You have enough money for the security payment and want to bid at a judicial real-estate auction. That does not yet settle the financing. You need a plan for the hearing and for the time after a possible successful bid. This article deals with Germany. Notes from the Amtsgericht München apply only to the expressly mentioned factual context; local payment instructions are not transferable to other courts.
The security is not a reservation fee
Under § 67 ZVG certain parties can demand security immediately after an offer is made. The usual measure under § 68 Absatz 1 is one tenth of the applicable market value (Verkehrswert), not one tenth of your self-chosen bid. The law recognises additional special cases. If the required security is not provided, the bid must be rejected under § 70. [VERLANGEN] [HOEHE] [SOFORT]
Our practical recommendation: Check before the hearing which market value (Verkehrswert) is applicable, whether any special circumstances are mentioned and how you can actually provide the permissible security. A general statement from your bank about existing assets is not the same security payment.
Available money must arrive in the permissible form
§ 69 ZVG excludes cash as security. It regulates in particular certain bank drafts, qualified bank guarantees and the transfer. For a transfer the credit at the court treasury must be present before the auction date and the proof at the hearing must match. Sending only an order on the evening before does not by itself demonstrably fulfil these requirements. [FORM]
Clarify payment method, allocation and lead time directly using the current instructions of the competent court. Do not adopt an account number from any arbitrary guide copy. The Munich court specifies its own organisational lead time for its proceedings; that does not create a nationwide blanket bank turnaround time. For a cheque or a guarantee check the respective legal requirements with the issuing bank. [MUENCHEN] [FORM]
Your limit concerns more than the stated bid amount
The Amtsgericht München explains that rights which may remain in addition to the stated cash bid must be added when assessing the economic outlay. Whether and which rights remain belongs to the specific auction. Do not assume that all entries in the land register simply disappear or that their economic significance is already contained in the stated amount. [MUENCHEN]
As a planning recommendation, set a limit only after this clarification. Incidental acquisition costs, necessary work and rooms not immediately available can require additional money. This article does not state a blanket overall rate for that. Your personal limit is also not a guarantee that you will actually receive a successful bid at this amount.
After the successful bid a further payment phase begins
§ 49 ZVG requires the rectification of the cash bid before the distribution hearing and provides for interest from the time of the adjudication. For a transfer the credit must be present in time and proven. That is a different time than the initial security payment. The statutory interest rate under § 246 BGB is generally four percent per annum; special circumstances such as an effective deposit must be assessed separately. [ZAHLUNG] [ZINS]
Therefore discuss with your financier not only the maximum loan amount. Which documents are required, what payout conditions apply and when can the money actually be at the required place? A payout procedure intended for an ordinary purchase contract must not be transferred unquestioningly to the judicial procedure.
A hypothetical payment schedule makes the gap visible
Mira plans an auction with an applicable market value (Verkehrswert) of 300.000 euros. For the usual case she envisages 30.000 euros of transferred security. Her presumed cash bid limit is 240.000 euros. Even if the transferred security is later fully credited towards it, arithmetically 210.000 euros of this cash bid remain to be provided. Added to that are the actually relevant interest, rights and further expenses in the case.
The calculation does not describe an appraised property nor a secure credit decision. Had Mira provided a bank guarantee instead of transferred money, the same assumption about already paid 30.000 euros would be incorrect. She therefore has the concrete crediting and all payment dates confirmed. Only a coherent plan answers whether she can fulfil the bid economically and on time in the event of success.