Downsizing Checklist for the Fraser Valley: Every Step From the First Price Check to After the Move

Downsizing means selling a house and buying a smaller home, and the work has many steps. This checklist puts them in order, in eight stages, from the first price check to the months after the move. Each step names the reason for it, who can help, and the page that explains it in full.

Print this page and mark each step as you finish it. Most stages take as long as you need, so we give no total time. One has a published figure: the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) says a single-family detached home took an average of 45 days to sell in September 2026. Our post on how long it takes to sell a house adds the other stages.

Stage 1: What should you find out before you decide?

You can finish every step in this stage and still decide to stay in your house.

Source: FRIVE team checklist.

Price and costs. BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), the provincial regulator of real estate, says an agent can show you what similar properties have recently sold for in your neighbourhood. Its list of selling costs includes the commission (the fee you pay your agent's company), legal or notary fees, and any lender's charge for paying off a mortgage early.

Tax. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says you do not pay tax on the gain, meaning the profit, if the property was your principal residence for every year you owned it. Our tax post explains which homes meet that term.

Deferred property tax. Owners aged 55 or older can defer property tax as a loan from the Province. The Province says you must repay the loan in full when you sell.

Stage 2: What will you buy, and where?

Decide which type of home you want, and in which city, before you list the house. Many smaller homes are in a strata. A strata is the owners' group that runs a condo or townhouse complex, and each owner pays it a monthly fee.

Source: FRIVE team checklist.

The Strata Property Act says a strata may pass a bylaw that requires "one or more persons residing in a strata lot" to have reached a specified age of 55 or older. One building may require one resident to be that age, and another every resident, so read the bylaw.

Our city guides: Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Maple Ridge.

Stage 3: Which papers should you gather?

Start a folder now. Your agent, your lawyer or notary and your accountant will each ask for some of them.

Source: the organizations named, on the pages linked in this section.

Title. The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) says you can order a current title for a fee: online with an LTSA Explorer account, by mail as a State of Title Certificate, or through a registry agent or another professional. You search by parcel identifier, a number printed on your BC Assessment notice, because the register cannot be searched by street address. A lien is a claim on the property that secures a debt.

If a spouse who has died is still named on the title, tell your lawyer or notary early: LTSA says a transfer of title after the death of a spouse may require a legal professional. If you paid off a mortgage years ago, LTSA says most lenders file the form that removes it, and the title shows whether it is still listed.

Payout letter. The Province says a request for one freezes your deferment account, so ask your lawyer or notary when to request it, and which identification their office needs.

Are your will and power of attorney up to date?

A sale changes what you own. Before you list, ask a lawyer or notary to check three documents. The Province says a will explains a person's wishes after they die. An enduring power of attorney names a person to make decisions about an adult's financial affairs. A representation agreement names a person to make decisions about an adult's personal care and health care.

If an owner may be unable to sign during the sale, ask early how the papers would be signed. If you are selling for a parent, read selling a parent's home.

Stage 4: How do you get the house ready and choose an agent?

Empty the rooms first. Sorting what a family has kept for decades takes time, and deciding what to give away can be hard. Start with the rooms you use least.

Then decide on repairs. Our post on getting a 30-year-old house ready to sell sorts the jobs into three groups (fix, clean and leave) and explains what a BC seller has to tell a buyer.

Then choose an agent and a brokerage, the company the agent works for. BCFSA's pages give four things to check.

Source: BCFSA, on the linked pages and its "Listing Your Home" page.

BCFSA's consumer guide says BC has no standard commission, and any amount can be negotiated between you, your agent and the brokerage. When you get an offer, your agent gives you the Disclosure to Seller of Expected Remuneration, a form that turns the percentage in your contract into dollars. See our page on real estate commission in BC.

Stage 5: What happens from the listing to a firm sale?

Before you list, read selling first or buying first and choose an order. The sale follows these steps.

1. You sign the listing contract. BCFSA says your agent must give you a signed copy.
2. An offer arrives. It is usually written on a form called the Contract of Purchase and Sale. BCFSA says your agent must advise you of all offers. You can accept an offer, reject it, ignore it, or change it and send it back.
3. You accept. BCFSA says the contract is legally binding once you and the buyer have both signed, even when it contains conditions.
4. The buyer has three business days to cancel. BCFSA calls this the Home Buyer Rescission Period. A buyer who cancels pays you 0.25% of the offer price. On an offer of $1,300,000, that is $1,300,000 × 0.0025 = $3,250.
5. The buyer pays a deposit. BCFSA says the brokerage of the buyer's agent usually holds the deposit in a trust account as a neutral party.
6. The buyer removes the conditions. A condition, called a "subject" in BC, is something that must happen before the sale goes ahead, such as a building inspection. BCFSA says the buyer must use every reasonable effort to meet each one. Once every condition is removed and the three business days have passed, we call the sale firm.
7. The sale completes. The contract states the completion date, when ownership passes to the buyer for the price, and the possession date, when the buyer can move in. BCFSA says both sides usually engage a lawyer or notary to prepare the transfer documents.

Stage 6: How do you buy the smaller home?

Source: FRIVE team checklist, with BCFSA rules as linked.

Property transfer tax. The Province charges the buyer 1% of the first $200,000 of fair market value and 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000. Take a townhome at $745,300, the FVREB benchmark price (the board's price for a typical home of one type) for September 2026. The tax is 1% × $200,000 = $2,000, plus 2% × $545,300 = $10,906, for a total of $12,906.

Newly built homes. The Province gives a full exemption on a newly built home with a fair market value of $1,100,000 or less. Among the conditions: you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, the home is your principal residence, and you move in within 92 days of registration. A buyer who has owned a home before can qualify. Our post on a new condo or a resale one compares the taxes on each.

Dates. If the purchase completes first, a bridge loan, a short loan repaid from the sale, can pay for the days between. RBC says a firm sale agreement must be in place on your existing home to qualify. TD says its bridge financing typically covers up to 90 days.

Stage 7: What has to be done for the move itself?

Our suggestions before moving day:

• Measure the rooms of the new home and decide which furniture goes with you.
• Ask more than one moving company for a written quote, and ask what its insurance covers.
• Give your power, gas, phone and internet providers both dates, and ask your insurer which day each policy should start and end.

Then change your address.

Source: each organization's own page, read on October 10, 2026.

The Government of Canada says your new address is not shared automatically, so tell each department. If you are doing this for a parent, the CRA says you must be their legal representative to change their address online or by mail.

Stage 8: What is left to do after the move?

Source: FRIVE team checklist. The rules are linked below.

Tax return. For a home sold in 2017 or later, the CRA says you report the sale on Schedule 3 and complete Form T2091 with your return for the year of the sale. A late designation can bring a penalty of $8,000 or $100 for each complete month, whichever is less.

Home owner grant. This grant reduces the property tax on the home you live in. The Province says you must apply each year, and anyone with your permission can apply for you. From January 1, 2027, the Province says the regular grant is $570 and the total for an owner aged 65 or older is $845.

The money. The CRA says interest and other investment income "form part of your total income and must be reported on your return". Ask a financial planner where to keep the money. If part of it is for your children, read helping your children buy first.

What does the whole checklist look like on one page?

Source: FRIVE team summary.

This checklist is general information about published rules. It cannot replace advice on your own contract, title, will or tax return. Confirm legal questions with your own lawyer or notary, and tax questions with your own accountant, before you sign.

Next step

Stage 1 starts with one number: what your house would sell for today. Ask us for a free home value, and a BC-licensed REALTOR® will email you a price range based on recent sales of homes like yours. Then enter that price in the downsizing calculator to see the money left after costs. You do not have to sell with us.