Military House Hunting Trip Checklist for Your Ottawa Posting
A military House Hunting Trip checklist earns its keep the moment you land in Ottawa with only a handful of days to find a home. This page is built as a working checklist you can print or save — the step-by-step companion to Jason Polonski’s full guide to Ottawa military relocation services, which covers how the Integrated Relocation Program (IRP) works in more depth. Use this page to prepare before you arrive, stay on track during the trip itself, and make sure nothing gets missed for reimbursement afterward.
Before You Arrive: Pre-HHT Checklist
Preparation before your feet hit the ground in Ottawa is what turns a stressful few days into a manageable one. Work through this before your trip is booked.
- Get mortgage pre-approval confirmed in writing, not just estimated, so you know your real number before you view a single home. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has straightforward guidance on mortgage readiness if this is your first purchase.
- Confirm your posting location and likely reporting date so your search radius reflects real commute options, not guesswork.
- Rank your non-negotiables versus your nice-to-haves — school catchment, commute time, bedroom count, lot size — in that order of firmness, so your REALTOR® can build a shortlist that actually matches what matters most.
- Review your IRP funding envelopes with your relocation coordinator before you travel, so you understand which costs are reimbursable and under which category before you incur them.
- Ask your REALTOR® to build a pre-trip shortlist based on your criteria, so your HHT days are spent deciding between real options, not discovering the city from scratch.
- Book virtual or video walkthroughs for anything on your shortlist you can preview before arrival, to narrow the in-person list further.
- Confirm your lender’s rate hold covers your posting timeline — construction and closing delays can outlast a short rate hold, so check this before you’re mid-trip and under pressure.
During Your House Hunting Trip: Day-by-Day Checklist
Most HHTs run only a few days, so structure matters. A typical trip breaks down roughly like this — adjust based on how many days your relocation coordinator has approved.
Day 1: Orient and view. Walk or drive each shortlisted neighbourhood before you tour homes inside them, so you’re judging the community and the commute with fresh eyes, not just the listing photos. Begin viewings on your top-ranked properties first.
Day 2: Narrow and revisit. Return to your top two or three homes for a second look, ideally at a different time of day — commute traffic and street noise read very differently at 8 a.m. than at 2 p.m. Ask your REALTOR® about any new listings that hit the market overnight.
Final day: Decide and offer. If a home clearly fits, this is the day to move on a structured offer rather than waiting to see if something better appears. If nothing has fit yet, use this day to line up virtual showings and a plan for continuing the search remotely once you’ve left.
Throughout the trip, keep a simple running note — home address, price, pros, cons, and your REALTOR®’s condition notes — for every property you see. With only a few days and multiple homes, details blur quickly, and this note becomes what you compare against on your final decision day.
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What to Check Before You Write an Offer
A compressed timeline is exactly when a home’s true condition matters most, since you won’t have the luxury of a slow, considered decision. Before any offer goes in, confirm:
- Foundation and structure — visible cracking, settling, or signs of past water intrusion in the basement or crawl space
- Roof age and condition — ask directly, and look for obvious wear from the ground or any available access point
- Electrical panel and wiring — panel age, capacity, and any visible knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring in older homes
- Heating, cooling and major mechanical systems — age and last service date for the furnace, hot water tank, and any AC unit
- Windows and insulation — age of windows and any obvious drafts, which matter more in Ottawa winters than many newcomers expect
- Renovation history — ask whether major work was permitted, since unpermitted work can complicate financing, insurance, or a future resale
Understanding a home’s real condition before you commit is exactly the kind of due diligence CMHC recommends for every buyer, and it matters more when your inspection window is measured in hours rather than weeks. Jason’s background in construction and licensed electrical work means these checks happen on the spot during your viewings, not as a separate step that eats into your limited trip days.
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Offer and Conditions Checklist
Once you’ve found the right home, a clean, well-structured offer keeps your posting timeline intact. Before you sign:
- Confirm your offer’s closing date works against your report-for-duty date, with a reasonable buffer for delays.
- Decide whether a home inspection condition fits your timeline, or whether a pre-offer walkthrough with your REALTOR® needs to substitute for it in a fast-moving market.
