A new “Buyer Advisory” is now available from the Arizona Department of Real Estate. It can be viewed and printed from the Department’s web site, at www.re.state.az.us/buyadv.html. The Advisory is an eight-page document that is chock full of information for a prospective buyer of any type of real estate, but particularly for someone looking to purchase a residence.
The Advisory walks the prospective buyer through a number of commonly available documents that should be reviewed, conditions on the property that should be investigated, and conditions in the neighborhood that should be checked out. These steps should of course be taken either before the prospective buyer makes an offer to buy the property, or during the “contingency period,” which is a period after signing a purchase contract and before the buyer is obligated to complete the purchase.
Anyone who is considering buying property should always make sure the purchase contract provides for a contingency period. A contingency period can be as long or as short as the buyer and the seller agree. The buyer should always see to it that the contingency period is long enough to allow the buyer to completely investigate the property, obtain financing, and take whatever other steps may be necessary to be sure that the property will suit the buyer’s needs.
The Advisory also contains numerous links to other sources of on-line information, including sample forms, and suggests other methods to obtain information about the property. The list is by no means exhaustive, but does give a number of potentially valuable leads to other sources of information on various aspects of evaluating the property. The Advisory also recommends that prospective buyers obtain a professional home inspection (see my April, 2002, “Update”) and seek professional advice if any questions arise (which is always a sound practice).
The Advisory is designed to be distributed by real estate brokers and salespersons who are working with prospective buyers to locate available properties. That doesn’t mean that you have to be working with a broker or salesperson to use it, however. The Advisory is a very useful source of information for any prospective buyer of real estate.
