Five free guides covering your selling options, offer terms, the title process, and more. Enter your email once to unlock all five.
Enter your email and we'll unlock every guide below instantly. No spam — just the info.
✓ Thanks! Your guides are unlocked below.
When it's time to sell your Arizona house, you generally have three paths: a cash sale to a wholesale or investor buyer, a traditional listing with a real estate agent, or selling it yourself (FSBO). Each has real trade-offs, and the right choice depends on your timeline, the property's condition, and how much certainty you need.
A cash sale is usually the fastest option, often closing in 7-14 days, and typically involves no repairs, no showings, and no financing contingencies to worry about. The trade-off is that the offer price is usually below full retail market value, since the buyer is taking on the cost of repairs, holding time, and resale risk. This route tends to make the most sense when speed, certainty, or an as-is sale matters more than maximizing the top-line price.
A traditional listing with a licensed agent typically nets a higher sale price on homes that are in good, market-ready condition, but it comes with commissions (commonly in the 5-6% range), the cost and hassle of repairs and staging, showings, and a timeline that can run 45-90 days or longer — with deals sometimes falling through over financing or inspection issues.
FSBO (For Sale By Owner) can save on commission but shifts all the marketing, negotiation, paperwork, and buyer-financing risk onto you. It works best for sellers who have time, some real estate experience, and a property that doesn't need much work.
There's no universally "best" option — it's a trade-off between speed/certainty and maximizing sale price. We're glad to walk through your specific situation and help you decide which path fits, with no obligation.
One of the best parts of a cash sale is that you don't need to fix anything up before we come by — but a little preparation can help the walkthrough go smoothly and give us a more accurate picture of your property.
First, make sure we (or whoever is conducting the walkthrough) can access every part of the property, including the garage, attic, crawl space, sheds, and any locked rooms. If pets will be present, plan to secure them somewhere comfortable during the visit. You don't need to clean, declutter, or stage anything — we're used to seeing homes in every condition, from pristine to homes that need significant work.
It helps to have a general idea of any known issues going in — things like roof age, foundation concerns, past water damage, HVAC condition, or any code violations or permit issues. You don't need paperwork for all of this, but jotting down a mental list means the walkthrough moves faster and our offer is more accurate the first time.
If you know there's a mortgage, HOA, tax lien, or other obligation tied to the property, having a rough sense of the balances (even approximate) is useful, though not required before we visit. Finally, come with your questions — timeline flexibility, how the closing process works, and what happens next are all fair game, and we'd rather you ask upfront than wonder later.
Cash offers come with some industry shorthand that isn't always explained. Here's a plain-English glossary of the terms you're most likely to hear from us or any cash buyer:
ARV (After Repair Value): An estimate of what the home would be worth on the open market once it's fully repaired and updated. Buyers use this as a starting point to work backward into an offer.
MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer): The highest price an investor can pay for a property and still make their targeted return once repair costs, holding costs, and profit margin are factored in. It's essentially the ceiling of what a cash offer will look like.
Assignment fee: When a wholesaler contracts to buy a property and then transfers (assigns) that purchase contract to a different end buyer/investor, they may collect a fee for connecting the deal. This is a standard, legal part of wholesaling under Arizona law when properly disclosed.
Earnest money: A small deposit put down by the buyer after a contract is signed, showing good-faith intent to complete the purchase. It's typically held by the title company and applied toward closing.
Closing costs: The fees associated with finalizing the sale — things like title insurance, escrow fees, and recording fees. In many cash-sale arrangements, the buyer covers some or all of these, but this varies deal to deal and should always be spelled out in your purchase agreement.
If any term in your offer isn't clear, ask us to explain it before you sign anything — a good buyer will walk you through every line.
In general, once you and a buyer agree on a purchase price, the transaction is handled by a neutral third party — typically a title company or escrow agent — who manages the paperwork, holds funds, and ensures the sale closes cleanly for both sides. This is standard practice for real estate closings across Arizona.
Broadly speaking, the title company will run a title search to confirm who legally owns the property and check for anything that could affect the sale, such as liens, unpaid taxes, judgments, or other claims recorded against the property. If anything shows up, it generally needs to be resolved or accounted for before or at closing.
The title company also typically issues title insurance, prepares the closing documents, coordinates the transfer of funds, and files the deed with the county once everything is signed. Timelines and exact procedures can vary depending on the title company, the county, and the specifics of your property (for example, a probate or inherited property may involve extra steps).
Because every property and situation is a little different, this section is meant as general background rather than a step-by-step guide to your specific closing. For anything specific to your property — outstanding liens, how long your closing will take, or what documents you'll need — the title company handling your transaction is the best source of accurate, current information. We're happy to recommend a title company we work with regularly if that's helpful.
Selling a home can have tax consequences, and those consequences depend heavily on your individual circumstances — how long you've owned the property, whether it was your primary residence, whether it was inherited, whether you've claimed depreciation on it as a rental, and current federal and Arizona tax law at the time you file.
In very general terms, a home sale may involve considerations like capital gains, potential exclusions for a primary residence, and different treatment for inherited or investment property (which can involve concepts like a stepped-up basis). We intentionally are not listing specific dollar thresholds, exclusion amounts, or percentages here, because those figures change over time and getting them wrong could lead you to make a costly decision based on outdated information.
The only responsible guidance we can give is this: before you sell — especially in situations involving foreclosure, an inherited property, a rental, or a short sale — talk to a licensed CPA or tax professional who can look at your full financial picture and the current tax code. A short conversation before closing can save you from surprises after closing. We're glad to recommend it, but we can't and shouldn't try to replace that advice.
Whenever you're ready, we're glad to give you a no-obligation cash offer on your property.
GET MY CASH OFFER →