Check your property’s bankability
What banks check on the property and the person in 2026 — and how to prepare so your application doesn’t fail on the first attempt.
What “bankable” means
A property is bankable when it meets banks’ standard criteria: a solid location, a marketable concept, documented substance, clear ownership. Banks love standard cases. The further you deviate from standard, the smaller the circle of banks.
The following checklist shows what you should check before the bank application — so your application doesn’t fail on the first attempt.
What banks check on the property
- Location: A-city central > A-city edge > B-city central > B-city edge > village. The location decisively determines the lending value and the circle of banks.
- Energy certificate: A to G — classes H and worse have been more problematic since 2025 (fewer banks, higher equity requirement)
- Year of construction: > 1960 is the typical cut-off for cheaper terms; pre-war buildings may need proof of substance
- Substance: roof, heating, electrics, water, façade — a modernisation backlog? A solid surveyor’s assessment helps
- Ownership: leasehold (Erbbaurecht), condominium with unfavourable co-owners, right-of-way problems → extra effort
- Tenancies (for buy-to-let): social-housing ties, rent-cap status, short-term tenancies
What banks check on the person
- Type of income: permanent employment > fixed-term employment > self-employed > pension > mixed income
- Probationary period: income is only fully counted once the probation with the current employer has ended
- SCHUFA: a score > 95% is ideal; clarify negative entries (deleted or existing) with the bank
- Credit standing even without SCHUFA: for income earned abroad, alternative proof (12 months of bank statements, tax assessments)
- Existing loans: consumer loans reduce the instalment available for the mortgage; car leasing counts too
- Cost-of-living allowances: banks apply a flat figure per person — the remainder must cover the mortgage instalment
What to assemble before the bank
- Payslips for the last 3 months (employees) or accounts + income statement for the last 3 years (self-employed)
- SCHUFA self-disclosure (free once a year)
- A CV (banks want it — even if unusual)
- Bank statements for the last 3 months (all accounts)
- Existing loan and insurance contracts — an overview
- Proof of equity (savings account, securities portfolio, building-society contract)
- Property documents: land-register extract, energy certificate, listing, floor-area calculation where applicable
I prepare the document package in a bank-compliant form — including English-German cover notes where there is an international link. With complete documents, a financing commitment usually takes 3–10 working days.
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Free, non-binding initial consultation — the commission is paid by the bank. I check 500+ banks plus all state development programmes for your situation.