About this video. The person on screen is an AI-generated avatar in my likeness. The voice is mine, cloned from recordings of my own voice, and the editing adjusts the sound. The image and the voice may therefore differ from my real appearance and delivery. The text is written and approved by me, and I take full responsibility for it. This process lets me publish regularly; it changes nothing about what is said.
Hello. There is a category of work, before listing a house, that doesn’t need anyone’s opinion. No expert, no decision, no waiting. It gets done, and it’s done.
The question, as people ask it: “what small repairs should I do before selling”
What gets decided based on scope, never in advance
Some work you don’t decide beforehand, or ever. You decide it with a piece of paper in hand.
Let’s start with the middle category, the one decided based on scope.
About a dozen items in a house fall into it, and they are never settled in advance. Windows with fog trapped between the panes. An exterior door that no longer closes plumb. Siding that is bulging, split or coming loose. A balcony whose assembly has shifted. A water heater whose installation year nobody knows. A bathroom without a fan that exhausts to the outside.
For each one, the question isn’t whether to repair. The question is whether it’s a one-off fix or a full project. And that answer changes from one house to the next.
So you bring in the contractor from the trade concerned. You ask for two things: their findings in writing, and a detailed quote. And you decide with two documents in front of you, rather than with an impression.
Windows and doors: glazier or installer, two trades
Fog between the panes involves two different trades. And it’s not up to you to choose which one.
Take windows, because that’s the item where the wrong-trade mistake comes up most often.
Fog trapped between the two panes is an observation. You can see it at a glance, against the light.
What it calls for, however, depends on two different trades. A glazier replaces the sealed unit — the double pane itself — and keeps the frame. A door and window installer replaces the entire window, frame included.
These are two very different kinds of work, and it’s not up to you to choose which one applies. That’s what you ask the person who comes to look.
Same logic for doors. A door that no longer closes plumb may call for a hardware adjustment, or something else. The difference is seen on site.
The concrete step: note the room, the window, the date. Bring in one of the two trades, and ask them to tell you which one applies.
The water heater, ventilation and what carries a date
Your water heater has a date written on it. Go read it today and take a photo.
Some items in a house have a date written on them. And that date, you can go read today.
The water heater has one, on its label. Write it down, with a photo. It’s not up to me to tell you what it implies: a plumber does that. A buyer will ask for it, and a seller who knows it answers right away.
Ventilation next. Every bathroom should have a fan, and that fan should exhaust to the outside, not into the attic. There are two ways to check. Turn it on and see whether a sheet of paper stays against the grille, and look for the matching vent on the exterior wall.
If you can’t find the vent, that’s an observation. It gets noted, and it gets asked to a ventilation contractor.
The concrete step: read the labels, photograph them, file the photos.
Interior finishes: repairing is not covering up
A swollen floor near an exterior door and a worn floor in the middle of a room: two different observations.
A damaged interior finish doesn’t say the same thing depending on where it is.
A finish coming loose at the bottom of a wall. A floorboard that has swollen near an exterior door. A cracked ceramic joint at the back of a shower. A baseboard that no longer touches the floor.
These items can be read two ways. Either it’s wear, and it gets fixed. Or it’s the visible sign of something else, and covering it up solves nothing — it only moves the moment the question comes up.
The distinction is made by location. A damaged finish in the middle of a dry room, and a damaged finish at the bottom of an exterior wall or near a water source, are not the same observations.
So the rule is simple. If it’s near water or at the bottom of an exterior wall, have it looked at before covering it. Elsewhere, it’s maintenance, and it gets done.
Routine maintenance: water around the house
Step outside and walk around your house. Three things can be dealt with today, without calling anyone.
On to routine maintenance. No opinion, no expert, no decision. And a good part of it concerns water around the house.
Three things can be looked at while walking around your property, today, without calling anyone.
The slope of the ground. The ground should slope away from the foundation, over the first few feet along the wall. If water stays against the concrete after a rain, that’s an observation. Note the spot and the date, with a photo.
The downspouts. Each downspout should discharge water about two metres from the foundation. An extension takes a few minutes to install.
The gutters. From the ground, look at whether they overflow at the back during a downpour. Cleaning is done at height: leave it to someone equipped for ladder work.
The slope, the extensions and the observation from the ground require neither a professional nor a decision.
Routine maintenance: what a visitor touches
Close an exterior door on a sheet of paper. What happens next tells you what to do.
Routine maintenance also covers what a visitor handles with their hands in the first ten minutes.
