The Alberta Move Planner — Your 90-day checklist for selling in one province and buying in Alberta.
Moving provinces means two real estate transactions, two legal systems, and one mortgage that has to survive both. This planner breaks the move into four tracks — Sell, Buy, Mortgage, and Life Admin — across four checkpoints: 90 days out, 60 days out, 30 days out, and the final week. Check items off as you go, and nothing falls between the cracks.
Prepared by Travis Bannert, Realtor® | Bridge Realty Group, Maxwell Progressive Realty, and licensed Mortgage Broker with BFL Dominion Lending Centres — 780-720-8240.
90 DAYS OUT — Set the plan before anything is listed
Sell-side:
☐ Get a pricing opinion on your current home from a local agent, based on recent comparable sales — not an online estimate
☐ Decide your listing date and target closing window, leaving room for your Alberta purchase to close inside your lender's porting/bridge window
☐ Order any documents your sale will need (survey / real property report equivalent, condo status documents if applicable)
☐ Declutter and complete the small repairs that show up in every showing
Buy-side:
☐ Shortlist Edmonton-area communities using your real budget (from the mortgage track below), not list-price browsing
☐ Decide your must-haves vs. nice-to-haves for the Alberta home — this list gets much harder to change once offers start
☐ Connect with an Edmonton-area buyer's agent who works with out-of-province buyers and does video showings
Mortgage:
☐ Get a documented pre-approval (full income and down-payment review — not a rate-only quote) and note your rate-hold expiry date
☐ Confirm whether your current lender lends in Alberta — if not, porting is off the table and the plan changes
☐ Get your exact mortgage payout penalty figure in writing from your current lender
☐ Compare, side by side: porting your current mortgage vs. breaking and starting fresh vs. a blend — using your real penalty number
☐ Assemble the file: last two years of T4s/NOAs, a current pay stub, ID, and three months of down-payment history (statements showing where the money came from)
Life admin:
☐ Give notice / confirm timelines: employer transfer letter, remote-work approval in writing, or new Alberta employment contract
☐ If kids are moving: note Alberta school registration timelines and gather report cards and immunization records
☐ Start a moving-cost file (quotes from two or three movers; keep receipts — some relocation expenses matter at tax time for certain moves)
60 DAYS OUT — List, shop, and lock the sequence
Sell-side:
☐ List your current home, with a target closing date that your mortgage plan can absorb
☐ When an offer arrives, weigh the closing date as heavily as the price — a firm sale with the right date beats a higher price with the wrong one for bridge/port purposes
Buy-side:
☐ Begin video showings of Edmonton-area homes; narrow to a serious shortlist
☐ If you're buying on a trip in: schedule your house-hunting visit now, with your pre-approval paperwork already complete
☐ Research the practical layer of your shortlist areas: commute, schools, and what's actually nearby — before you fall for a house
Mortgage:
☐ Confirm your lender's identity-verification method for an out-of-province buyer (digital verification, video process, or local lawyer/notary) so signing never becomes urgent
☐ If you'll buy before your sale closes: get bridge financing pre-discussed — amount, what triggers it, what it costs — based on a firm sale being in place
☐ Re-check your rate hold: if it's expiring before your likely possession date, ask about extending or re-holding
☐ If your down payment is a gift from family, get the gift letter paperwork started — lenders require it in a specific form, with proof of transfer
Life admin:
☐ Book movers or a truck once your sell-side closing date firms up
☐ Start change-of-address list: CRA, banks, subscriptions, insurance (auto and home insurers differ by province — get Alberta quotes now, not on arrival)
☐ Alberta health coverage: apply for the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) within 3 months of establishing residency (you must intend to live in Alberta for 12 months or more); AHCIP coverage begins on the first day of the third month after you arrive, and your home province's health card covers you during the wait
30 DAYS OUT — Conditions, documents, and the cash-to-close number
Sell-side:
☐ Target state: firm, unconditional sale with a closing date — this is what unlocks bridge financing if you need it
☐ Confirm with your lawyer/notary in your home province how proceeds will be disbursed and how quickly funds can move to Alberta
Buy-side:
☐ Write your Alberta offer with a financing condition long enough for full lender approval on the specific property
☐ Book your home inspection inside the condition period
☐ Confirm the possession date aligns with your sale closing and any bridge window
Mortgage:
☐ Move from pre-approval to full approval: lender reviews the actual property, appraisal ordered if required
☐ Lock down your cash-to-close number in writing: down payment + legal fees + registration fees + appraisal/inspection + adjustments — remembering Alberta has NO land transfer tax, so this number is leaner than an Ontario or BC closing
☐ Confirm bridge financing terms if buying before your sale closes, and the exact repayment trigger
☐ Do not change jobs, finance a car, or open new credit between now and possession — any of these can reopen your approval
☐ Gather final documents your lawyer will need: ID, void cheque / direct-deposit form, home insurance binder for the new property effective possession day
Life admin:
☐ Arrange Alberta home insurance and get auto insurance quotes effective your arrival date
☐ Plan driver's licence and vehicle registration exchange: Alberta requires new residents to exchange their licence and change vehicle registration within 90 days of moving; a vehicle brought from another province needs an Alberta out-of-province inspection before it can be registered
☐ Book utility connections for the new home (power, gas, water, internet) starting possession day
☐ If applicable: pet records, prescriptions transferred to an Alberta pharmacy, and a first family doctor / clinic shortlist
THE FINAL WEEK — Possession without surprises
Sell-side:
☐ Sign closing documents with your home-province lawyer as scheduled; confirm the disbursement date for your proceeds
☐ Leave the sold home in the condition your contract requires, with all included items in place
Buy-side:
☐ Pre-possession walkthrough of the Alberta home, per your contract
☐ Confirm utilities are switching into your name on possession day
Mortgage:
☐ Funds flow confirmed with your Alberta lawyer: mortgage advance + your balance of down payment and closing costs delivered on time
☐ Bridge loan repayment confirmed for the day your sale closes, if a bridge was used
☐ Keep every approval document until after possession — lenders can ask for a final item at the last moment
Life admin:
☐ On arrival: apply for Alberta health cards, and calendar your 90-day deadlines (licence, registration, out-of-province vehicle inspection if required)
☐ Register kids at their Alberta school with records in hand
☐ Update your address with CRA, your banks, and your insurers once the move is complete
The one-page summary
Sequence is everything: pre-approval before listing → firm sale with the right closing date → Alberta purchase with financing pre-documented → bridge repaid when the sale closes. Alberta helps you at the end: no land transfer tax means your cash-to-close stays lean.
Want a second set of eyes on your move? Travis Bannert plans interprovincial moves every week — as an Edmonton Realtor® and a licensed Mortgage Broker with BFL Dominion Lending Centres, he plans the sale dates, port windows, and bridge timing as one file, not three separate guesses.
Call or text: 780-720-8240
Shortlist where you'll land with the Edmonton & area neighbourhood guides: https://bridgerealtygroup.ca/communities/neighbourhood-guides, and read the full Moving to Alberta guide: https://bridgerealtygroup.ca/guides for the step-by-step behind this checklist. Selling an Edmonton-area home as part of the plan? Start with a Home Evaluation: https://bridgerealtygroup.ca/home-evaluation.
