How to Sell Your Home Privately in Nova Scotia (2026)

Irrevocable period

The window during which a submitted offer cannot be withdrawn by the buyer, typically 24–48 hours. Once it lapses without acceptance, the offer is void. Sellers can counter-propose within this period, which resets the irrevocable clock.

Deposit vs. down payment

No deposit is legally required. BCFSA, British Columbia's real estate regulator, states it plainly: "There is no legal requirement for a money deposit", and a deposit is not needed to make the contract binding. It is a negotiated term, not a rule. On amount, the one figure published by a regulator is BCFSA's: five to 10 per cent of the purchase price is typical, and any amount can be negotiated between a buyer and seller. Read that as what it is, a BC regulator describing transactions that have agents in them. There is no national figure and no published private-sale figure. Deposit and down payment are not the same thing, and the published sources answer two different questions about where it lands: BCFSA says that once the deal completes the deposit is added to the rest of your down payment, while Quebec's OACIQ form says the deposit is credited against the purchase price. Either way it counts toward what the buyer already owes, rather than being money on top. What happens to it if the deal collapses depends entirely on the contract. The Ontario Court of Appeal puts it as: a deposit is forfeit if the purchaser refuses to close the transaction, unless the parties bargained to the contrary (Benedetto, 2019 ONCA 149). BCFSA says the same thing in its own words, that it will depend entirely on what was agreed to in your contract. So set the release terms out in the agreement rather than relying on a default.

Who holds the deposit, and what does not protect it

Who holds the deposit is negotiable between buyer and seller, and BCFSA's published best practice is that it be held in trust with a receipt, precisely because a trust account protects the funds if there is later a dispute. That is best practice, not a description of what happens automatically. The protections most people assume are attached to a deposit are triggered by a licensed brokerage, and a private sale has none of them: in BC a brokerage holds deposit money as a stakeholder and not as agent for one of the parties, in Ontario every brokerage must keep a trust account and pay into it all money that comes into its hands in trust, RECO's insurance responds to brokerage theft, fraud, insolvency and misappropriation up to $200,000 per claim, and Alberta and Quebec impose the equivalent. With no brokerage in your sale there is no statutory stakeholder, no brokerage trust duty, and no RECO deposit insurance. In Ontario that gap is structural rather than accidental: someone trading in respect of their own interest in real estate is exempt from the Act, so the brokerage trust duty never reaches a private seller in the first place. What is NOT true is that a private party is barred from holding the money. No province we checked prohibits it, and BC regulates receiving deposit money only where it is done for remuneration, so an unpaid friend holding funds is not caught. A lawyer or notary can hold it, with one real limit worth knowing before you ask: law society rules in Ontario, BC and Alberta require a lawyer who receives trust money to pay it into a pooled trust account, but those same rules, following the Federation of Law Societies national rule, restrict trust accounts to money directly related to legal services the firm is actually providing. A lawyer cannot be used as a bare neutral escrow with no retainer. That limit is verified for Ontario, BC and Alberta; we have not verified the other provinces. The practical step is to agree in writing who holds the deposit and on what terms it is released, and to get a receipt. BCFSA's own advice, where a deposit is to be held by someone other than a brokerage, is to obtain independent legal advice.

Condition on financing

The sale is conditional on the buyer obtaining mortgage approval, typically within 5–10 business days. If financing falls through, the buyer can withdraw and recover the deposit. Sellers should not remove the property from the market until all conditions are waived.

Condition on home inspection

The sale is conditional on a satisfactory home inspection, typically within 5–7 business days. If the buyer is not satisfied with the inspection results, they can withdraw. In competitive markets, buyers sometimes waive this. You cannot require them to, but you can negotiate the timeline.

Closing adjustments

Property taxes, condo fees, utility bills, and prepaid rents are prorated as of the closing date. The seller pays for the period up to and including closing; the buyer pays from the day after. Your lawyer prepares a Statement of Adjustments. Typical adjustments add or subtract $500–$3,000 depending on the time of year.

"As-is" clause

States the buyer accepts the property in current condition. This does NOT protect sellers from liability for known latent defects. Courts across Canada have consistently held that deliberate concealment of a known defect is fraud, which survives any "as-is" clause. It may limit claims for patent (visible) defects the buyer could have discovered through reasonable inspection.

Latent vs. patent defect

A latent (hidden) defect cannot be discovered through reasonable inspection, for example, foundation cracks behind drywall, water infiltration hidden by fresh paint, or contaminated soil. Sellers must disclose known latent defects. A patent defect is visible or discoverable: peeling paint, a broken window, visible water stains. Patent defects are generally the buyer's responsibility to discover.

Time is of the essence

Standard clause in Canadian purchase agreements. All specified dates (offer deadline, condition removal, closing) are strict. Missing them can allow the non-defaulting party to terminate the agreement or claim damages.