Caulking. Around windows, doors, the edge of the bathtub, the kitchen backsplash. A cracked or loose joint gets redone.
The weatherstripping on exterior doors. Close the door on a sheet of paper. If the sheet slides out on its own, the weatherstripping no longer seals.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. New batteries, manufacturing date checked. The exact requirements are set by your municipality and your fire department: they are the ones to ask directly.
Light fixtures. Every bulb works, and they’re the same colour within a room.
Faucets. No dripping tap, no clogged aerator, no handle that spins freely.
These are maintenance tasks. They aren’t up for debate and they don’t need anyone’s opinion.
Air, odour and humidity in the basement
A visitor goes down to the basement and knows within three seconds. They won’t be able to say why, but they’ll know.
One last block of routine maintenance, and it’s the one nobody talks about because it can’t be photographed.
The air in a basement is noticed in three seconds. A visitor goes down the stairs and knows. They won’t be able to say why, but they’ll know.
Air it out regularly in the weeks before. Run a dehumidifier if you have one, and empty the tank. Take out what has been stored on the floor for years — cardboard and fabric hold moisture and odour.
A hygrometer sits on a shelf. It gives you a number rather than an impression, and a number gets written down with a date.
What I won’t do is tell you at what level to worry. That’s not my role. Note what you measure, and ask a ventilation contractor.
And above all: you air it out, you don’t perfume it.
Repairs without an invoice or permit: the paper trail
Work done without an invoice and without a permit is work you can’t prove.
Let’s finish with work already done. A repair carried out without an invoice and without a permit changes what you can document when you sell. What it implies for your declarations is something a notary will tell you.
Here’s why. When a buyer asks what has been done in the house, a verbal answer and a document don’t carry the same weight. The document has a date, a company name, a licence number, a description of the work. A memory has none of that.
Two rules going forward. One: the contractor holds a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, and gives you a detailed invoice. Not a handwritten note. Two: if the work involves the structure, electricity, plumbing or an addition, call the municipality before starting and ask whether a permit is required.
For what’s already been done without paperwork, gather what exists. Bank statements, emails, dated photos, the contractor’s contact information.
Who to call, and for what
I don’t do the inspection. My role is to know where to look and who to call.
- Glazier
- Door and window installer
- Ventilation contractor
- Plumber
- Municipal fire department
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ)
Frequently asked questions
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan — comparables, features, opinion of value
Full video transcript
Full transcript of the video above, translated from French. Published October 9, 2026.
Hello. There is a category of work, before listing a house, that doesn’t need anyone’s opinion. No expert, no decision, no waiting. It gets done, and it’s done.
My name is Ernso Cléus. I’m a residential and commercial real estate broker with RE/MAX Crystal.
And there’s a second one, right next to it, that isn’t decided in advance — it’s decided with a piece of paper in hand.
What shouldn’t be repaired at all before being looked at is, or will be, the subject of a separate video on my channel. And I won’t mention any amounts.
What gets decided based on scope
Let’s start with the middle category, the one decided based on scope.
About a dozen items in a house fall into it, and they are never settled in advance. Windows with fog trapped between the panes. An exterior door that no longer closes plumb. Siding that is bulging, split or coming loose. A balcony whose assembly has shifted. A water heater whose installation year nobody knows. A bathroom without a fan that exhausts to the outside.
For each one, the question isn’t whether to repair. The question is whether it’s a one-off fix or a full project. And that answer changes from one house to the next.
So you bring in the contractor from the trade concerned. You ask for two things: their findings in writing, and a detailed quote. And you decide with two documents in front of you, rather than with an impression.
Windows and doors: two different trades
Take windows, because that’s the item where the wrong-trade mistake comes up most often.
Fog trapped between the two panes is an observation. You can see it at a glance, against the light.
What it calls for, however, depends on two different trades. A glazier replaces the sealed unit — the double pane itself — and keeps the frame. A door and window installer replaces the entire window, frame included.
These are two very different kinds of work, and it’s not up to you to choose which one applies. That’s what you ask the person who comes to look.
Same logic for doors. A door that no longer closes plumb may call for a hardware adjustment, or something else. The difference is seen on site.
The concrete step: note the room, the window, the date. Bring in one of the two trades, and ask them to tell you which one applies.
The water heater, ventilation and what carries a date
Some items in a house have a date written on them. And that date, you can go read today.
The water heater has one, on its label. Write it down, with a photo. It’s not up to me to tell you what it implies: a plumber does that. A buyer will ask for it, and a seller who knows it answers right away.
