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A power of sale is the process an Ontario mortgage lender uses to sell a property when the borrower has stopped making payments. The lender does not take ownership of the home. It sells the home, uses the proceeds to pay off the mortgage and the costs of the sale, and returns anything left over … Continued

Selling the family home during a divorce or separation in Ontario usually comes down to three questions: do both spouses have to agree, how is the money divided, and how do you get through the sale without months of conflict. The short answers are that a matrimonial home generally cannot be sold without both spouses’ … Continued

Yes. In Ontario, a co-owner who wants to sell a jointly owned property can force the sale through the courts even if the other owner or owners refuse. The legal mechanism is the Partition Act, R.S.O. 1990, which gives any registered co-owner the right to apply to the court for a partition or sale of … Continued

No. Ontario law does not require you to use a real estate agent to sell your home. The Real Estate and Business Brokers Act governs agents, not sellers. Homeowners in Ontario have the legal right to sell their own property without any agent involvement whatsoever. What you do need, regardless of how you sell, is … Continued

Most Ontario home sellers focus on the sale price. The number that actually determines what they walk away with is the sale price minus every cost of selling. In 2026, those costs for a traditionally listed Ontario home typically run between $45,000 and $65,000 on a property selling at $800,000, a figure most sellers significantly … Continued

The short answer: most real estate agents do not buy your home. They find a buyer for you and charge a commission for doing it. A small number of agents in Ontario also operate as investors and will purchase properties directly, but this creates legal obligations they must meet. The term ‘real estate agent who … Continued

The most important thing to know about foreclosure in Ontario is that the province does not technically use foreclosure. The legal process here is called power of sale, which is different in one critical way: you keep any equity above the mortgage debt and sale costs when the lender sells the property. That distinction matters, … Continued

Walk into almost any real estate brokerage in Ontario and you will see some version of a guaranteed sale promise. It sounds simple: list with us, and if we cannot sell your home, we will buy it. For sellers who are stressed about whether their home will sell, this sounds like a solution. It can … Continued

High condo maintenance fees do not just reduce buyer enthusiasm, they can make a unit impossible to finance through conventional channels. When fees reach a level that pushes a buyer’s total housing costs past a lender’s debt service thresholds, the mortgage is refused regardless of the buyer’s income or credit. The result is a smaller … Continued

Yes. No law in Ontario requires a home inspection before a property can be sold. The decision to conduct, commission, or waive a home inspection is a negotiation choice made between buyer and seller, not a legal requirement. Whether to proceed without an inspection and what that means for your obligations as a seller in … Continued

Selling your home as-is in Ontario means putting it on the market or selling it directly in its current condition, with no repairs, upgrades, or improvements before closing. Most conversations about this topic focus on the financial trade-off: you give up some sale price in exchange for avoiding repair costs. That is part of the … Continued

Selling a house in poor condition in Ontario is possible and in many cases faster than sellers expect. Whether the property has structural issues, years of deferred maintenance, fire or water damage, or is simply too dated to compete on the open market, you have three realistic options. This guide covers what each path looks … Continued

Financial hardship takes many forms for Ontario homeowners: missed mortgage payments, property tax arrears, overwhelming personal debt, job loss, or carrying costs that have become impossible to sustain. Selling the home is often the right financial decision, but timing and method matter. The options available to you depend heavily on how much time you have … Continued