How to buy an Arizona home

Get the money

Find the home

Reach an agreement

Shepherd to completion

Get the money

Get a loan

• Find a lender.
• Do the paperwork to get pre-approved for a loan.
• Have enough money in the bank for down payment and closing costs.

Or,

Get the cash

In metro Phoenix, about 15% of homes are bought with cash only.

Find a home

You can start your home search before getting pre-approved.

• Check out metropolitan Phoenix homes for sale online, for example here at Fast Arizona Homes.

• Get email updates of the latest metro Phoenix MLS home listings. FastArizonaHomes.com is one good way to get email updates of new MLS listings.

• Follow prices paid for Arizona homes - not just asking prices. Arizona home sale prices are available by email from HomeSaleNews.com or online at ArizonaRealEstateNotebook.com.

After getting pre-approved for a loan, you're ready to find and buy a home.

• The fastest way to find a home is to have a real estate agent do the work for you. Just tell your agent what you are looking for and the agent will put together a tour for you of homes for sale that meet your criteria. If you don't already have an agent, I would be honored to help you. Call me at 480-596-3851.

• Another way is to ask your real estate agent to prepare a custom-made list of Arizona homes for sale that meet your criteria. (You can request a list from me at 480-596-3851.) Then tell your agent which homes you would like to see.

• Another option is to wait until you see a great home online or in an email before you call your agent to schedule a showing of the home.

Reach an agreement

Reach an agreement with the home seller

• Work out a written purchase contract with the seller. This is easier said than done. Your real estate agent can be invaluable with this.

Shepherd to completion

Open escrow

• An escrow company is a neutral third party who the buyer and seller jointly hire to make sure the terms of their contract are carried out as agreed.

Tell your lender

• You are already pre-approved for a loan so this part is now easy.

Order inspections

• Purchase contracts usually include an inspection period during which the buyer can cancel the contract if hidden defects in the property are discovered. (CRITICAL: Do NOT mess up on this. Your real estate agent can advise you.)

Close of escrow

• If everything works out, on this day you'll end up being the proud owner of a home... and a mortgage.

Congratulations on your new home!

The procedures outlined above are just that, an outline. They show one common scenario but there are many other paths to buying a home. For example, many home buyers find a home first before getting a home loan. In addition, the outline above does not include all the necessary steps to buying a home or any of the problems that can pop up. It's just an outline to help you understand some of the basic steps to buying a home.