Ventilation next. Every bathroom should have a fan, and that fan should exhaust to the outside, not into the attic. There are two ways to check. Turn it on and see whether a sheet of paper stays against the grille, and look for the matching vent on the exterior wall.
If you can’t find the vent, that’s an observation. It gets noted, and it gets asked to a ventilation contractor.
The concrete step: read the labels, photograph them, file the photos.
Interior finishes: repairing is not covering up
A damaged interior finish doesn’t say the same thing depending on where it is.
A finish coming loose at the bottom of a wall. A floorboard that has swollen near an exterior door. A cracked ceramic joint at the back of a shower. A baseboard that no longer touches the floor.
These items can be read two ways. Either it’s wear, and it gets fixed. Or it’s the visible sign of something else, and covering it up solves nothing — it only moves the moment the question comes up.
The distinction is made by location. A damaged finish in the middle of a dry room, and a damaged finish at the bottom of an exterior wall or near a water source, are not the same observations.
So the rule is simple. If it’s near water or at the bottom of an exterior wall, have it looked at before covering it. Elsewhere, it’s maintenance, and it gets done.
Routine maintenance: water around the house
On to routine maintenance. No opinion, no expert, no decision. And a good part of it concerns water around the house.
Three things can be looked at while walking around your property, today, without calling anyone.
The slope of the ground. The ground should slope away from the foundation, over the first few feet along the wall. If water stays against the concrete after a rain, that’s an observation. Note the spot and the date, with a photo.
The downspouts. Each downspout should discharge water about two metres from the foundation. An extension takes a few minutes to install.
The gutters. From the ground, look at whether they overflow at the back during a downpour. Cleaning is done at height: leave it to someone equipped for ladder work.
The slope, the extensions and the observation from the ground require neither a professional nor a decision.
Routine maintenance: what a visitor touches
Routine maintenance also covers what a visitor handles with their hands in the first ten minutes.
Caulking. Around windows, doors, the edge of the bathtub, the kitchen backsplash. A cracked or loose joint gets redone.
The weatherstripping on exterior doors. Close the door on a sheet of paper. If the sheet slides out on its own, the weatherstripping no longer seals.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. New batteries, manufacturing date checked. The exact requirements are set by your municipality and your fire department: they are the ones to ask directly.
Light fixtures. Every bulb works, and they’re the same colour within a room.
Faucets. No dripping tap, no clogged aerator, no handle that spins freely.
These are maintenance tasks. They aren’t up for debate and they don’t need anyone’s opinion.
Air, odour and humidity
One last block of routine maintenance, and it’s the one nobody talks about because it can’t be photographed.
The air in a basement is noticed in three seconds. A visitor goes down the stairs and knows. They won’t be able to say why, but they’ll know.
Air it out regularly in the weeks before. Run a dehumidifier if you have one, and empty the tank. Take out what has been stored on the floor for years — cardboard and fabric hold moisture and odour.
A hygrometer sits on a shelf. It gives you a number rather than an impression, and a number gets written down with a date.
What I won’t do is tell you at what level to worry. That’s not my role. Note what you measure, and ask a ventilation contractor.
And above all: you air it out, you don’t perfume it.
Repairs without an invoice or permit
Let’s finish with work already done. A repair carried out without an invoice and without a permit changes what you can document when you sell. What it implies for your declarations is something a notary will tell you.
Here’s why. When a buyer asks what has been done in the house, a verbal answer and a document don’t carry the same weight. The document has a date, a company name, a licence number, a description of the work. A memory has none of that.
Two rules going forward. One: the contractor holds a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, and gives you a detailed invoice. Not a handwritten note. Two: if the work involves the structure, electricity, plumbing or an addition, call the municipality before starting and ask whether a permit is required.
For what’s already been done without paperwork, gather what exists. Bank statements, emails, dated photos, the contractor’s contact information.
What gets decided based on scope is decided with written findings and a detailed quote in hand. Never in advance.
Routine maintenance, for its part, doesn’t need anyone’s opinion. And work already done is worth what the invoice that comes with it is worth.
A seller’s first question is still the value of their property. I produce a value report and a marketing plan. You can request it through the links below the video.
If you’re already bound by a brokerage contract with another broker, this invitation isn’t meant for you.
I don’t pass verdicts on a building, I don’t put a price on work, and I don’t act as an inspector in any transaction.
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker, RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
Read also: what to check before putting your house on the market · selling your home with a broker · all the seller tips · get in touch
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
