Who Helps With a Toronto Downsizing Move and What Each Role Covers

The short answer

Ask who helps with downsizing in Toronto and the search results mix together very different kinds of help. Some people sell houses, some close deals, some lend money, some pack boxes. Several of those roles are regulated in Ontario and knowing which regulator stands behind each one tells you what that person can and cannot do for you.

This post maps the roles. Our Toronto downsizing guide covers the costs, timing and choices around them.

Who does what, at a glance

Role	What they handle	Who regulates or sets the rules
Real estate registrant	Selling the current home, buying the next one, timing the closings	Real Estate Council of Ontario
Lawyer	Both closings, land transfer tax filing, wills and powers of attorney	Law Society of Ontario
Mortgage broker or agent	Any new mortgage or bridge financing	Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
Accountant	Tax on the sale, the principal residence exemption	Tax rules set by the Canada Revenue Agency
Attorney for property	Decisions about a person’s finances, including selling their house	Ontario power of attorney rules
Estate trustee	Managing and selling an estate’s property	Ontario probate rules and the court

The real estate registrant

A real estate registrant, usually called an agent, works through a brokerage and answers to the Real Estate Council of Ontario. In a downsizing move the registrant handles the sale of the current home, the search for and purchase of the smaller one and, most importantly, the timing between them.

The relationship is set out in writing. RECO says a representation agreement must describe the duties owed to you, the services you will receive, your rights and responsibilities, what you will pay and how long the agreement lasts. The fee is not fixed. RECO says you and the brokerage decide the amount and it is not approved by RECO, any government authority or any real estate board. RECO also suggests using its agent and brokerage search to confirm that anyone you hire is registered.

What a registrant does not do is give legal advice, arrange a mortgage or pack your house. Our sellers page explains how we handle the sale side of a downsizing move.

The real estate lawyer

The Law Society of Ontario regulates lawyers and paralegals. It lists the services lawyers are licensed to provide, including real estate matters such as buying and selling property and wills, powers of attorney and estate matters. Its list of services paralegals may provide covers areas such as small claims court, provincial offences and tribunals. Real estate transactions are on the lawyers’ list.

In a downsizing move the lawyer closes both deals. On the purchase, that includes registering the transfer and paying the land transfer taxes, which in the City of Toronto means both Ontario’s tax and the City’s municipal land transfer tax. For a condo purchase, the lawyer reviews the status certificate before your conditions expire. A move is also a natural time to ask the same lawyer about your will and powers of attorney.

The mortgage professional

Not every downsizer needs one. If the sale covers the smaller home outright, there may be no new mortgage at all. If you need a mortgage or short-term bridge financing because the purchase closes before the sale, a mortgage professional is who arranges it.

FSRA says that under Ontario’s Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006, anyone who carries out regulated mortgage brokering must be licensed with FSRA unless exempted. It describes the mortgage broker or agent as an intermediary between you and the lender and it notes that a Level 1 mortgage agent can help with a mortgage from a traditional lender such as a bank or credit union. FSRA offers a search to check whether an individual or business is licensed.

The accountant

An accountant looks at the tax position before you list. The Canada Revenue Agency says the principal residence exemption can reduce or eliminate the capital gain on a qualifying home, that the sale must still be reported and that only one property per family unit can be designated for a given year. That last rule matters for anyone who has owned a cottage or a second property. If you use the City of Toronto’s property tax relief programmes, bring those details as well.

Family roles: attorney for property and estate trustee

Two roles can be filled by family members rather than professionals and both matter when the owner cannot act alone.

• Attorney for property. Ontario says an attorney for property can make decisions about a person’s financial affairs, including paying bills, managing investments and maintaining or selling their house. The document has to be in place before it is needed, which is why a lawyer’s review early in the process helps.
• Estate trustee. When the owner has died, Ontario says the estate trustee is the only person with the legal authority to manage or distribute the estate. Probate is normally needed when the deceased’s real property must be sold. Our page on selling an estate home in Toronto covers that route.

Movers and contents services

The physical side of the move is handled by private services: movers, people who help sort and pack a household and firms that sell or clear the contents left behind. Ask each one what is included, what is billed separately, how they handle items of value and whether they are insured. Starting this work months before listing keeps it out of the final weeks before closing, as our post on how long downsizing takes in Toronto explains.

The order that tends to work

1. Lawyer and accountant, to confirm documents and the tax position.
2. Real estate registrant, to set the value, the destination budget and the order of the two deals.
3. Mortgage professional, if any new financing or bridge financing is needed.
4. Sorting and contents help, started well before listing.
5. Movers, booked once the closing dates are firm.

Questions to ask each one

A few questions up front show quickly whether each person fits the move you are planning.

• Real estate registrant: are you registered with RECO, what services are included for the fee, how long does the agreement last and how would you time my sale against my purchase.
• Lawyer: will you act on both the sale and the purchase, will you review the status certificate before my condition expires and can we review my will and powers of attorney at the same time.
• Mortgage professional: are you licensed with FSRA, which lenders can you work with and is bridge financing available for the gap between my closings.
• Accountant: does the principal residence exemption cover the whole gain on my sale and what do I need to report.
• Movers and contents services: what is included, what is extra and who will be in the house on the day.

Write the answers down. When everyone’s dates and conditions are on one page, gaps between them show up early rather than in closing week.

Where we fit

We are the real estate side of the move: the sale, the purchase and the timing between the two closings. We do not give legal, tax or mortgage advice and we do not pack or move anything. What we can do is keep the dates for everyone else in one plan so the lawyer, lender and movers are working to the same calendar.

Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice for your situation, so confirm your own details with your lawyer, accountant or mortgage professional. When you want to talk through who you will need for your own move, contact us.