diff --git a/rhodecode/apps/_base/__init__.py b/rhodecode/apps/_base/__init__.py
--- a/rhodecode/apps/_base/__init__.py
+++ b/rhodecode/apps/_base/__init__.py
@@ -244,7 +244,10 @@ class RepoAppView(BaseAppView):
         c.repository_requirements_missing = {}
         try:
             self.rhodecode_vcs_repo = self.db_repo.scm_instance()
-            if self.rhodecode_vcs_repo:
+            # NOTE(marcink):
+            # comparison to None since if it's an object __bool__ is expensive to
+            # calculate
+            if self.rhodecode_vcs_repo is not None:
                 path_perms = self.rhodecode_vcs_repo.get_path_permissions(
                     c.auth_user.username)
                 self.path_filter = PathFilter(path_perms)
diff --git a/rhodecode/lib/vcs/backends/base.py b/rhodecode/lib/vcs/backends/base.py
--- a/rhodecode/lib/vcs/backends/base.py
+++ b/rhodecode/lib/vcs/backends/base.py
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ class BaseRepository(object):
         return commit.size
 
     def is_empty(self):
-        return not bool(self.commit_ids)
+        return self._remote.is_empty()
 
     @staticmethod
     def check_url(url, config):
diff --git a/rhodecode/model/db.py b/rhodecode/model/db.py
--- a/rhodecode/model/db.py
+++ b/rhodecode/model/db.py
@@ -2307,7 +2307,7 @@ class Repository(Base, BaseModel):
             # use no-cache version here
             scm_repo = self.scm_instance(cache=False, config=config)
 
-            empty = not scm_repo or scm_repo.is_empty()
+            empty = scm_repo is None or scm_repo.is_empty()
             if not empty:
                 cs_cache = scm_repo.get_commit(
                     pre_load=["author", "date", "message", "parents"])