For Sale by Owner in Ottawa

Step by step

How a private sale works, from price to keys

A private sale follows the same path as any Ontario sale. The difference is who does each step.

1. Set the price

Start with what similar homes near you sold for in the last few months, then look at the homes buyers can tour today. OREB’s October 2026 release says recent sales and competing listings in the same neighbourhood and property type are essential to setting realistic prices.

Ottawa homes sold for an average of 97.5% of their listing price that month, so asking and selling prices sat close together. Our guide to how much your house is worth walks through the comparison.

2. Get the facts in writing

RECO’s seller’s checklist asks that listing details be accurate and backed by invoices, receipts or documentation. That covers the square footage, recent renovations, property taxes and lot dimensions, and which items stay, such as the water heater, appliances, light fixtures and window coverings.

3. Advertise and show the home

Without a brokerage you advertise on your own: a sign on the lawn, private-sale websites and social media. Before any showing, RECO advises removing valuables and securely storing anything with your personal information, such as credit card statements.

4. Negotiate the offer

An offer is an agreement of purchase and sale: a price, a deposit, a closing date and any conditions, such as financing or a home inspection. Have your lawyer read the agreement before you sign it, not after.

5. Close with your lawyer

The Law Society of Ontario’s practice guidelines list what a seller’s lawyer asks for: the existing transfer, your mortgage details and latest statement, the property tax bill, recent utility bills and any survey. The lawyer explains the statement of adjustments and reports on the mortgages discharged at closing.

In Ontario’s electronic land registration, the guidelines add, only a lawyer can sign for completeness any document requiring compliance with law statements.

The other side

What a buyer’s agent can and cannot do for you

The buyer’s agent works for the buyer. RECO says they must share what you tell them with their client, including why you are selling, the lowest price you would accept and the terms you prefer.

Before helping you at all, the agent must give you RECO’s Information and Disclosure to Self-represented Party form and walk you through it. After that, RECO says, the agent cannot:

• give you services, opinions or advice;
• do anything that encourages you to rely on their knowledge, skill or judgement;
• encourage you to stay self-represented, or discourage you from hiring another brokerage.

Who pays the buyer’s agent

RECO’s TRESA FAQs say a brokerage must not sign an agreement with a self-represented seller to assist them or to charge them. Instead, the buyer’s agent may negotiate, for the buyer, a clause in the agreement of purchase and sale in which you cover the buyer’s brokerage fees. That agreement is between you and the buyer.

You can still change course. RECO says a self-represented party can become a brokerage’s client at any point in the transaction.

Making the call

When selling privately can work, and when it is harder

A private sale has the best chance when the hardest parts are already settled:

• You already have a buyer, such as a neighbour, a relative or your tenant.
• Your home is a common type on a street with plenty of recent sales to price from.
• You have time for calls, showings and negotiation, and no fixed date for your next move.
• You are comfortable negotiating across the table from an experienced agent.

It is harder when the home is unusual or its type is slow to sell. In October 2026 OREB reported 7.4 months of inventory for apartments, against 4.4 for the Ottawa market as a whole.

It is also harder when you are buying at the same time, because the two closing dates have to line up. RECO’s seller’s checklist suggests a contingency plan in case they do not.