- Confirm financing conditions match what your lender has actually approved, not just pre-qualified.
- If you’re also selling a property elsewhere, confirm whether your Ottawa offer needs to account for that sale — see selling and buying at the same time for how that timing decision works.
- Have your real estate lawyer review the agreement before you sign, even under time pressure — the Real Estate Council of Ontario sets the professional standards your REALTOR® works under, but your lawyer protects your specific interests in the contract itself.
After Your HHT: If You Haven’t Found a Home Yet
Not every trip ends with a signed offer, and that’s not a failed HHT — it’s a common outcome in a market where the right home simply hasn’t listed yet. If you leave Ottawa without securing a property:
- Keep your shortlist active and ask your REALTOR® to flag new listings that match your criteria as they hit the market.
- Set up a recurring video walkthrough cadence so you can keep viewing remotely.
- Confirm with your relocation coordinator how a delayed purchase affects your interim housing and reimbursement timeline.
- Revisit your financing pre-approval expiry date, and renew it if your search runs past that window.
IRP Documentation Checklist
Reimbursement under the IRP depends on documentation being captured in the right order, not after the fact. Keep records of:
- Your signed Agreement of Purchase and Sale
- The home inspection report, if one was completed
- The appraisal, if required by your funding envelope
- Real estate commission, legal fees, and any other costs tied to the purchase
- Dates for each of the above, since IRP funding envelopes often have windows tied to your posting date
Review the current framework directly through the Canadian Armed Forces relocation resources before your trip, since envelope rules and reimbursable categories are set by the program and worth confirming directly rather than relying on secondhand summaries.
Built From Real Military Relocations in Ottawa
This checklist reflects how Jason Polonski actually runs House Hunting Trips for Canadian Armed Forces members posted to Ottawa — not a generic moving checklist adapted for military use. With more than 15 years of Ottawa real estate experience, a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Finance from Concordia University, and a background in the construction and electrical trades, Jason prepares your shortlist before you land, reads a home’s true condition on the spot, and keeps your documentation aligned with IRP requirements from the first viewing through closing.
For the fuller picture of how the IRP interacts with buying and selling at the same time, see the complete Ottawa military relocation services guide, or reach out directly before your trip is booked — the earlier Jason understands your posting, the more control you keep over your timeline.
Thinking about selling? See find out what your home is worth.
Military House Hunting Trip Checklist (FAQs)
Confirm your mortgage pre-approval in writing, lock in your posting location and reporting date, rank your non-negotiables versus nice-to-haves, and have your REALTOR® build a shortlist before you arrive. Reviewing your IRP funding envelopes with your relocation coordinator ahead of time also helps you understand what’s reimbursable before you incur any costs.
Most HHTs run only a few days, which is why a structured day-by-day plan matters. A common breakdown is orienting and viewing on day one, narrowing to your top choices on day two, and deciding or making an offer on the final day.
Foundation and structural condition, roof age, the electrical panel and wiring, heating and mechanical systems, window condition, and renovation history are essential to confirm before writing an offer under time pressure. A REALTOR® with a construction or trades background can assess these on the spot during viewings.
It’s a common outcome, not a failed trip. Keep your shortlist active, set up recurring virtual walkthroughs, confirm with your relocation coordinator how a delayed purchase affects interim housing and reimbursement timelines, and check whether your financing pre-approval needs to be renewed.
Keep your signed Agreement of Purchase and Sale, home inspection report, appraisal (if required), and records of real estate commission and legal fees, along with the dates for each. IRP funding envelopes often have windows tied to your posting date, so documenting things in order matters.
It depends on your timeline and how competitive the home is. In a fast-moving market with a short HHT, a pre-offer walkthrough with your REALTOR® sometimes has to substitute for a formal inspection condition — but your real estate lawyer should still review the agreement before you sign, even under time pressure.
Yes, and it’s a common situation for postings. The same sell-first, buy-first, or coordinated-closing decision applies here as with any simultaneous sale and purchase, and bridge financing can cover a timing gap if your Ottawa purchase closes before your current home sells.
