Arizona Home Buying Guide

Researched November 2026.

Presidential Realty’s tagline is simple: A Higher Standard of Representation. This guide walks first-time and experienced buyers through a typical Arizona resale purchase, with a focus on the Phoenix East Valley — Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Tempe, Apache Junction, and Fountain Hills.

It is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Forms and fees change. Your contract, lender, and escrow officer control the details of any one transaction.

Start with representation you can rely on

Buying a home in Arizona is a legal process with firm deadlines. Most resale transactions are written on the Arizona Association of REALTORS® (AAR) Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract, often called the AAR purchase contract. The version reviewed for this guide is the February 2026 form.

A well-prepared buyer usually begins with three steps: a conversation with a licensed buyer’s broker, a loan pre-qualification if financing is involved, and a clear picture of neighborhoods, budget, and must-haves. Presidential Realty can help you think through those choices before you tour homes.

Buyer-broker agreements after the 2024 NAR settlement

As of August 17, 2024, Multiple Listing Service (MLS) participants working with a buyer must have a written buyer agreement in place before touring a home, including a live virtual tour. That practice change comes from the National Association of REALTORS® settlement.

The written agreement must:

• State the amount or rate of compensation clearly, in a figure that can be objectively ascertained (not an open-ended amount).
• Prohibit the broker from receiving, from any source, more than the compensation stated in the agreement.
• Include a conspicuous statement that broker fees are not set by law and are fully negotiable.

AAR provides forms for this, including a Buyer-Broker Exclusive Employment Agreement and a non-exclusive Buyer-Broker Agreement to Show Property. Compensation may be a percentage of the purchase price, a flat fee, or another amount you and the broker agree on in writing.

A seller or a seller’s broker may still offer to contribute toward the buyer-broker’s compensation, but that offer is no longer communicated through the MLS. If a contribution is accepted, it is credited against the amount in your agreement. You may still be responsible for any unpaid balance, unless the parties negotiate a different arrangement in the purchase contract.

Broker compensation is not set by law, by any board or association of REALTORS®, or by the MLS. It is negotiated between you and your broker.

The Arizona purchase process, step by step

1. Get organized before you write an offer

If you plan to finance the purchase, speak with a lender early. Once a contract is accepted, the AAR form gives buyers a short window to start the loan file: unless it was already completed, the buyer must, within three days after contract acceptance, provide the lender with basic identifying and loan information and grant permission to pull a credit report. Within ten days after acceptance, the buyer must deliver a Loan Status Update describing the loan’s current status.

Pre-qualification is not a final loan approval. Final approval, appraisal, and underwriting happen during escrow.

2. Write and negotiate the offer

A typical East Valley resale offer is written on the AAR Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract. The contract sets the purchase price, earnest money, close-of-escrow date, what personal property conveys, and the many deadlines that follow.

Close of escrow occurs when the deed is recorded at the county recorder’s office, on the date the parties write into the contract. If the escrow company or recorder’s office is closed on that date, closing moves to the next day both are open. Possession is usually delivered at close of escrow, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

The contract also states that time is of the essence, that all referenced “days” are calendar days, and that a day runs from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. In counting a deadline, the day of the event is not included and the last day is included. Contract acceptance occurs when the signed contract (and any incorporated counteroffer) is delivered to and received by the appropriate broker.

3. Deposit the earnest money

Earnest money is a good-faith deposit toward the purchase. The amount is negotiated; there is no statutory “standard” figure in Arizona. The AAR contract provides that, upon acceptance, the earnest money — if any — is deposited with the escrow company or a broker’s trust account, and may be delivered as a personal check, a wire transfer, or another agreed form.

If you cancel in the manner the contract allows — for example, by delivering a signed inspection notice that specifies disapproved items before the inspection period expires — the contract provides for the earnest money to be released to you. If you later breach the contract and do not cure after a required cure notice, the earnest money may be at risk. Prepaid items paid separately from earnest money are generally not refundable.

Treat wiring instructions with unusual care. The AAR buyer attachment warns that criminals may hack email accounts and send fake wiring instructions. Confirm wiring instructions independently with the escrow company using a known, trusted phone number before you send any funds. Do not email documents that show bank account numbers.

4. Open escrow and review title

Arizona residential sales typically close through a licensed escrow company. The AAR contract itself serves as the escrow instructions. Unless the contract says otherwise, escrow company fees are split equally between buyer and seller.

The escrow company is instructed to obtain a Commitment for Title Insurance, together with complete copies of the documents that will remain as exceptions to the buyer’s policy, including CC&Rs, deed restrictions, and easements. You have five days after receiving the title commitment — and after notice of any later exceptions — to give the seller notice of items you disapprove. The AAR buyer attachment also advises buyers to read CC&Rs and other governing documents within five days of receipt, especially if the home is in a homeowners association.

