Home Selling Guide

Selling a home well is mostly preparation and clear decisions. This guide covers the main stages, from your first conversation with an agent to handing over the keys.

1. Decide why and when you are selling

Your reason shapes your plan. If you must be out by a date, that limits how long you can wait for the right offer. If you are buying another home, you need to decide how the two sales line up. Ask yourself:

• What do I need from this sale (a minimum amount, a closing date)?
• What do I still owe on the mortgage, and does it have a penalty for ending early?
• Do I need to buy another home, and does my purchase depend on this sale?

2. Choose an agent and read the agreement

In Ontario the agreement with your brokerage must be in writing. It should clearly set out the services, how the brokerage is paid, the dates the agreement runs, and how it can be ended. Fees and terms are things you can discuss. Before signing, ask:

• What exactly will you do to market my home?
• How and when will you update me, and about what?
• How do you recommend we set the price?
• What happens if we want to end the agreement early?

3. Price the home

A price based on evidence tends to work better than a price based on hope. Your agent will prepare a comparative market analysis using recent sales of similar homes nearby. Look at:

• What similar homes sold for, not only what they were listed for
• How long they took to sell
• How your home compares in size, condition and features
• What is currently on the market, which is your competition

Pricing too high can make a home sit; pricing too low can leave money on the table. The goal is a price you and your agent can explain with comparable sales.

4. Prepare the home

Buyers decide quickly, and condition and presentation matter.

• Declutter and clean. Remove personal items and extra furniture so rooms feel larger.
• Repair small things. Leaking taps, loose handles, burnt-out bulbs and chipped paint all suggest neglect.
• Consider a pre-listing inspection so you know what a buyer’s inspector might find. It lets you repair, price accordingly, or disclose.
• Gather documents: property tax bill, utility costs, any warranties, receipts for major work, and a list of what is rented (such as a hot water tank).
• Stage and photograph well. Most buyers see photos first.

5. Market the home

A strong listing usually includes:

• Clear, bright photos, and often a floor plan or video
• An accurate description that leads with what buyers care about
• Listing on the MLS® system through your brokerage
• Open houses or private showings, with clear instructions for access

Make the home easy to see. Showings that are hard to book lose buyers.

6. Review offers

Offers contain more than a price. Compare them on:

• Price
• Deposit. A larger deposit signals commitment.
• Conditions. Fewer or shorter conditions mean less risk that the sale falls through.
• Closing date and how well it fits yours
• Inclusions and exclusions
• The buyer’s financing, as far as you can tell

If you set an offer date, buyers submit offers by a deadline and you review them together. Your agent explains each one. You can accept, reject, or counter with changes to price or terms.

7. Conditions and closing

After you accept an offer, the buyer’s conditions run, often including a home inspection and financing. Your lawyer reviews the agreement and prepares to transfer title. Expect to:

• Provide access for the inspection, and possibly an appraisal
• Pay off your mortgage from the sale proceeds
• Arrange to move and to cancel or transfer utilities and insurance
• Sign closing documents with your lawyer

On closing day your lawyer releases the keys once the funds arrive and the transfer is registered.

Costs of selling

Plan for these, and ask your agent and lawyer for estimates:

• Fees to the brokerage, as set out in your written agreement
• Legal fees
• Any mortgage penalty or discharge fee
• Costs of preparing the home: repairs, cleaning, staging, photos
• Moving costs

Common mistakes

• Pricing from emotion or from what a neighbour wished for
• Skipping small repairs that an inspector will mention
• Not reading the agreement with the brokerage
• Not checking mortgage penalties before listing
• Accepting an offer without understanding its conditions and dates

Questions to ask before you list

• If the price I want does not come, what is my plan?
• What is my minimum, and when will I reassess the price?
• Who pays for what, and when?
• How do I get my belongings and my family moved on the closing date?