We Buy Houses for Cash in Arizona

Arizona moves quickly. A deed of trust can go from a recorded notice of sale to a trustee's auction in about three months, a Phoenix-area home is likely to sit in a planned community with its own resale paperwork, and a house outside city limits may run on a private well and a septic system that has to be inspected before it changes hands. Add sun-worn roofs and a buyer who wants repairs first, and listing can take longer than you have. Swifty Home Buyers buys Arizona houses for cash, as-is, with no agent commissions and no repair requests, and you pick the closing date. Below is what Arizona law actually says about selling, so you can compare your options with real numbers in front of you.

We buy houses in all 50 states. This guide covers the rules that matter in Arizona.

Arizona has written a ban on real estate transfer taxes into its constitution. Article 9, Section 24 says the state and its political subdivisions shall not impose any new tax, fee, stamp requirement or other assessment on the act of selling or conveying an interest in real property, and it does not apply to any tax, fee or other assessment in existence on December 31, 2007. So there is no percentage-based deed stamp to budget for. What you will see is the Affidavit of Property Value, which A.R.S. 11-1133 has the seller and buyer (or an agent for either) complete so the county has the sale price and date on record, and a recording charge: the Maricopa County Recorder lists $30 for recording most documents. If your home is in a homeowners association, budget for the resale paperwork. Under A.R.S. 33-1806 the association may charge the selling member an aggregate of not more than $400 for the required documents, plus a rush fee of not more than $100 and a document update fee of not more than $50. The larger items are the ones you would expect: payoff of your mortgage and any liens, escrow and title charges, prorated property taxes and, in a listing, real estate commissions, which are negotiable but usually the biggest line. Who pays for the owner's title policy and escrow fees is set by your contract. In a cash sale to Swifty there are no commissions, and every cost is written down before you agree to anything.

When an Arizona home loan is secured by a deed of trust, the lender can foreclose through a trustee's sale without going to court. Under A.R.S. 33-808, the sale date can be no sooner than the ninety-first day after the notice of sale is recorded. The notice has to be published once a week for four consecutive weeks, with the last publication at least ten days before the sale, and posted in a conspicuous place on the property at least twenty days before the sale. The auction itself happens on a day other than a Saturday or legal holiday, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. mountain standard time, at the property, a superior court building or the trustee's place of business in the county. Until 5:00 p.m. mountain standard time on the last day other than a Saturday or legal holiday before the sale, A.R.S. 33-813 lets you reinstate the loan by paying the amount then due and curing the default. After the sale, A.R.S. 33-811 makes the trustee's deed absolute without right of redemption, and the trustee must submit it for recording within seven business days after receiving payment, so there is no buy-back period to count on. Arizona does give many homeowners a meaningful shield from leftover debt: under A.R.S. 33-814, if the property is two and one-half acres or less and is limited to and used for a single one-family or two-family dwelling, the lender cannot sue for a deficiency after a trustee's sale. For other property, a deficiency suit must be filed within ninety days of the sale. Because the protection depends on how the property is used and how the loan was structured, ask an Arizona attorney how it applies to you, and consider a HUD-approved housing counselor. If the notice of sale is already recorded, a sale that closes before the auction date pays off the loan and lets you keep whatever equity is left.

• Sell as-is
• Inherited house
• Foreclosure
• Tenants or rental property

Maricopa County and the Phoenix Metro

The Maricopa County Recorder lists a $30 fee for recording documents other than plats and surveys, which is the kind of charge you will see on a closing statement in place of a transfer tax. The Recorder also runs Maricopa Title Alert, which it describes as a free program that monitors and alerts subscribers when documents are recorded under an individual or business name. The Recorder's office is clear that it only records documents and cannot offer legal advice, so questions about your deed belong with a title company or attorney.