Buying in the North Valley

The work that decides how a purchase goes happens before the first showing. Buyers who start with financing and a written budget see fewer homes and buy better ones, because they are choosing from a real set rather than an aspirational one.

Pre-qualification is a conversation. Pre-approval is underwriting — a lender has looked at your income, assets and credit and issued a letter that means something to a seller. In a competitive situation the difference is the whole difference.

Since August 2024, a buyer working with an agent signs a written agreement before touring homes. It sets out what the agent will do and how they are compensated. Any agent who uses the MLS is now required to have one in place before showing you a home — that requirement comes from the rules governing the MLS rather than from Arizona law, which does not require an employment agreement for an agent to represent you. Touring an open house on your own is a separate case and does not call for one.

The practical change is that compensation is negotiated and stated up front rather than assumed. Ask what the agreement commits you to, how long it runs, and whether it is exclusive to a property, an area, or all of them.

An offer is not only a price. Closing timeline, the length of the inspection period, what you ask the seller to pay, and how much earnest money you commit all tell a seller how likely you are to actually close — and sellers weigh certainty heavily.

Earnest money is the clearest of those signals. It is not a fee — it is held by the escrow company or a broker's trust account, whichever the contract names, and credited to you at closing. A credible deposit often does more for an offer than a marginal increase in price, because it says you intend to perform. It is also the money most exposed if the purchase comes apart outside what the contract allows, so settle the figure as a risk you are willing to carry rather than as a bidding tactic.

Closing costs are the ones buyers underestimate. Lender charges, escrow and title fees, recording, prepaid interest, the first year of insurance, and any tax and association prorations all settle at the closing table.

Your lender must give you a Loan Estimate early and a Closing Disclosure before closing. Read both, and ask about anything that moved between them — that comparison is exactly what those documents exist for.

Arizona is a community property state, and how you take title affects what happens on death, in divorce, and to your tax basis. It is decided in escrow, often quickly, and is difficult to unwind afterwards.

Married buyers, unmarried co-buyers, and anyone buying through a trust or entity should have this conversation with an attorney or tax professional before the escrow officer asks — not while they are asking.

Arizona closes through escrow rather than at an attorney's table. The escrow company holds the funds, coordinates the payoff and the new loan, and records with the county — and the sale is complete on recording, not on signing.

After recording, the practical work begins: utilities in your name, insurance in force from the correct date, and the county's tax records updated to you. Property taxes in Arizona are billed in two installments and apportioned to the day of closing rather than handed to one side or the other, so the figure on your settlement statement is a share of the year, not a bill.