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Seller guide · Ontario
You know new floors and paint would help your house sell. The problem is paying for them before the sale money arrives. Here are your options, including one where you pay nothing until closing.
+2%
Buyers must qualify at their mortgage rate plus 2%, or 5.25%, whichever is higher. It’s one reason so many sales fall apart.
OSFI, Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages, Page modified January 29, 2026By the Private Deals team · Updated
The short answer
Get the list right before you borrow a dollar. Small, visible updates pay back best: paint, flooring, lighting, curb appeal and fixing inspection items.
A full kitchen gut or an addition rarely earns its cost back before a sale. More in should I renovate or sell as-is?
Get written quotes and add a buffer for surprises. The size of the bill decides which option below makes sense.
There are five common routes. The first four are loans you repay yourself. The last one is a service: someone else funds and runs the work and gets paid from the sale.
Yes, if you have the equity. A HELOC is a credit line secured on your home. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says you can borrow up to 65% of your home’s value on it, with at least 20% equity when it’s paired with a mortgage.
It’s often the cheapest money you can get, and you only pay interest on what you use. It’s paid off when the house sells.
Often not, if the sale is close. A refinance swaps your mortgage for a bigger one. FCAC says lenders usually let you borrow up to 80% of your home’s value this way, minus what you owe.
The catch is the exit. Breaking a closed mortgage early normally means a prepayment penalty, which FCAC says “can cost thousands of dollars”. Add appraisal and legal fees, then you pay it all off at closing anyway.
Ask your lender for the penalty in writing before you decide.
A personal loan doesn’t touch your mortgage or need an appraisal, so it’s quick. But it’s usually smaller and pricier than borrowing against your home, and payments start before you sell.
Contractor payment plans can look cheap. Read the fine print: promo rates can jump, and you’re locked into that contractor’s price and schedule.
Yes. With renovate before selling, pay at closing, we fund the renovation and manage the trades. You pay nothing upfront and make no monthly payments.
When the house sells, the cost plus a fee comes out of your sale proceeds at closing, just like your mortgage payout. Terms are set per home, after we see the house and agree the scope with you.
You can also add an optional cash-offer backstop. It’s a price we agree before any work starts, so you know your floor if the house doesn’t sell.
Don’t want to renovate at all?
You can sell the house as it is. We buy homes as-is, with no repairs, no showings and no financing condition. See sell your house as-is in Ontario.
Renovations help a house sell. But most sales still depend on the buyer’s mortgage, and that’s where many deals die. Here are the three big reasons.
Sell to a buyer who doesn’t need a mortgage. No lender appraisal, no stress test, no lender judging the house. The three biggest deal-killers disappear.
That’s how a direct sale to Private Deals works. We buy the house ourselves with no financing condition, and we don’t renegotiate after the walkthrough. If you renovate with us first, the optional cash-offer backstop gives you the same certainty.
Had a deal collapse already? Start on our house not selling in Ontario page, or get an offer and hear back within 24 to 48 hours.
Sources
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Private Deals buys homes directly and is not a real estate brokerage. Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything.
Get a no-obligation written offer in 24 to 48 hours and compare it with what listing would net you.
