Getting an Ontario house ready to sell in winter when outside and roof work can't be done: what should I do before listing?
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By spring the good trades are booked solid. In winter, crews can start right away, and inside work doesn't care about the cold.
Spend a month renovating, and if prices slip, the value you added is gone. Keep winter work quick, not big.
In and out, the owner was down roughly $200,000. Money spent on looks rarely comes back.
- 01Paint only dark, marked or stained walls
- 02Fix doors, hinges, taps and dead lights
- 03Empty half of every closet
Paint, cabinets and floors usually need no permit. Structural work or plumbing changes usually do. Electrical goes through a licensed electrician who notifies ESA.
- 01Get one or two written quotes
- 02Seal drafty frames from the inside
- 03Clear eavestroughs, shovel and salt walkways
Tell Yifei about your house and when you plan to sell. He'll tell you straight what to do first and what to skip.
Ask YifeiFocus on the inside. Fix what's broken, paint what needs it, declutter and stage simply; leave the kitchen and bathrooms alone. In Yifei's approach, if you plan to list between February and April 2027, November 2026 to January 2027 is the time to do the work. For the roof and exterior jobs winter won't allow, get written quotes and show them to buyers.
Why winter is the right time for inside work
Yifei's view is that February to April is when houses sell well, and by spring the good trades are booked solid. From November to January, crews have more room and can start right away, and interior work doesn't care about the weather. If you start calling contractors in March, you may not start until April, and the best window is gone.
He also tells sellers this: whether a house sells comes down to price; renovations just make it easier to sell. Spend a month renovating, and if prices slip that month, the value you added is gone. So winter work should be quick, not big.
Two lists: broken and pretty
The broken list is cheap; fix it. For the pretty list, check whether the houses that sold nearby had it. If they didn't, skip it. Yifei has talked about a house bought for just over $700,000 that got more than $300,000 of renovations and later sold for a bit over $800,000, a loss of roughly $200,000.
What Yifei has seen
One seller asked whether they could skip renovations and sell as is. After walking the house, Yifei suggested painting, fixing the doors, replacing missing glass and tidying up anything broken. The kitchen didn't need touching.
In another house, the only room that needed paint was an upstairs bedroom with a child's name written on the wall. White or light grey paint and white bedding brightened it right up. The other rooms didn't need paint at all.
Winter checklist
- Paint: only walls that are too dark, marked up or water-stained. Painting quotes are usually based on wall area, not floor area, so ask before you sign. One couple Yifei worked with asked about the same quote three times before it made sense.
- Small repairs: doors, handles, cabinet hinges, cracked glass, dripping taps, dead lights.
- Declutter: empty half of every closet; clear out the basement and garage.
- Staging: keep it simple. White bedding, matching light bulbs.
- Permits: painting, cabinets and flooring usually need no building permit in most cities. Structural work, removing walls, or adding or moving plumbing usually needs one from your city's building department. Electrical work should be done by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, who files a notification with the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA); that is separate from a building permit, and you may need both. Rules vary by city, so check with yours before work starts, and never skip it to save time.
When the roof and exterior have to wait
Snow on the roof and frozen siding put most outside work on hold until spring.
- Have a contractor look and give you one or two written quotes. A real number is easier for buyers to work with than a question mark.
- Seal drafty window and door frames from the inside where you can.
- Clear the eavestroughs, knock down icicles, and shovel and salt the walkway before every showing.
Yifei walks sellers through pre-listing repairs in the same order every time: what to fix, roughly what it costs, and how it helps the price. Then the seller decides.
Frequently asked questions
Should I redo the kitchen before selling in winter?
Usually not. Check whether comparable houses that sold nearby had updated kitchens. If they didn't, you likely won't get the money back.
My roof is old and can't be fixed until spring. Is that going to stop a sale?
Not necessarily. With a written quote in hand, buyers know the cost and can factor it into their offer, which is easier to negotiate than silence.
Can I paint inside in winter?
Yes. Keep the heat on and crack a window for airflow.
Tell me about your house and when you plan to sell, and I'll tell you straight what to do first and what to skip. Yifei (RE/MAX), efay.ai
Sources: - City of Toronto, when you need a building permit: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/building-construction/apply-for-a-building-permit/when-do-i-need-a-building-permit/ - City of Niagara Falls, do I need a building permit: https://niagarafalls.ca/building-planning-and-business/building-and-renovating/do-i-need-a-building-permit/ - Electrical Safety Authority, notifications and inspections: https://esasafe.com/notifications-and-inspections/
Yifei on this topic (video in Mandarin)
想要在卖房前装修？揭秘六个装修要点！ · YouTube 一飞说地产