Selling an inherited property in Montreal

What the liquidator can do now

The liquidator runs the succession, but the property is not in the heirs' names in the land register yet. Until that paperwork is done, you can prepare the sale. You cannot sign the deed.

What you can start right away: keep the property secured, heated and insured, redirect the mail, and gather the documents listed below. You can also ask for an opinion of value now. The accountant will want one for the final tax returns anyway.

What usually needs more than the liquidator's signature: unless the will gives the liquidator full administration powers, selling an immovable generally requires the heirs' consent, or the court's authorization when they cannot agree. If there are several heirs, get their agreement in writing before the property goes on Centris, not after an offer arrives. Your notary can tell you which rule applies to your file in a single call.

The documents the notary and the buyer's broker will ask for

• The death certificate issued by the Directeur de l'état civil.
• The will and the will searches at the Chambre des notaires and the Barreau du Québec, plus the probate judgment if the will was handwritten or signed before witnesses. A notarial will does not need probate.
• The declaration of transmission (déclaration de transmission), prepared by a notary and published in the Land Register of Québec. The buyer's notary will not close without it.
• The heirs' written consent to the sale, or the court authorization.
• The property file: the deceased's deed of purchase, the certificate of location (often older than buyers and lenders accept), the latest municipal and school tax bills, and the insurance policy.
• For a condo: the declaration of co-ownership, recent minutes, financial statements, the contingency fund study and the syndicate's attestation. The list buyers now expect is in my guide to Law 16 condo documents.
• For a plex: every lease and any decision from the Tribunal administratif du logement.

The seller's declarations form is still required. A liquidator who never lived in the property can answer that a fact is unknown. That is also why estate sales are often made without the legal warranty of quality, at the buyer's risk: the clause protects the heirs, and it lowers what some buyers will pay.

Pricing a property that was never prepared for sale

Most inherited homes were owned for decades: original kitchen, older wiring, a roof near the end of its life. The price has to account for that, and so do the comparables.

I build the market analysis from sales of properties in similar condition, not from the renovated house on the next street. When there are not enough of those, I start from renovated sales, subtract what a buyer will realistically budget for the work, and check the result against what renovators have paid in the same sector. The neighbourhood pages show current figures for the areas where many of these files are, including NDG, Côte-Saint-Luc and Verdun.

Two decisions move the number more than any repair: whether to sell with or without the legal warranty, and how much to spend on preparation. Cleaning, clearing and painting usually cost less than the discount buyers apply to a tired, crowded house. A new kitchen before listing rarely pays back, and it keeps an empty house on the succession's bills for months.

If the accountant needs a value at the date of death, say so at the start. Some files need a chartered appraiser's report (évaluateur agréé) rather than a broker's analysis; the accountant decides.

Selling with the contents, or cleared

Families often want the house emptied before anyone sees it. That is rarely the fastest route. Furniture can stay through the photos and visits if the rooms are clean and the clutter is gone. A furnished room photographs better than an empty one.

What matters is the paperwork. Anything that stays with the property is written into the promise to purchase as an inclusion, and anything the heirs keep is an exclusion. Agree on the family pieces before listing, not after an offer is accepted.

If the property will sit empty for weeks, call the insurer now. Many home policies limit coverage when a property is left unoccupied, and an estate is exactly where that gets missed.

From the declaration of transmission to closing

1. Will and searches, and probate if the will needs it.
2. Inventory and the heirs' decision to accept the succession. The liquidator prepares the inventory and publishes the notice of closure.
3. Declaration of transmission, prepared by the notary and published in the land register.
4. Valuation, preparation and listing. These can start during step 3.
5. Accepted promise to purchase, the buyer's financing and inspection conditions, then the deed of sale at the buyer's notary.
6. After closing, the proceeds go to the succession. The liquidator obtains clearance from Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency before distributing to the heirs.

What I control is that the listing is ready the week the transmission is published, so the succession does not pay another month of taxes, insurance and heating on an empty house. A notary's role in a Quebec sale is explained in this guide to the notary.

Capital gains: what to ask your accountant

I am not a tax advisor, and this page gives no tax figures. In plain terms, here is what changes when the seller is an estate:

• At death, the deceased is generally treated as having sold their property at market value. That value becomes the starting point for any tax on the later sale.
• If the property was the deceased's principal residence, the exemption may cover the gain up to the date of death. A rented unit in a plex is treated differently.
• The liquidator should not distribute the proceeds before the clearance certificates arrive. A liquidator who distributes too early can be held personally responsible for unpaid tax.

Bring the accountant in before listing, so the date-of-death value and the sale price are documented together. For the selling costs themselves, see what it costs to sell a house in Montreal, and for the legal side of successions, my longer guide to estate sales in Quebec.