One-page checklists to hand to a client — or to use yourself. Each prints on its own page with my contact details at the bottom. Free to copy and share.
For executors / personal representatives selling a Calgary-area home
Selling a home in an estate: checklist for personal representatives
First weeks
Tell the home insurer about the death and that the home may be vacant; ask what checks the policy requires.
Secure the home: change or collect keys, keep the heat on, arrange snow clearing and lawn care.
Redirect mail (Canada Post offers forwarding for estates).
Ask the estate lawyer whether a grant of probate or administration is needed before a sale can close.
Before listing
Gather: will, grant (or application status), title, mortgage payout statement, property tax and utility accounts.
Real Property Report with City compliance — find the existing one or order a new one early.
Agree a plan for contents with the beneficiaries: who chooses, by when, and what happens to the rest.
Get a written comparable-sales evaluation so the price can be explained to beneficiaries.
Decide what preparation is worth doing: cleaning and clearing almost always; renovation rarely.
Listing and sale
Make sure the listing and contract reflect the estate’s position (e.g. a condition or completion date tied to the grant).
Keep beneficiaries informed of offers in the way the lawyer advises.
Keep receipts for every estate expense.
Give the lawyer the accepted contract promptly; they handle the transfer and payout.
After the sale
Ask the accountant about the final return, the principal residence designation and a CRA clearance certificate before distributing.
Cancel insurance and utilities after possession, and close out estate accounts.
For homeowners downsizing — and the family helping them
Downsizing your home: a checklist from first thoughts to moving day
When you start thinking about it
List what the next home must have: main-floor living, parking, storage, location, pets, room for visitors.
Get a current value for your home and an estimate of what you’d walk away with after costs.
Ask your accountant about reporting the sale (principal residence exemption) and investing the proceeds.
Put an enduring power of attorney and a personal directive in place if you don’t have them.
Start sorting the rooms and cupboards that matter least.
Choosing the next place
Visit at different times of day: parking, elevators, noise, and how far it is to what you use.
Condo: review the bylaws, budget, minutes, reserve fund plan and study, and the estoppel certificate before going firm.
55+ building: read exactly how the age bylaw is written.
Measure the rooms and decide which furniture comes with you.
Before listing
Ask family what they’d like to keep, and set a date to collect it.
Book selling, donation pickups or clearing for the rest.
Decide the order — sell first, buy first or both together — and talk to your lender about bridge financing.
Find your Real Property Report, permits, and renovation and warranty records.
Moving
Choose possession dates with a few days’ overlap if you can.
Book movers early, and ask about packing and unpacking help.
Pack a first-night box: bedding, medications, the kettle, chargers.
Update your address with Canada Post, CRA, Alberta Health Care, your bank and pension plans; move insurance and utilities over on possession day.
For separating spouses or partners and their advisors
Selling the home during a separation: checklist
Before deciding
Confirm with your lawyer who is on title and whether Dower Act consent will be needed.
Get one written market evaluation that both of you receive at the same time.
Ask the lender for a mortgage payout statement and the prepayment penalty; ask whether the mortgage is portable.
If one of you wants to keep the home: get a pre-approval on that person’s income alone.
Agree in writing before listing
The list price and the date you’ll review it.
How offers will be accepted, and how quickly each of you will respond.
Who pays the mortgage, taxes, utilities and insurance while it’s listed.
Who attends showings, or that neither of you will.
How sale proceeds will be held (often in a lawyer’s trust account) until the split is agreed or ordered.
During the sale
All updates go to both of you at once, in writing.
Keep personal details out of the marketing and out of conversations with buyers.
Send the accepted contract to both lawyers.
For landlords selling a rental in Alberta, and their property managers
Selling a tenanted property: checklist for landlords
Paperwork
The lease, any renewals or addenda, and whether it is fixed-term or periodic.
Security deposit amount, date received and interest records.
Rent ledger and any written notices or correspondence with the tenant.
Condo documents, if applicable.
Decide your buyer
Investor buyer, tenant stays: market the rent and the lease; no vacancy cost.
Owner-occupier, vacant: ask your lawyer about the notice required before serving anything (a monthly tenancy ended for a sale to an occupying buyer generally needs three tenancy months).
Run the numbers both ways — the price difference against the lost rent and carrying costs.
Showings
Talk to the tenant early and agree a showing routine in writing.
Give at least 24 hours’ written notice for each entry, with the reason and a time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., unless the tenant agrees otherwise in writing.
