I inherited a house in Toronto. What are the first things I should do?

The first steps, in the right order

Start with three things: look after the house itself, gather the paperwork, and speak with the estate lawyer about who has authority to sell and when the home can be listed. Only after that does the real estate side begin, with decisions about preparation, presentation and price. If you do nothing else this week, book the conversation with the estate lawyer and find out where the documents are. Everything else follows from those two steps.

This order matters because an inherited home can feel urgent in ways that push people to act too early. A relative suggests a quick listing, a neighbour asks about the house, or the monthly costs start to add up. Moving before authority is confirmed can create problems that take longer to undo than the wait would have taken. A calm sequence protects the estate, the family and your own energy during a hard stretch.

This article covers the practical real estate side of an inherited Toronto home: what to do first, what to gather, who answers which question and how to think about the house before anyone talks about selling. It gives no legal, estate or tax advice. Those questions belong to your estate lawyer and your accountant, and the answers depend on the specific estate. Treat what follows as a question list, not a rulebook.

Looking after the house right away

In the first days, the goal is simple: keep the house in the condition it is in now and avoid surprises. You do not need to clean it out, fix anything or make any decision about selling. You need to know the house is locked, the essentials are working and someone is checking on it. If you live in another Ontario city, arrange for a person nearby who can visit regularly and report back to the family. Agree on who that person is and how often they go, so nobody assumes someone else is handling it.

• Confirm who holds keys, and change the locks if too many copies are out there
• Ask your insurance agent whether an empty house changes the coverage on the property
• Keep the utilities running so heat, water and power stay reliable through the seasons
• Arrange regular visits to check for leaks, piled-up mail and anything out of place

Paperwork worth gathering early

Before any conversation about selling, start a folder, paper or digital, for everything connected to the house. Your estate lawyer will tell you which documents matter for the estate itself. On the real estate side, the same papers help answer the questions a buyer, a home inspector or a lender will eventually ask. Gathering them now saves a scramble later, and it often reveals questions worth raising with the lawyer early.

• The will, if there is one, and the name of the person handling the estate
• Property tax bills and utility statements that show the home’s regular running costs
• Insurance documents and the contact details for the current insurance agent
• Records of renovations, repairs, permits and major systems such as the roof or furnace
• Any mortgage, line of credit or other loan statements connected to the house

Who answers which question

An inherited home involves several professionals, and each one owns a different part of the picture. Knowing who answers what keeps you from taking the right question to the wrong person. The estate lawyer handles authority to sell and the estate process. The accountant handles taxes connected to the estate and the sale. A real estate broker like Daniel helps with preparing, presenting and pricing the home once the path is clear.

Others may join along the way. A home inspector can describe the condition of the house if you want an independent view before deciding on repairs. Qualified contractors can quote on specific work, so you weigh real costs rather than guesses. An insurance agent can explain what coverage the house needs while it sits empty. A lender may come into the picture if one of the heirs wants to buy the home from the others.

The useful habit is to write each question down with a name beside it. When something comes up, such as whether a family member can stay in the house or whether the estate can pay for a repair, you will know where it goes. Much of the stress in an inherited sale comes from questions that sit unanswered because nobody is sure whose they are. A simple list fixes most of that, and it gives every heir the same view of what is open and what is done.

What not to worry about yet

In the first weeks, you do not need to decide on a price, choose a listing date, follow the rate headlines or empty every closet. Those decisions come later, and they come easier once the authority question is settled. Many families feel they have to clear the house immediately. Usually they do not. Keep anything that might matter, set aside papers and items of value, and leave the larger clean-out until the plan is clear.

You also do not need to know right away whether to sell. Some families sell, some keep the home for a period, and sometimes one heir buys out the others. Each path raises its own questions for the estate lawyer and the accountant. The real estate side can wait until the family has a direction. What helps now is gathering facts, so that conversation is grounded in the actual house and the actual numbers. A family that knows the condition of the house and its running costs makes calmer choices.

Before anyone talks about price or a listing date, find out who has authority to sell. Once that is clear, the rest of the plan gets much easier to make.

Thinking about the house before selling

Once authority is confirmed and the family leans toward selling, the real estate questions begin. How much preparation does the house need? What will buyers notice first? What does recent sales information suggest about a realistic price for a home in this condition? These are the questions Daniel helps with. The answers depend on the specific house, so walk through it with fresh eyes and note anything that looks dated, worn or in need of repair.

Not every inherited home needs work before it sells. Cleaning, clearing and small repairs often help a home present well, while larger renovations take time and money the estate may not want to spend. The right answer depends on the house and on what the family wants. Get quotes from qualified contractors before deciding, and weigh each cost against how buyers are likely to see the home. No result is promised either way.

Your next step with an inherited home

Before your first real estate conversation, write down what you know. Note who is handling the estate, whether the estate lawyer has confirmed authority to sell, and what the house needs in your honest view. List every heir and how each one prefers to be kept informed. Add any questions you already have about preparation, timing or price. A single page is enough, and it turns a first meeting into a working session instead of a general chat.

Then decide what comes first for your family. If authority is still unclear, that is the priority, and the estate lawyer is the person to call. If it is settled, the next step is a walkthrough of the house to decide on preparation and pricing. If the heirs disagree on direction, a shared plan and a clear decision maker come before anything else. Pick the one that applies and start there this week. One clear next step beats a long list that nobody owns.

If you would like help with the real estate side of an inherited home in Toronto, you are welcome to bring your notes to Daniel. You do not need to have every answer, or a decision about selling. Bring the question that feels least clear, whether it is about preparing the house, presenting it or pricing it, and work out together what to confirm first and who else should be part of the conversation.

This article is general information about selling and buying homes in Toronto and Ontario. It is not legal, estate, tax, lending or inspection advice and does not predict prices or rates or promise results. Confirm estate questions with an estate lawyer, taxes with an accountant, land transfer tax with the official Ontario and City of Toronto calculators, financing with a lender, and condo documents with your lawyer. Daniel Warchow, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.