Waiting to Move

What To Do in the Meantime

Now that you’ve purchased your new home—whether it’s your first home, one that you’ve downsized into, or one you’ve added to your investment portfolio, there are a few things to remember to do while you are waiting for your chosen possession date.

Insured

You will need to ensure that your home has fire insurance set up for the property effective whatever the date of possession will be. I always recommend shopping around to a few insurance providers as their rates can vary greatly. Bring a copy of your feature sheet with you as they will need to know the specifics of the property. Also, bring a copy (or ensure that one gets sent) to your lawyer. If the lawyer doesn’t have confirmation that your insurance is in place, your possession day will be delayed.

Finances

Talk with your mortgage lender and arrange a day to go in and sign paperwork, if applicable. They’ll likely need to see you one more time to sign the mortgage commitment while your actual mortgage documents get signed at the lawyer’s office.

Legal

If you haven’t already chosen a lawyer, you will need to do this now. I can provide you with suggestions if you need. Your mortgage lender and insurance company will also need to know who you are hiring so they can send all the required documentation to them. Once your possession date comes closer, your selected lawyer will contact you to arrange a time to come and meet and sign paperwork. For information regarding the costs associated with the lawyer fees, click here.

Change of Address

As your date nears, you can start setting up your utilities and changing your moving addresses (if applicable). I recommend having Canada Post forward your mail for a year and then you can change anything you might have missed once it comes in. For a more complete list of who to contact before your move, please visit and download my Moving Checklist.

The Big Day

Once you have seen the lawyer, please notify me so I know things are on track. Then we can arrange a time to do the walkthrough on possession day to make sure that the home is what you remembered and I hand over the keys. Possession is typically at noon the day of but we can meet anytime after that, whatever works best for your schedule. Usually the walkthrough is quite short and we just do a quick look of the home to ensure that everything that was supposed to stay is there and anything that wasn’t is gone.

After that, you can now enjoy because the house is now yours to move in and make your own.