Batch showings into set windows; consider a rent credit for the disruption.
Book a cleaner before photos.
Closing
The deposit and tenancy records transfer with the property if the tenant stays.
Possession date: make sure it fits any notice given.
For sellers whose listing expired or was withdrawn
Relisting after an expired listing: checklist
Work out what happened
Get the showing count and dates from your last listing, and any feedback your agent received.
Look at the old photos and description the way a buyer would — on a phone.
Compare your list price with homes that actually sold near you while you were listed.
Write down every limit on showings (notice, times, pets, tenants). Each one cost you buyers.
Before relisting
Check your old listing agreement for a holdover clause covering buyers who already saw the home.
Reprice on sales from the last 90 days, not on the original price.
Fix what the showings told you: clutter, smell, small repairs, lighting.
Book new photography — not the old set.
Agree a price review date in advance, in writing.
Relaunch
Make showings as easy as your situation allows.
Get a written update schedule from your agent.
Treat the first two weeks as the launch: that’s when buyers who are waiting see the home for the first time.
For owners considering an as-is or cash sale
Before you accept a cash offer: checklist
Know your other number
Get a realistic as-is market value — what the home would sell for, listed, in its current condition.
Estimate what you’d net from listing, after commission, legal fees and the time it takes.
Write down what matters most, in order: speed, certainty, price, privacy.
Read the offer
Is it truly unconditional, or is there an inspection or “due diligence” condition?
How big is the deposit, who holds it in trust, and when is it paid?
Does the buyer’s name include “and/or assigns”? Ask who the real buyer is.
Is anyone asking you to pay a fee up front? Legitimate buyers don’t.
Is the person you’re dealing with licensed? Check the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s ProCheck.
If the buyer is a real estate professional, or connected to one, have they disclosed it in writing?
Before you sign
Disclose any serious hidden problem you know about — “as-is” doesn’t cover concealment.
Have your own lawyer read the contract, especially any clause removing seller warranties.
Compare net to net: the cash offer against your listing estimate, and how long each takes.
For anyone buying or selling an acreage in Alberta
Acreages: a checklist for buyers and sellers
Buying: before you offer
Check the land use district: outbuildings, animals, suites and home businesses it allows.
Look the well up in the Alberta Water Wells database.
Check the AER abandoned well map and the provincial flood maps.
Ask who maintains and plows the road in, and how far it is to the nearest fire hall.
Get pre-approved with a lender who finances acreages.
Buying: conditions to include
Water flow test and water quality test (bacteria and chemistry).
Septic inspection, plus the permit records and pumping history.
Home inspection that includes the outbuildings.
Real Property Report and permits for every building and any suite.
Title review with your lawyer: rights-of-way, easements, caveats, surface leases.
Selling: before you list
Gather the well drilling report and get a recent water test.
Find the septic permits and pumping records; consider an inspection.
Real Property Report and permits for the house, outbuildings and any suite.
A year of power, gas or propane, internet and property tax costs.
Copies of any surface lease, right-of-way or water co-op agreements.
Control weeds and tidy the yard and outbuildings; plan aerial photos and a boundary map.
For anyone buying or selling a lot or raw land in Alberta
Bare land: a checklist for buyers and sellers
Buying: what the land allows
Land use district: is a house permitted or discretionary? Setbacks and minimum parcel size?
Any area structure plan, future road or highway plans nearby.
Talk to the county planning department about your plan before going firm.
Within 300 m of a provincial highway or 800 m of an intersection: roadside development permit.
Buying: what it will cost to build
Water: nearby well records, a driller’s opinion, or a cistern plan.
Sewage: a soil or percolation test to show which system will work.
Power and gas: quotes from the distributor and gas co-op (or propane).
Driveway: a county approach permit.
Financing: land loan terms now, construction financing next.
Buying: what could get in the way
AER abandoned well map (5 m setback; must be located and tested before permits).
Pipelines, rights-of-way, surface leases and caveats on title.
Wetlands, creeks and the provincial flood maps.
The GST status of the sale — confirm with an accountant.
Selling
Confirm the land use district, legal description and boundaries.
Show where power and gas are, nearby well records and any soil test.
Check for abandoned wells and gather any lease or right-of-way agreements.
Confirm the GST status with your accountant before listing.
Plan aerial photos, a boundary map and access directions — and tell the neighbours.
Need a checklist for a situation not covered here? Let me know.
