The pros and cons of buying a home in an Ontario estate sale

For sellers, dealing with a property left in a will tends to be long-winded, frustrating and costly, so some prioritize selling as quickly as possible.

When a homeowner dies in Ontario the sale of their property generally can’t close until the executor (known in Ontario as the “estate trustee”), the person named in the will to manage the estate, is granted probate. That’s far from straightforward, as it can take many months for the courts to give the executor the green light.

Probate is generally required if the property is exclusively owned by one person, or if they hold it as Tenants in Common, a joint structure where the deceased’s stake in the property is passed down in the estate, as determined by the will.

Birute Luksenaite, founder of Portfolio Estate law firm in Toronto, said: “Some asset categories almost always require a court-appointed executor to be administered. In Ontario these assets generally include real estate held without surviving joint owners, financial accounts held without surviving joint owners and without named beneficiaries, as well as publicly traded shares.”

Probate can be avoided with Ontario real estate if: 

• The property is co-owned as a Joint Tenancy. Under this structure if one owner dies their share passes to the surviving owner(s).
• The entire estate is worth less than $50,000. This is rare nowadays, while a will is required for this exemption to apply.
• There is a First Dealings Exemption, which applies to properties purchased under Ontario’s former paper-based Registry Act system (generally before the mid-90s). When paper records were converted to the digital Land Title system it must have been designated as Land Titles Conversion Qualified (LTCQ), after which it cannot have changed hands. Condominiums tend not to apply.
• The owner sets up a trust in their lifetime and transfers the real estate into the trust. They then appoint trustees in their will, who need to survive long enough to fulfill their duties. There are multiple kinds of trust, including a Family Trust.

What discounts are possible?

While properties sold as part of an estate can be discounted, it’s unusual to get hefty reductions in Ontario. Executors have a fiduciary duty to get fair market value for the estate’s assets to protect the beneficiaries, and they could face legal action if they “fail” in their duty by selling at a significant discount. As such, properties from the deceased are still sold on the open market in Ontario through a realtor and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

That’s not to say a smaller reduction on the asking price isn’t possible, though.

Wins Lai, a broker at RE/MAX Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage, in Toronto, said buyers can benefit from sellers lacking an emotional connection to a property they never lived in.

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“If it’s inherited down to you, you’re going to treat it differently than if you worked for it; there’s a little less personal attachment to it,” she said. “They haven’t spent years paying off a mortgage.”

Asked if it’s realistic to secure a $50,000 discount (about 5%) on a $1-million Toronto property, Lai said it is “certainly possible,” though she clarified that estate properties don’t automatically sell at a discount. Any reduction should be evaluated against comparable sales, the property’s condition and the state of the market.

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Court delays

Selling a property going through probate can be a frustrating experience because of Ontario’s slow court system, and any potential buyer needs to be aware of it too.

Kyle Loveless, a software developer, applied for probate to sell his late mother’s home in London, Ont. He submitted the paperwork in December 2024 and waited nine months for the courts before he could sell in September 2025. The sale went through in January 2026.

“The process was way too slow for what was a simple will,” Loveless said. “We’re in a housing crisis but we can’t sell houses for months — it’s stupid.”

The process isn’t just slow, it’s also costly and inconvenient. Loveless said he paid more than $1,000 a month in vacancy insurance to protect the home against problems like a fire, and for the insurance to remain valid the property had to be visited every 72 hours, meaning he frequently had to travel from his home in Kitchener to London. He also had to keep the heat on in winter and perform basic safety and maintenance checks.

That frustration can be an opportunity for a buyer who acts with speed and decisiveness. Lai sums up the mentality of the typical seller in this scenario.

“They are motivated and realistic about pricing, as they understand that holding onto a property comes with ongoing costs, including property taxes, maintenance, and utilities,” she said.

“The longer they hold the property, the more those expenses add up, so there’s often a greater willingness to price it appropriately and move forward with the sale. Given how long it takes for the courts to give the sale the green light — it’s unsurprising that most sellers want the process to be over and done with as soon as possible.”

Cost of selling property in an estate sale

When applying for probate, the estate must pay Ontario’s Estate Administration Tax. The first $50,000 of the estate’s value is exempt, and the rest is charged at $15 per $1,000.

