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Sell Your Vacant House in Edmonton, As It Is, Contents Included
If you want to sell a vacant house in Edmonton or the surrounding area, we can buy it directly, for cash, in its current condition, with whatever is still inside. Formula Home Buyers usually has two cash offer options ready within 24 hours and can often close in about two weeks, so you stop paying to heat, insure and check on a house nobody lives in.
- Contents included; we handle the clean-out after closing
- No repairs, cleaning or showings
- You don't need to be in Edmonton for most of it
- No realtor commission and no fees from us
Get Your Free Cash Offer
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Local Edmonton-area home buyers
We know the neighbourhoods and the local market.
No repairs needed
Leave the fixing, cleaning and staging to us.
No realtor fees
No listing commissions taken off your sale.
Fast and simple process
A few steps from first call to closing day.
Fair cash offers
Clear numbers, explained in plain language.
Flexible closing
Pick a date that fits your plans, not ours.
Houses end up empty for all kinds of reasons. A parent passed away or moved into care. You moved for work. The last tenant left and you’re not sure you want another one. The house needs more work than it’s worth to live in. However it happened, an empty house keeps costing money every month, and in Edmonton it needs looking after all winter.
If the house is part of an estate, see selling an inherited house. If it’s a rental between tenants, see selling a rental property.
Vacant Home Insurance in Alberta
Many owners don’t realise their home insurance changes once a house is empty. Insurers treat a home nobody plans to return to as vacant, and most cover a vacant home for only about 30 days. After that, coverage for things like vandalism, theft and water damage from burst pipes can be limited unless you add a vacancy endorsement.
What to do: tell your insurer as soon as the house is empty, ask what they need (often heat kept on and regular checks), and get it in writing. Then decide whether it’s worth carrying the house and the extra premium while you sell.
An Empty House in an Edmonton Winter
The biggest winter risk is a furnace that stops while nobody’s there. Pipes can freeze and burst quickly in a cold snap, and water can run for days before anyone notices. Keep the heat on, have someone check the house regularly, and keep the sidewalk clear: the City expects sidewalks cleared after a snowfall whether or not anyone lives in the house.
If you’re far away, that means relying on a neighbour, a family member or a paid service all winter. Selling before the coldest months is often the simplest way out.
Other Risks of Leaving a House Empty
- Break-ins and squatters. A house that looks empty, with mail piling up and no tracks in the snow, attracts attention.
- Things wearing out unnoticed. A slow leak, a failed sump pump or a roof issue can do a lot of damage before anyone sees it.
- Edmonton’s derelict property tax. Edmonton now taxes dilapidated, unlivable homes in mature neighbourhoods at about three times the usual residential rate. A house that’s been empty and neglected for a long time can end up in that category.
If the house already needs work, see selling a house as-is.
Selling a Vacant House With Everything Still Inside
Many empty houses aren’t actually empty: they’re full of a parent’s belongings, a tenant’s leftovers, or furniture you never moved. You don’t have to clear it out to sell to us. Take what you want, leave the rest, and we handle the clean-out after closing.
Before closing, do one careful pass for documents, keepsakes and anything valuable. Once the house is ours, the contents go.
If You Live Out of Town
Many owners of vacant houses live somewhere else now: Calgary, B.C., Ontario or further away. You can handle most of the sale by phone with us and through your lawyer. If you can’t be there for the walkthrough, a family member, neighbour or someone you trust can let us in. If you moved for work, see selling before a move
Selling a House During Divorce in Edmonton, Step by Step
1. Tell us about the house:
The address, how long it’s been empty, its condition and what’s inside.
2. Get two offer options in writing:
Usually within 24 hours, with the numbers explained.
3. One walkthrough
With you there or someone you trust.
4. Close on your date
Often about two weeks after you accept. The lawyers handle the paperwork, and the carrying costs stop.
More detail: how our cash offer process works.
Selling to Us or Listing an Empty House?
Why Owners of Empty Houses Choose Formula Home Buyers
- You deal with the owner: Formula Home Buyers is owned by Michael Matheson, and our Google reviews often mention working with Mike directly.
- A track record: buying houses around Edmonton since 2022, with 15+ purchases completed.
- Easy to reach: 7 days a week, 7 AM to 9 PM, at (587) 545-1238, including evenings in other time zones.
- No fees from us: no commission, and in some deals we cover closing costs. Your offer will say so upfront.
- No clean-out for you: contents stay; we deal with them after closing.
Other Situations and Areas
If a parent has moved into care, see downsizing and selling a family home. We buy vacant houses across Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan and Beaumont. See all the communities we serve or other situations we help with.
Selling a Vacant House: FAQs
Yes. We buy vacant houses in their current condition, with whatever is still inside, and handle the clean-out after closing.
Usually only for a limited time, often about 30 days. After that, some coverage can be limited unless you add a vacancy endorsement. Check your policy with your insurer.
It depends on the house, but you keep paying the mortgage, property tax, heat and power, insurance, snow clearing and someone to check on it. Selling stops those costs at closing.
No. Take what you want and leave the rest. We handle the clean-out after closing.
Yes. Most of the sale can be handled by phone and through your lawyer, and someone you trust can let us in for the walkthrough.
We usually have two offer options ready within 24 hours, and can often close in about two weeks.
No. There’s no commission and we charge no fees. You normally pay your own lawyer, though in some deals we cover closing costs, and your offer will say so upfront.
Stop Paying for an Empty House
Tell us about the house. We’ll usually have two cash offer options ready within 24 hours, with no obligation.