A Senior Downsizing Checklist for Markham Homeowners

The short answer

A senior downsizing checklist works best in order, because most of the steps depend on the ones before them. Our downsizing guide for Markham homeowners covers the bigger picture of costs, areas and timing. This post goes step by step through the checklist itself, from the first decision to move day, including the Markham and Ontario programmes worth checking along the way.

The order below is not rigid. Some steps run in parallel, especially legal planning and decluttering, which both benefit from starting early.

1. Decide your destination and rough timeline

Before anything else, decide roughly where you are headed: a condo, a townhome, a bungalow or a move outside Markham entirely. This single decision shapes how much notice you need, how flexible your closing date can be and how much needs to be sorted out of the current house.

Write the rough timeline down rather than keeping it in your head. Include whether you plan to sell first or buy first, since that decision affects almost everything else on this checklist. Our downsizing guide walks through the sell first versus buy first tradeoff in more detail. Our post on Markham neighbourhoods for downsizing looks at where in the city downsizers tend to move.

2. Involve a lawyer early, well before the closing

A real estate lawyer handles the closing on both the sale and the purchase, but it is worth calling one earlier than that. A move is a natural point to also review your power of attorney documents and your will with a lawyer, since your circumstances and your wishes may have changed since they were last updated. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Every family’s situation is different, so raise your specific questions directly with your own lawyer.

3. Check whether Markham’s seniors property tax programmes apply

The City of Markham runs two programmes for eligible seniors that are worth checking before you sell.

Programme	Who it is for	Key condition
Low-Income Seniors Property Tax Assistance Program	Owners 65 or older who own and live in their Markham home as their principal residence and receive the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement	Forgives late payment charges on existing arrears and offers an interest free repayment plan
Seniors and Low-Income Tax Deferral Program	Owners up to date on their taxes, including seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement	Deferred and outstanding taxes together cannot exceed 75 percent of the assessed value; deferred taxes come due when the property is transferred

If you have been deferring property tax under Markham’s programme, remember that the deferred amount comes due when the home is transferred, so build that into what you expect to net from the sale. Our Markham property tax guide explains both programmes in full along with how the tax bill itself is calculated.

4. Check the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit

This is a health and care expense credit rather than a downsizing programme, but it is worth knowing about if you are 70 or older or have a spouse who is. The Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit is refundable, meaning you can receive it even if you owe no income tax. It is worth up to 25 percent of eligible medical expenses up to $6,000, for a maximum credit of $1,500. It begins to phase out once family net income passes $35,000 and is fully phased out at $65,000.

Eligible expenses include things like attendant care, mobility aids and home renovations that improve accessibility, which can come up if you are adapting the new home rather than moving into a fully accessible one. Confirm your own eligibility and eligible expenses with the Canada Revenue Agency filing rules and your accountant, since this credit is claimed on your income tax return.

5. Understand the tax treatment of the sale

Most people selling a principal residence in Markham do not owe tax on the gain. The Canada Revenue Agency’s principal residence exemption can eliminate the capital gain on a home that has been your principal residence for every year you owned it. You must still report the sale on your tax return, generally on Schedule 3, even when the exemption covers the entire gain. This matters most if you or a spouse owned a second property, such as a cottage, at any point, since that can reduce how much of the gain on either property is exempt. Confirm your own situation with an accountant before you list.

If you are buying in Ontario, land transfer tax applies to the new home rather than the one you are selling. Our land transfer tax guide has the rate table and worked examples. Our post on what downsizing costs in Markham puts all the moving pieces together.

6. Start decluttering, earlier than feels necessary

For most people, sorting decades of belongings is the step that actually determines how long the whole downsizing process takes, not the market or the financing. A few things help.

1. Start earlier than feels necessary. Give yourself more time than you think you will need.
2. Work room by room rather than trying to sort the whole house at once.
3. Separate the emotional decisions from the practical logistics. Deciding what to keep is different work from arranging pickup or donation and doing both at once tends to slow things down.
4. Deal with sentimental items last. Practical categories, such as duplicate kitchenware or furniture that will not fit the new space, are usually easier to sort through first.
5. Get help where it makes sense. There are professionals in the Markham area who specialize in downsizing and estate content sales. We can connect you with people who do this work.

If the move is part of settling an estate rather than your own downsizing, our estate sales service covers how we work with an executor, the estate lawyer and the contents of the house together.

7. Decide between a condo, townhouse or bungalow

Most downsizers moving within Markham end up in a condo apartment, a freehold or condo townhouse or a bungalow. Each has a different lifestyle, price point and maintenance load. Our post comparing a bungalow, condo or townhouse for downsizing walks through the tradeoffs in detail. If a condo is on your list, our condo status certificate guide explains what to check before you buy, including the monthly fee and any planned special assessments.

8. Prepare the house for sale

A home that has been lived in for decades usually needs different and often more modest preparation than a newer one. Work through what is genuinely worth spending on, room by room, rather than assuming a full renovation is required. Small, targeted repairs and a thorough clean typically matter more to buyers than large projects. Our sellers page covers how we approach pricing and preparing a home for the Markham market.

9. Coordinate the two closings

The sell first or buy first decision from step one still matters here, since the closing dates on both transactions need to work together. If you are buying first, ask your own mortgage lender whether bridge financing is available to cover the gap, since terms and availability vary by lender. A longer closing on your sale, sometimes 60, 90 or more days, is another option some Markham downsizers use to give themselves runway without needing bridge financing at all.

10. Update your address and cancel or transfer accounts

Once closing dates are set, work through the administrative side: forwarding mail, updating your address with the City, banks and government programmes and cancelling or transferring utility and service accounts. If you are on Markham’s Pre-Authorized Tax Payment Plan, note that it does not transfer automatically. You need to cancel it on the home you are selling and apply again for the new one.

11. Move day

Plan the move itself, including movers, utility transfer dates and, for a condo, any building move-in requirements such as elevator booking, which your property manager can confirm. Confirm the exact possession time for both closings with your lawyer in advance so the schedule for movers on both ends lines up.

What to do next

1. Read our downsizing guide for the fuller picture of costs, areas and timing across a Markham downsizing move.
2. Talk to a lawyer about your power of attorney documents and your will alongside the real estate transactions.
3. Check whether Markham’s seniors property tax programmes and the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit apply to you.
4. Ask an accountant whether the principal residence exemption covers the full gain on your sale.
5. Start sorting the contents of the house now, even if your move is still months away.

Nothing in this checklist is legal, tax or financial advice for your specific situation. Contact us when you are ready to talk through your own downsizing timeline in Markham.