Buying a home in Arizona when you're moving from another state: a checklist

If you're buying a home in Arizona from out of state, get pre-approved and decide which areas you want to see before you book a flight to look at anything.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. Below is what to do before you tour, what's different about the contract and closing here, and the order I'd handle it in.

Closing here works differently than it does in a lot of states. Escrow and title companies handle the closing, and for a standard sale you don't use an attorney. There's an inspection period built into the contract. And since August 17, 2024, agents who use the MLS have to have a written agreement with a buyer before the buyer tours a home, including a live video tour.

Three things work differently here than in a lot of states.

The closing. Closing in Arizona goes through an escrow officer at a title company instead of an attorney's table. If your situation is unusual, such as a trust or an estate, ask an Arizona real estate attorney. You may never sit across a table from the seller at all.

The inspection period. In the standard contract it's ten days, and it can be negotiated. Inside that window you get your inspections done, negotiate repairs, and can cancel over what the inspections find. Your earnest money, which is typically 1 to 3 percent of the purchase price, depends on the exact contract terms. Here's when it stops being refundable. Your contract and your escrow officer have the final say.

The buyer agreement. Since August 17, 2024, agents who use the MLS have to have a written agreement with a buyer before the buyer tours a home, and that includes a live video tour. You don't need one to talk to an agent at an open house. It can be short. It can cover one property, one day, or longer, and you'll know what I'm paid before you see a single house.

Property taxes depend on the specific home. Ask me for the tax amount on any house you're serious about and I'll pull it. For how they apply to you, talk to your CPA or tax advisor.

Two things, and both happen before you look at a house.

Get pre-approved, not pre-qualified. Pre-qualified means a lender listened to what you told them. Pre-approved means they checked. That difference is explained here. An offer without real pre-approval behind it is easy for a seller to set aside when there's more than one offer.

Sign a buyer broker agreement. It comes before any tour, and it can cover one property, one day, or a longer stretch, depending on what you want to commit to.

After that, we look at what your budget buys in the specific area you're considering, instead of what you assume it buys based on where you're moving from. Call me before you book a flight to look at houses, so the pre-approval and the agreement are done first.

Yes. I walk homes with a camera and talk you through them live, and under the same rule that counts as touring. The agreement comes first. It can cover one house or several, so if you want me to walk more than one home by video, we can write it that way.

Before we get to any specific house, we talk through how you want to live and which areas fit that.

A video won't show you which way a back yard faces, or what a wash behind a property looks like after a storm. Ask me, and I'll go look. If you buy before you've visited, do the inspection, read the HOA documents, and have me video the street so you see it at a different time of day.

• Get pre-approved before you set a timeline.
• Sign a buyer broker agreement before anyone shows you a house, even on video.
• Talk through how you want to live before you narrow down neighborhoods.
• Ask what your budget buys in each area you're considering.
• Book your inspections the day an offer is accepted, not on day six of the ten-day window.
• Read the HOA documents and the reserve study if the property has an association. The reserve study shows how much the association has set aside for big repairs.
• Read the preliminary title report when it arrives, and ask about anything you don't follow.
• Set your closing date around your actual move: a job start, a lease ending, or a sale closing in the state you're leaving.
• Line up movers and utility transfers once the closing date is firm. Dates can shift during escrow.

I work in DC Ranch, McDowell Mountain Ranch, Grayhawk, McCormick Ranch, Fountain Hills and the rest of Scottsdale, and the first thing we do is look at what your budget buys in each one. Here's my page for Fountain Hills and here's my page on relocating here.

Buying a second home instead of moving here full time changes the questions, mostly around rental restrictions and what an HOA maintains while you're away part of the year. That's covered separately.

Get pre-approved before you set a date for anything else. Then we talk through how you want to live before either of us looks at an address.

Get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605, and we'll work out the order that fits your move. This describes how I generally work with buyers in Arizona. It isn't legal, tax or lending advice, and the contract you sign governs over anything written here.