What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Calgary Home?

Accepting an Offer Is Not the Same as Selling Your Home

For most Calgary sellers, accepting an offer feels like the moment the sale is done. In practice, you are just getting started on the second half of the process. Between the moment both parties sign and the moment you hand over the keys, there are several distinct stages, each with its own timeline and potential complications. Understanding what happens at each stage prepares you to navigate them without surprises.

The process from accepted offer to possession in Calgary typically takes 30 to 60 days, though the exact timeline is negotiated in the contract. Here is what that window looks like from a seller's perspective.

Stage One: The Conditional Period

Most offers in Calgary are conditional. The buyer includes one or more conditions that must be satisfied before the deal becomes binding. The most common conditions are financing approval, a satisfactory home inspection, and, for condominiums, a review of the condo corporation documents.

The conditional period is typically 7 to 10 business days from the date the offer is accepted. During this time, the buyer is working with their lender to secure final mortgage approval and, if they have included an inspection condition, arranging an inspector to assess the property. As a seller, your primary obligations during this period are to allow reasonable access for the inspection and to keep the property in the condition represented in the listing.

What sellers can and cannot do during conditions

While the deal is conditional, your listing typically remains active on MLS and you can continue accepting showings. You can receive backup offers, which would only come into play if the first deal falls through. What you cannot do is accept a second unconditional offer or remove your home from the market without violating the terms of the first contract. Your agent will guide you on the correct status to show during this period.

Stage Two: Condition Removal and the Deposit

Once the buyer is satisfied that their conditions have been met, they formally remove them by signing a Condition Removal form. At this point, the deal becomes unconditional, meaning both parties are legally committed to completing the transaction on the agreed possession date.

Within 24 to 48 hours of condition removal, the buyer is required to provide the deposit. In Alberta, the deposit is typically 5% of the purchase price and is held in trust by the listing brokerage until possession day. On a $568,000 purchase, that is approximately $28,400 sitting in trust. The deposit is not yours yet at this point, but it does provide security: if the buyer walks away after removing conditions without legal cause, you may be entitled to keep the deposit as damages.

Stage Three: What Happens If Conditions Are Not Met

If the buyer cannot satisfy their conditions within the agreed window, they have the right to void the contract by not removing conditions. This happens most often when a buyer's financing falls through or when an inspection uncovers a significant issue that the buyer is not willing to accept. In this case, the deposit is returned to the buyer in full and the contract is dissolved.

Your listing returns to active status and you begin the process again. This is frustrating but not uncommon. In Calgary's current balanced market, financing conditions occasionally take longer than expected, and inspections do turn up issues that give buyers pause. If your listing relaunches after a collapsed deal, your agent will discuss how to address the pricing and presentation strategy for the second attempt.

Stage Four: The Period Between Conditions and Possession

Once the deal is firm, the work shifts to your lawyer and the buyers' lawyer. Your lawyer will order a payout statement from your lender, prepare the transfer of land documents, and ensure the title is clear for transfer. This period typically runs three to six weeks for a standard possession date.

Your responsibilities during this window are practical: arranging your own move, transferring utilities into the buyers' names on possession day, and ensuring the property is left in the condition described in the contract. Standard practice in Alberta is to leave the home in broom-swept condition, with all agreed-upon inclusions (appliances, window coverings, light fixtures) in place.

The buyer walkthrough

Buyers in Alberta are typically entitled to a final walkthrough of the property before possession, usually on the day before or the morning of possession day. The purpose is to confirm that the home is in the agreed condition and that all inclusions are present. This is not another inspection and is not a renegotiation opportunity. If you have made any significant changes to the property since the offer, such as removing a fixture that was listed as an inclusion, that needs to be resolved before possession.

Stage Five: Possession Day

Possession day is the date specified in the contract on which ownership transfers from you to the buyer. On this date, the buyer's lender releases mortgage funds to the buyer's lawyer, who sends them to your lawyer's trust account. Your lawyer uses those funds to discharge your mortgage and any registered charges on the title, pay the legal fees, and then release the net proceeds to you. The title simultaneously transfers to the buyer.

In Alberta, the convention is that the seller vacates the property by noon on possession day. The keys are typically released once the lawyer confirms that funds have been received and the title transfer is complete. Timing can vary slightly depending on when the banks process the wire transfers, which is why possession day logistics benefit from clear communication between both legal teams the morning of.

Once your lawyer confirms the net proceeds are cleared, your sale is complete. Your mortgage is discharged, the title is in the buyer's name, and you receive the remainder of the sale price after all deductions.