The For Sale group is where Montréal property owners list homes and land directly to buyers, no listing agent or commission required. It covers condos, houses, duplexes and triplexes, and land, and sits inside Montreal Daily’s wider Housing section alongside rentals and commercial space.
What You’ll Find in For Sale
Four subcategories make up this group: Condos for Sale, Houses for Sale, Duplex & Triplex for Sale, and Land for Sale. Together they cover most of what a private seller in Montréal lists outside a brokerage: a single condo unit, a full house, a multi-unit plex bought as an investment or owner-occupied property, or a vacant lot. Every listing shows the borough, so you can compare properties in the neighbourhood you actually want rather than sorting through the whole city.
Tips for Buyers
- Get a building inspection before closing, even on a well-presented listing. Photos flatter, foundations and roofs don’t.
- For a plex, ask about existing tenants and their lease terms, since you may be buying into those leases along with the building.
- Confirm zoning directly with the borough before buying land, since permitted use can vary block to block.
- Ask whether the price includes any furniture, appliances, or fixtures, since this varies listing to listing.
Tips for Sellers
Clear exterior and interior photos, an honest note on the property’s condition, and the borough stated upfront get more serious enquiries. Selling privately means you handle the showings and negotiation yourself, so being available to respond quickly to messages matters more than it would with an agent forwarding leads.
Understanding Plex Ownership
Buying a duplex or triplex is different from buying a single-family house or condo. You own the whole building, which means you’re the landlord for any units you don’t live in yourself, responsible for maintenance across the building and subject to Québec’s tenant protection rules for those units. Many buyers use rental income from the other units to offset their own mortgage, which is worth factoring into how you evaluate a listing’s asking price.
Financing and Closing Costs
Buying privately doesn’t remove the usual steps of a real estate purchase: you’ll still want mortgage pre-approval before making an offer, a notary to handle the transfer (a legal requirement in Québec for any property sale), and a budget for welcome tax and other closing costs on top of the purchase price. Skipping the agent’s commission on both sides can mean real savings for a private sale, but the legal and financial steps around closing still apply the same way they would through a brokerage.
Negotiating a Private Sale
Without an agent managing offers on either side, negotiation happens directly between buyer and seller, which can move faster but also means both sides should come prepared. Sellers benefit from knowing recent comparable sales in the same borough before setting an asking price, and buyers benefit from the same research before making an offer. It’s also worth agreeing in writing on what happens if the inspection turns up an issue, since a private deal has no standard brokerage paperwork to fall back on unless you and the other party put one together yourselves, typically with a notary’s help once terms are agreed.
Working With a Notary Instead of an Agent
In a private sale, the notary becomes the central professional handling the transaction rather than a real estate agent. Both buyer and seller can use the same notary or bring their own, and the notary’s role is to verify the title is clear, register the deed of sale, and make sure the transfer follows Québec’s property law correctly, not to negotiate price or terms on either side’s behalf. Booking a notary early, once an offer is accepted, helps avoid a bottleneck near closing, since notary offices can get busy around common closing periods like the run-up to July.
Comparing Condos, Plexes, and Land
Each subcategory in this group comes with its own ongoing costs and considerations beyond the purchase price. Condos carry monthly fees for shared upkeep and often a reserve fund contribution, which should factor into any budget comparison against a house. Plexes come with landlord responsibilities for any rented units, plus building-wide maintenance that a single-unit owner doesn’t face. Land is the most flexible but also the most work: without an existing structure, a buyer is usually planning to build, which means factoring in permits, utility hookups, and construction timelines well beyond the purchase itself. Weighing these ongoing realities, not just the sticker price, usually leads to a better-informed decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you’re buying your first condo or listing a triplex you no longer want to manage, the For Sale group connects Montréal buyers and sellers directly.