If the will is more complicated there is the potential for even longer court delays, in which case costs continue to mount up. While it’s unusual, sellers could even pay a municipal vacant home tax (currently 3% of a property’s assessed value in Toronto) if there are significant court delays. In Toronto, a home is considered vacant if it sits empty for six months or more in a tax year, though an exemption can apply for up to three consecutive tax years when a registered owner has died. Rules vary by city.

Because probate is so lengthy and complicated, broker Lai said some people avoid the delays by selling the property before they die. “That would be best from a wealth planning perspective,” she said. 

Otherwise, the estate carries costs like insurance, heat and property taxes while waiting on the courts. Any outstanding mortgage also has to be paid from the proceeds, whenever the sale happens, which can significantly reduce what beneficiaries receive.

Buying before probate

Given how long the court process takes, buyers commonly look to seal deals before probate is officially granted, in which case the accepted offer is “conditional” on that happening.

If you’re buying a property this way, you need to be patient in case there are court delays. Not everyone is in a position to wait, for example if you need a home to live in, which is why investors tend to end up at the front of the queue for homes sold this way.

“The opportunity is less about buying before probate and more about accommodating uncertainty,” Wins Lai said. “If an estate is awaiting probate, a buyer with flexibility around closing dates may be more attractive than someone requiring possession by a specific deadline.”

Where probate is required but remains outstanding, Lai warned buyers to get a lawyer to confirm the executor’s authority and ensure contractual protections are in place.

Buying an ‘as-is’ property

Another risk is that executors commonly insert an “as-is” clause into the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) when they list a home. This means the buyer accepts that there could be defects the executor doesn’t know about, which would then fall on the buyer to sort out.

Sellers in this situation typically haven’t been living in the property themselves, so they may not be fully up to speed with its entire history. However, the as-is clause is not a green light for sellers to actively hide issues with a property. It just protects them if there are unknown problems.

You as a buyer may still be able to inspect a home before making an offer, and if you find any issues you may be able to use them as leverage to negotiate a discount.

Flippers and cash buyers may have an advantage

Properties sold “as is” with issues can represent some of the biggest opportunities for value.

If a home left in a will has an obvious problem, for example if the roof needs work for the property to be mortgageable, investors buying with cash have a big advantage over everyone else, because buyers relying on a mortgage won’t be able to compete.

This is why it’s common for properties sold in probate to be purchased by flippers and investors, as they generally have the funds to complete repairs before mortgaging the property or selling it on.

Day sales and auctions

While properties that have gone through probate are typically sold via MLS, there is a looser attitude towards estate sales of a home’s contents, like furniture and artwork.

An estate’s contents can be sold in a day sale, and Josh Horowitz, founder of Toronto liquidator Sell My Stuff Canada, explains how the model works.

“The entire house is turned into a store for a one day sale,” he said. “We invite our customers to come and buy what they want to buy. We have an email list where customers know to follow our sale and we have weekly sales in different areas of the city every week.”

It’s also common for a property’s contents to be sold at auction, typically online.

While it’s uncommon, auctions can also be used when selling plots of land or unique properties in rural Ontario.

What buyers should consider 

Given that Ontario has an increasingly aging population where 20.0% of people are over the age of 65, it’s likely we’ll see more properties hitting the market on behalf of the deceased in the years ahead. It’s therefore smart for buyers to be aware of the process when they find a property in such a situation.

While the rules-based environment in Ontario limits buyers from routinely securing big discounts on property, there’s still an opportunity to get a reduction if a buyer is willing to cope with the heightened risk of buying an “as is” property, act decisively and deal with potential court delays.

“My biggest piece of advice is not to approach an estate sale assuming there’s automatically a bargain to be had,” Lai said. “The best opportunities come from understanding the property’s true market value, recognizing the circumstances surrounding the sale and negotiating terms that work for both parties.”

As a buyer, you need to be aware that sellers are in an emotionally complex situation. They may be dealing with grieving relatives and multiple beneficiaries, all the while shouldering significant legal responsibilities, so it’s always appropriate to operate with empathy when buying a property left by someone who died.

Read more about real estate:

• Cost of caregiving: Experts urge early conversation on aging parents’ care
• An honour or a burden? What to know if you’ve agreed to settle a loved one’s estate
• Mortgage renewal coming up? Start early and look beyond the rate, brokers say
• CREA downgrades home sales forecast for the third time this year

About Ryan Bembridge

Ryan Bembridge has been writing about housing and finance since 2014, covering markets, mortgages, and policymaking in Canada and the UK. He specializes in breaking down complex housing and economic issues for consumers and professionals alike.

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