At some point someone will want access — an appraiser, an agent, a photographer, or somebody who simply turns up. It is unsettling in your own home, and worth knowing where you stand.
The general position
You are still the owner and still in possession until that changes through the court process. That means you are not obliged to admit anyone who knocks, and you are entitled to ask who they are, who sent them, and to see identification.
Where a court has made an order dealing with access or the marketing of the property, that order governs — which is a very good reason to read anything you have been served with carefully, and to ask a lawyer if it is unclear.
Who is likely to ask
An appraiser instructed to value the property. Where access is required by your mortgage or an order, refusing can work against you — and a valuation done from the outside only, because nobody could see in, rarely flatters a property.
A real estate agent, if the property is being marketed.
Someone who saw a filing. Court records are public, and some buyers door-knock. They have no right of access whatsoever, and you owe them nothing — not even a conversation.
Where cooperating actually helps you
If the property is going to be valued or marketed anyway, a home shown in reasonable condition generally produces a better number than one nobody could get into. That number decides your surplus. Refusing access to make a point can cost you real money.
Reasonable notice, at a reasonable hour, with someone identified, is a fair request. Insisting on those things is not obstruction.
Practical rules
Ask for identification and who instructed them. Ask for appointments rather than drop-ins. Do not feel obliged to let a stranger in on the spot because they seem official. And if anyone attempts to enter without permission or a legal basis, that is a matter for a lawyer, and in the moment, the police.
Questions people ask
General information about the Alberta foreclosure process — not legal or financial advice, and nothing here guarantees an outcome. Every file is different.