Before you decide anything

What will you actually walk away with?

The sale price is the number everyone talks about. It is not the number that decides whether a move works.

What matters is what is left after the mortgage is paid off, the fees and HST come out, and the home has been got ready. That figure is usually tens of thousands lower than people expect, and seeing it early is what makes the decision straightforward.

What the home sells for

Rough numbers are fine. Try it once optimistically and once cautiously.

Expected sale price What you think the home sells for. If you are not sure, use a round number and try it high and low.

What comes off it

Leave anything blank if it does not apply to you.

Real estate fee Enter the percentage you have agreed, or are considering. There is no standard rate. Ours is agreed in writing before the home is listed, and is only earned when the home sells.

Lawyer A straightforward sale is usually somewhere around a thousand to two thousand dollars, plus the disbursements they list for you.

Mortgage or line of credit to pay off The balance owing on closing. Ask your lender for a payout statement, and ask whether breaking early carries a penalty.

Getting the home ready Cleaning, paint, small repairs, staging. Most homes need far less than people expect.

Clearing out and moving Sorting, donation pickups, junk removal and the movers themselves.

Anything else Closing adjustments such as property tax or utilities already paid, and any penalty for discharging the mortgage early.

The two people forget

HST on the fees. The real estate fee and the lawyer both carry 13% HST on top. On a typical sale that is thousands of dollars, and it is the single most common surprise at closing. It has its own line above so it cannot hide.

The mortgage penalty. If you are breaking a fixed mortgage before its term ends, there is usually a charge, and on some lenders it is far larger than people expect. Ask your lender for the payout figure in writing before you commit to anything, and put it in the last box above.

What is usually not worth spending

The costs above are the ones that genuinely move the number. What almost never pays for itself before a sale:

New kitchens and bathrooms
New flooring throughout, unless what is there is genuinely bad
Windows and roofs, unless something is actively failing

Cleaning, paint, working light bulbs and a tidy garden are worth doing. Beyond that, we will tell you honestly when we think you are about to spend money that will not come back to you at closing, even when the easier thing would be to say yes.

We will put the real numbers on paper, at no cost

Two figures, not one: what the home would likely sell for as it stands today, and what it would likely bring after preparation, with what that preparation would cost. Seeing both side by side is usually the moment the decision becomes obvious. There is no charge and no obligation.

Get your personalized plan

This calculator is general information for Ontario, not legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. It applies HST at 13% to the real estate fee and the lawyer's fee. Real estate fees are not set by any authority and are negotiable between a seller and a brokerage; the percentage used here is whichever one you entered. Mortgage payout figures, discharge penalties and closing adjustments come from your lender and your lawyer, and only they can confirm them. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract with a brokerage.