Preparing your Ottawa home for sale: a 30-day checklist

30 days from "I'm thinking of selling" to "list now"

Selling well in Ottawa in 2026 is mostly preparation. Pricing matters, marketing matters, but the homes that sell quickly and over ask are the ones the seller spent four weeks getting ready. Here's the schedule I use with clients.

Days 1–7: Decisions and discovery

Day 1: Sit down with a broker. Walk the house room by room. Get a candid read on price, what to fix, and what to leave. This is not a listing presentation — it's a strategy session.

Day 2–3: Pre-list inspection. $500. Catch the issues before a buyer's inspector does. Two outcomes: you fix them quietly, or you disclose with a credit. Either way you control the conversation.

Day 4: Decluttering plan. Identify what goes to storage, what goes to donation, what stays. Rule of thumb: a buyer should be able to imagine their stuff in your space. Right now, they can't.

Day 5: Photographer booked. Good Ottawa real estate photographers book out 2–3 weeks. Lock the date now.

Day 6: Stager consult. $200–$400 for a 90-minute consult. Either you DIY their notes, or you bring them back for a full stage.

Day 7: Repairs and quotes. Get quotes for any work — painting, flooring, light fixtures, landscaping.

Days 8–14: Make the house photogenic

Days 8–10: Paint. Single biggest ROI. Neutral, warm white or greige throughout. Trim work fresh. Door touch-ups.

Day 10–12: Decluttering execution. Storage pod or a friend's basement. Closets should look 60% full, not 110% full.

Day 12–13: Deep clean. Hire it out. $400–$700 for a top-to-bottom on a typical Ottawa home. Carpets, windows inside and out, baseboards, vents.

Day 14: Curb appeal first pass. Mulch refresh, edge the beds, power-wash siding and walks, fresh house numbers.

Days 15–21: Staging and final repairs

Days 15–17: Staging day. Furniture moved, accessories placed, art swapped. A stager will typically restage one to three rooms and edit the rest.

Day 18: Minor repairs done. Caulking, leaking taps, sticky doors, burnt-out bulbs, broken outlet covers. The dozen small things buyers notice.

Day 19: HVAC service. Furnace and AC tune-ups documented. You'll mention them in the listing.

Day 20: Replace dated light fixtures. A $400 update in three rooms reads as $4,000 of perceived renovation.

Day 21: Final landscaping pass. Lawn cut tight, flowers in pots, weed and seed if grass is patchy.

Days 22–28: Marketing prep

Day 22–23: Photo and video day. Professional photographer plus drone if exterior justifies it. For homes over $1M in Ottawa, drone is essentially required. Video walkthrough optional but converts well.

Day 24: Listing copy review. Your broker drafts; you edit. Focus on lifestyle and unique features, not square footage.

Day 25: Sign installation. If lawn signs make sense for the property and neighbourhood.

Day 26: Showing logistics. Lockbox, supra access, family schedule for showing windows.

Day 27: Pricing decision. Final pricing meeting. Look at the last 14 days of comparable activity, not just six-month averages.

Day 28: Pre-MLS marketing. Some brokers run a 48-hour private network teaser before MLS goes live. Worth discussing.

Days 29–30: Go live

Day 29: Listing goes live on MLS at midnight or first thing morning. Front-load the visibility.

Day 30: First weekend open house. Aim for Saturday and Sunday 2–4 PM in spring; adjust seasonally.

The variables you can control

You can't control rates, the BoC, or the spring weather. You can control:

• How clean the house is
• How current the paint looks
• How dialled the staging is
• How well your listing photos shoot
• What price you go to market at

Sellers who execute the 30-day list see 6–12% premiums over sellers who don't, in the same neighbourhood, with the same product. That's the data. Want help building your specific 30-day list? 613-262-6545 or fil@613realtor.ca.