before taking photographs and limit them to what is needed to document the property. Do not photograph people, private documents or areas outside the viewing.

Walk through the authorised communal areas and each room; finish by recording what you could not see. If you have permission to access a courtyard or terrace, observe façades and roofs from a safe place. Do not climb onto roofs, open inspection covers, move furniture or handle installations.

What to observe and how to record it

Describe what you can see in concrete terms without assigning a cause yet. Instead of writing “there is a leak”, note “dark patch about 30 cm wide next to the bedroom ceiling, paint is blistering; the area above it could not be seen”. Instead of “structural crack”, record “diagonal crack visible in the partition between the living room and hallway; photographed from the doorway”. These are examples of record-keeping, not diagnostic findings.

In each room, you can note whether you saw damp, flaking material, cracks, apparent distortion, damaged joinery, persistent smells or anything that did not respond to an authorised visual check. Also record whether an area was hidden, locked or unlit. In bathrooms and kitchens, state which items were visible and which could not be checked. Do not assume an installation works because it looks complete, and do not test it without permission or if it cannot be done safely.

In the building, distinguish what you observed from the street or in communal areas from anything that would require access to a private area. A well-kept staircase does not show that the drainage stacks are in good condition; marks on a façade do not, by themselves, reveal their cause or extent. If you speak to someone during the viewing, identify what they said as a verbal statement, with its date and source, until you can check it against documents.

Visual observation and technical diagnosis are different

A brief viewing lets you describe visible signs; it does not automatically establish their cause, extent or urgency. A stain can have several causes, and a crack may need monitoring or tests to interpret. You cannot conclude that a home has no defects because its walls look freshly painted, or estimate a complete renovation from a few photographs.

If something could affect safety, the structure, persistent damp or the operation of installations, ask a suitably experienced professional for advice. If the interior cannot be accessed, say so when commissioning the work: a professional cannot certify the condition of rooms they could not observe. They may limit the work to documents, the exterior or communal areas, but the report should identify those limits.

Also check the date and purpose of the available documents. A Building Assessment Report (IEE) may provide information about a building's conservation, accessibility and energy efficiency, as applicable; on its own, it does not establish the current condition of every room in a particular home. Section 29 of the consolidated text of the Land and Urban Rehabilitation Act covers those matters for collective residential buildings.

An energy performance certificate provides a different kind of information. Section 6 of Royal Decree 390/2021 states that the certificate does not establish compliance with any other requirement applicable to the building; its purpose is to assess energy performance. Do not use it as a substitute for a review of conservation, installations or finishes.

What an inspection report should clarify

Before hiring someone, agree in writing what will be inspected, which documents will be delivered, what the work will cost and what is excluded. Ask whether it will be a visual inspection, whether measurements or tests are included, whether only accessible areas will be reviewed and who may accompany the technician. A service's marketing name does not explain its scope.

A report that helps you decide should identify the property and inspection date; list the documents reviewed; describe the accessible areas and those left out; distinguish observations from hypotheses; attach photos with their locations; prioritise issues that need attention or testing; and explain what further investigation may be needed. If it includes an estimate, ask it to distinguish measured work, assumptions, exclusions, permits and work on communal parts that it has not assessed.

Ask the professional to state the limits: seeing an installation is not the same as testing it, and a non-invasive inspection cannot reveal what is hidden behind finishes. A report describes the condition observed on a particular date and within a defined scope. It should not be presented as a guarantee that no hidden defects exist or that none will appear later. If an important conclusion depends on a test that was not carried out, it should remain an open question.

If you cannot visit, record what is missing

Being unable to view a property is not solved by looking at the same images more often. Check who produced the photos or reports, when they were made and which areas they show. Ask the managing authority whether there are additional documents or a way to request a viewing. No reply or no photographs does not confirm the property's condition.

Create a record of uncertainties with five columns: issue, available information, source and date, what you do not know, next step. For example: “windows — visible in two photos — listing photos, date not stated — condition of seals and leaks unknown — request access or include in the technical brief”. Mark the difference between a documented fact, a direct observation, a third-party comment and a hypothesis.

If images are old or partial, record that. Do not infer the condition of the electrical installation from an energy performance certificate. When there is not enough information to value an item, write “pending inspection” or “not quantified”, not zero.

Turn questions into budget scenarios

Separate confirmed work, professional estimates and open items. For each item, record who assessed it, when, the scope and whether it includes taxes, permits or building repairs. The article on costs and taxes when buying a property at auction explains how to keep uncertainties visible in the overall budget.

You can build three scenarios without inventing a renovation price: one with the confirmed work; another adding plausible work that a technician has described as requiring further checks; and a third covering the most demanding case you can justify from the available information. Do not call a figure “optimistic” simply because it fits better. If there is no basis for quantifying an assumption, leave the item unquantified and reduce the amount you are willing to commit until you have more information.

The table does not establish causes or prices. It helps each scenario show what evidence supports it and what could change it. Update the calculation when you receive a report or estimate, and keep the previous version so you can see which assumption changed. For possession status and other legal questions, consult the separate guide to charges and occupied homes: a viewing does not resolve those issues.

Finish the inspection with a documented decision

At the end, summarise what you observed, the documents reviewed, the areas you could not access, the issues that need a diagnosis and who can answer them. Save files with their dates and keep original photos separate from later notes. This summary helps the relevant professional understand the assignment without confusing your observations with a technical conclusion.

Before moving from the physical review to calculating the transaction, check that the budget distinguishes facts, estimates and unknowns, and that the access situation is described accurately. If the interior condition could materially affect your plans and you cannot check it, treat that as a real limit on the information available. How much risk to accept depends on your circumstances; this guide does not recommend bidding or replace an individual report.