Selling a home is a handful of decisions made in a fixed order. Here's the order, and what each step involves in Manitoba.
1. Before you list: check your mortgage and your taxes. If you sell before your mortgage term ends, your lender may charge a penalty for breaking the contract [1]. Some mortgages are portable, meaning they can move to your next home [1]. Ask your lender before you set dates. Selling property can also have tax implications, and the Manitoba Securities Commission's handbook advises getting advice before you sign a contract [2].
2. The listing agreement. When you sign a listing contract, an agent-client relationship forms between you and the real estate firm [2]. In that relationship the firm owes you duties that include loyalty, following your lawful instructions, confidentiality, reasonable care and skill, and accounting for any money it holds [2]. If the same firm also represents a buyer, it can continue only with both parties' consent, and its duties change. Read that part of any agreement before you sign [2]. The salesperson you work with is also required by federal law to ask for and verify your identity [2].
3. Disclosure. In Manitoba, a seller has to disclose a hidden defect they know about if it would make the home a health or safety hazard or unusable. If you choose to answer questions or make statements about the home's condition, your answers must be complete and accurate [2]. Each Manitoba offer form includes the Property Disclosure Statement as Schedule 1 [3][4]. The form says the seller isn't obligated to complete it unless the seller has agreed to do so [4]. If you do complete it, fill it in carefully. It's your statement, not your agent's.
4. Preparing the home. My spring checklist covers what's worth doing and what usually isn't.
5. Offers. Offers, counter-offers and acceptances are communicated in writing [2]. You can accept an offer, counter it, or reject it [2]. If you receive several, there's no rule about the order you respond in, and you don't have to accept the highest offer [2]. Buyers must be told when they're in a competing-offer situation, but not the terms of other offers [2].
6. Conditions. An accepted offer is a binding contract, though the buyer's conditions (financing, inspection, and so on) still have to be met within the agreed deadlines [2]. Expect the buyer's inspector to come through during this time.
7. Closing and possession. The handbook lists the seller's typical closing items, including legal costs, your share of property taxes, discharging your mortgage, and paying utilities up to the possession date [2]. Your lawyer can explain each one; the Manitoba Real Estate Association recommends using a real estate lawyer when selling [5]. On possession day, the buyer gets the keys.
My Manitoba Seller's Guide covers selling in six steps.
If you're weighing whether to sell, and when, contact me.
Trevor LeVasseur, Licensed REALTOR® · Greg Michie Realty Group
Sources (checked October 31, 2026)
- FCAC, "Choosing a mortgage that is right for you"
- Manitoba Securities Commission, "MREA Home Owners Handbook"
- Province of Manitoba, The Real Estate Services Regulation, M.R. 84/2021, s.4.2
- Province of Manitoba, prescribed Form 1 (houses), Schedule 1, Property Disclosure Statement
- Province of Manitoba, Consumer Protection Office, "Review and use real estate lawyer"