Hello and welcome to my podcast. This is Rachel Gibson, REALTOR®.
Today I want to talk about the land buying process in AZ. It’s fairly simple so I wanted to give you the step by step process.
Once you find a lot you want to buy the first thing you need to do is contact your real estate agent. It does not have to be the listing agent selling the land. You can talk to any licensed agent in the state you are looking to purchase but I am talking specifically about Arizona.
Is there water access? Electricity nearby for hook up? Legal road access? Etc…these are the basic questions you want to find out. Also, what is the zoning? Is it residential or commercial?
Once it passes your basic criteria you want to put in an offer. Never feel like you have to offer full asking price. It is always better to put in a lower asking price offer and allow the seller to counter you. This will help you get a better idea of their bottom dollar amount.
Once your offer is accepted by the seller you will pay your earnest money, usually $1000 for land, to show your seriousness about purchasing. Now Your “inspection period” or “due diligence” period begins. This can be anywhere from 10 to 30 days at the buyers request. Standard time is usually 10 days for the inspection period. In this time you want to confirm the lot has legal access and any other items on your list you deem as important. This is actually your job as the buyer and not the real estate agent so be warned not to rely on your agent to confirm utilities or any other criteria that is of importance to you.
Regarding surveys, this always comes up… Buyers ask if they should get a survey done. In general the answer is no…it all depends on your intended use for the property. Most people do NOT get a survey until they begin construction in which the builder is more likely to include the survey costs into the building fees.
Once your inspection period is almost up, you need to sign a document whether you accept or reject the property. This is very important b/c if for any reason you do not accept the property during this inspection period, you simply sign the document and your earnest money will be returned to you. If you accept the property, your earnest money will now be applied to the balance due at time of closing.
Assuming all has gone as planned and you accept the property, now you have given the green light to the title company to finish closing the deal. You will pay the rest of your money or down payment, depending whether or not you did an owner will carry purchase agreement or a straight cash agreement. The title company will transfer the property into your name at the county level and now the property is owned by you, the buyer. It’s really that simple to purchase land in Arizona.
If you have questions or would like to start the land buying process here in Mohave County Arizona please feel free to reach out to me any time. Thank You, Signing off Rachel Gibson REALTOR®.