Under the February 2026 AAR contract, the seller conveys title by warranty deed, and the buyer is provided, at the seller’s expense, an American Land Title Association (ALTA) Homeowner’s Title Insurance Policy or, if that policy is not available, a Standard Owner’s Title Insurance Policy. If you want extended coverage, you pay the added cost. If there is a loan, you pay for the ALTA lender’s title policy.

Title insurance premiums are filed by insurers and vary by county and by the amount of insurance. Ask the title company for a written quote rather than relying on a rule of thumb.

An Affidavit of Property Value, sometimes called an affidavit of legal value, is generally recorded with the deed under A.R.S. § 11-1133, unless a statutory exemption applies.

5. Read the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement and the Buyer Advisory

Arizona sellers have a legal duty to disclose known facts that are material to the value or desirability of the property and that are not readily observable or known to the buyer. That duty was recognized in Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81, 725 P.2d 1115 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1986). The duty remains even if the parties agree that no Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS) will be used.

In a transaction that uses the AAR contract, the seller must deliver a completed AAR Residential SPDS form to the buyer within three days after contract acceptance. You may give notice of any SPDS items you disapprove within the inspection period or five days after you receive the SPDS, whichever is later.

The SPDS is the seller’s statement, not the broker’s. Review it carefully, ask about blanks or unclear answers, and verify anything that matters to you. The current residential SPDS form (with Seller Advisory) is dated February 2023.

The seller must also deliver a written five-year insurance claims history (or a history for the length of ownership, if shorter) within five days after contract acceptance.

You should also review the Arizona Department of Real Estate Buyer Advisory, a consumer resource prepared by the Arizona Association of REALTORS® and the Arizona Department of Real Estate. The edition reviewed for this guide is dated February 2026. It is a due-diligence aid, not a substitute for professional inspections.

A.R.S. § 32-2156 limits certain disclosure claims. No criminal, civil, or administrative action may be brought against a transferor or a licensee for failing to disclose that the property was the site of a natural death, suicide, homicide, or other felony; that it was owned or occupied by a person with HIV/AIDS or another disease not known to be transmitted through ordinary occupancy; or that it is located in the vicinity of a sex offender. If any of those matters is important to you, the AAR contract instructs you to investigate them during the inspection period.

6. Use the inspection period well

Unless the parties write in a different number, the buyer’s inspection period is ten days after contract acceptance. During that period, at your expense, you may conduct the physical, environmental, and other investigations you want; consult agencies, lenders, insurance agents, and other professionals; review building, zoning, fire, health, and safety issues; and verify material MLS information.

The contract specifically flags several items that, if they matter to you, must be investigated during the inspection period: square footage (which is approximate), wood-destroying organisms or insects such as termites, flood-hazard designations and the cost of flood insurance, the availability and cost of homeowners insurance, and whether the property is on sewer or a conventional or alternative on-site wastewater system.

You must deliver any notice of disapproved items to the seller before the inspection period expires, in a single signed notice. AAR’s Buyer’s Inspection Notice and Seller’s Response (BINSR) form is commonly used for this. In that notice you either:

• Cancel the contract immediately. If the notice specifies the disapproved items as the contract requires, the earnest money is released to you; or
• Give the seller an opportunity to correct or address the items. The seller then has five days (or another period the parties write in) to respond in writing. Silence is treated as a refusal. If the seller will not or cannot address items, you may cancel within five days after the seller’s response or after the seller’s response period ends, and receive the earnest money. If you do not cancel in that window, you proceed to closing without those unaddressed items.

Verbal discussions do not extend these deadlines. If you fail to give a timely disapproval or cancellation notice, you are deemed to have elected to proceed without correction of disapproved items.

Inspections are your responsibility and are not a substitute you can postpone until after closing. The contract also provides for a pre-closing walkthrough so you can confirm that agreed repairs were completed and that the property is in substantially the same condition as it was on the date of acceptance.

7. Financing, appraisal, and closing

If the sale is financed, your obligation to close is typically contingent on obtaining loan approval without Prior to Document (PTD) conditions no later than three days before the close-of-escrow date. The contract also includes an appraisal contingency: if a lender-required appraisal comes in below the purchase price, you have five days after notice of the appraised value to cancel and receive the earnest money, or the appraisal contingency is waived, unless federal law prohibits that waiver.

The close-of-escrow date is whatever the parties agree to write in the contract. There is no statutory default period. A financed purchase needs enough time for loan processing, appraisal, title work, and underwriting. You must deliver immediately available funds — and instruct your lender to do the same — in time for the deed to record on the agreed date.

Before you close, read every line of the Closing Disclosure or settlement statement, confirm the wiring instructions by phone, and complete the walkthrough.

Typical buyer closing costs in Arizona

Buyer closing costs vary with the purchase price, loan type, lender fees, prepaid taxes and insurance, and any credits negotiated in the contract. There is no single official percentage that applies to every Arizona purchase. Ask your lender for a Loan Estimate and ask the title company for a fee quote, then compare those figures with the contract.

The February 2026 AAR contract and customary Arizona practice generally allocate costs as follows. Almost every item can be negotiated.

Commonly paid by the buyer

• Down payment and, if financed, loan costs (origination, points, underwriting, credit report), unless the seller has agreed to a concession.
• Appraisal (unless the contract assigns it differently). The initial appraisal fee is non-refundable; an updated appraisal required by the lender is at the buyer’s expense.
• Property inspections, including wood-destroying insect inspections performed during the inspection period.
• Lender’s title insurance policy and endorsements, if there is a loan.
• Homeowners insurance (and flood insurance, if required).
• Prepaid interest, tax and insurance impounds, and similar lender prepaids.
• Any optional extended title coverage.

Commonly split, unless the contract says otherwise

• Escrow company fees (the AAR contract allocates them equally).
• Recording fees. Under A.R.S. § 11-475, the standard county recording fee is $30 per instrument. That amount includes the charge collected under A.R.S. § 11-475.01. A financed purchase commonly involves recording at least the deed and the deed of trust.

Commonly paid by the seller, unless renegotiated

• The owner’s title insurance policy described above.
• The seller’s loan payoff and related release or reconveyance costs.

Often negotiated

• Home warranty premiums.
• HOA transfer or capital fees (as distinct from the association’s resale disclosure fee, which is addressed in the selling guide).
• Seller concessions, which the AAR contract can express as a percentage of the price or a dollar amount and which may be used for buyer fees, costs, or broker compensation to the extent the lender allows.
• On some loan programs, including certain VA transactions, investor or lender rules can change who is allowed to pay particular fees. Confirm those rules with your lender and escrow officer.

Arizona does not impose a real estate transfer tax on the sale of a home. Article IX, Section 24 of the Arizona Constitution prohibits the state and local governments from imposing any new tax, fee, stamp, or other assessment on the act of selling or conveying an interest in real property. That provision does not apply to taxes or fees already in existence on December 31, 2007.

Property taxes are prorated to the close of escrow based on the latest available tax information. Under A.R.S. § 42-18052, one-half of the annual tax is due October 1 and the remaining half is due the following March 1 (with different rules if the total tax is $100 or less).

If the home is in a planned community or condominium, review the association documents and any Community Facilities District or other special assessments during your due-diligence period. Newer East Valley communities sometimes carry these additional obligations.

Buying in the East Valley

The East Valley offers a wide range of housing, from established neighborhoods in Mesa, Tempe, and central Chandler to newer communities in Gilbert, Queen Creek, and San Tan Valley, and from resort and hillside areas in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Fountain Hills to the desert edge at Apache Junction. School attendance boundaries, HOA rules, commute patterns, and flood or fire considerations can change from one subdivision to the next. A local broker can help you compare those details against the home itself.

For city-by-city snapshots, see Presidential Realty’s companion page, Moving to the East Valley.

Work with Presidential Realty

If you are ready to buy in the East Valley, or you simply want a clear-eyed conversation about timing, neighborhoods, and representation, we would be glad to talk with you.

Presidential Realty LLC Designated Broker: Travis Larsen 4856 E. Baseline Rd, Suite 106, Mesa, AZ 85206 Office: 480-336-9222 Contact us · presidentialrealty.com

A Higher Standard of Representation.

Disclaimer

This guide is for general education only. It is not legal, tax, financial, insurance, or accounting advice, and it is not a commitment to represent you or a prediction of any property’s value, costs, or timeline. Arizona statutes, case law, Association of REALTORS® forms, lender rules, title rates, and market conditions change. The AAR contract described here is the February 2026 Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract; later editions may differ. Presidential Realty LLC does not warrant that this information is complete or current for your transaction. Consult an Arizona-licensed attorney, a tax advisor, your lender, the escrow and title company, and qualified inspectors before you act. Equal Housing Opportunity. Presidential Realty LLC is a licensed Arizona real estate brokerage, ADRE License #LC574199000.

Sources

• Arizona Association of REALTORS®, Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract and Buyer Attachment (February 2026): aaronline.com sample forms
• Arizona Department of Real Estate / Arizona Association of REALTORS®, Buyer Advisory (February 2026): aaronline.com/manage-risk/buyer-advisory-3
• Arizona Association of REALTORS®, Residential Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement with Seller Advisory (February 2023)
• Arizona Association of REALTORS®, articles on August 2024 buyer-broker forms and NAR settlement practice changes
• National Association of REALTORS®, settlement practice-change materials (written buyer agreements effective August 17, 2024)
• Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81, 725 P.2d 1115 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1986)
• A.R.S. § 32-2156 (limits on certain disclosure claims)
• A.R.S. § 11-475 and § 11-475.01 (county recording fees); Maricopa County Recorder, Recording Fees
• A.R.S. § 11-1133 (Affidavit of Property Value)
• A.R.S. § 42-18052 (property tax due dates)
• Arizona Constitution, Article IX, Section 24 (prohibition of new real property transfer taxes)