To buy your first home in Arizona, start with your credit and cash, get an underwritten pre-approval, choose a buyer's agent, shop within the payment you are comfortable with, write an offer on the Arizona purchase contract, complete your inspection and appraisal during escrow, and close. The whole process from first conversation to keys often takes two to four months, with about 30 days of that in escrow.
Step 1: know your numbers, 60 to 90 days out
- Pull your credit and find out your mortgage scores. See What Credit Score Do I Need?.
- Pay revolving balances down and fix errors. See Fix the Credit First.
- Total your savings and decide how much you are willing to put in. See How Much Down Payment Do I Need?.
- Stop opening new credit.
Step 2: get an underwritten pre-approval
Not a quick prequalification. Give the lender full documents so income, assets and credit are actually reviewed before you shop. See the Pre-Approval Documents Checklist and Pre-Qualified, Pre-Approved, Underwritten.
This is also when you pick the program: conventional, FHA, VA or another. See FHA vs Conventional in Arizona.
Step 3: decide your payment, not your price
Your lender will tell you the maximum. You decide what is comfortable. Include taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues. See How Much House Can I Afford in Arizona?.
Step 4: choose a buyer's agent
A local agent who knows the neighborhoods, the contract and how to negotiate repairs. Since the 2024 industry changes, you will sign a written agreement with your agent before touring homes, which spells out how they are paid. Read it. If you need a referral, use our Find a Realtor page.
Step 5: shop and write an offer
Your agent writes the offer on the Arizona purchase contract. Decide your price, earnest money, closing date, and whether you are asking the seller for credits toward closing costs or a rate buydown. See Seller Concession vs Price Reduction.
Step 6: open escrow and protect your deposit
Once accepted, wire your earnest money to escrow, verifying instructions by phone first. Your inspection period starts. See Earnest Money in Arizona.
Step 7: inspect and negotiate
Hire a home inspector, plus specialists for roof, pool, sewer, termite or septic as needed. Get homeowners insurance quotes now. See Homeowners Insurance for a Mortgage in Arizona. Request repairs or credits within the inspection period.
Step 8: lock your rate and finish underwriting
Lock when you are comfortable with the rate and your closing date is firm. See Rate Lock vs Float. Answer conditions the same day. See Mortgage Conditions.
Step 9: appraisal
The lender orders it. If it comes in low, your contract and agent guide the next move. See How a Home Appraisal Works.
Step 10: review your Closing Disclosure
You must receive it at least three business days before signing. Compare it to your Loan Estimate. See Closing Disclosure and the 3-Day Rule.
Step 11: sign, fund and record
You sign with the escrow company, wire your cash to close, the lender funds, and the deed records with the county. Then you get keys. See What Happens on Closing Day in Arizona.
The rule that protects every step
Do not change anything until you have keys: no new credit, no job changes, no money moves. See What Not to Do After You Apply.
City-specific guides: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe.
Why ask me
- I answer the question before I sell you anything. If renting, waiting or a different program is the better move, I will say so.
- Real numbers, not a calculator guess. I price your actual scenario, side by side, with the fees on the page.
- Every program under one roof. Conventional, FHA, VA, jumbo, and non-QM options like bank statement, DSCR and asset-based loans, so the program fits you instead of the other way around.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
More plain-English answers in the Mortgage Education library.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Program guidelines, eligibility requirements and documentation standards vary by investor and change over time. Rates, terms and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. This is not legal or tax advice; consult a qualified professional about your own situation.
Find out which program actually costs you less
FHA, conventional and jumbo price the same borrower very differently once the mortgage insurance is compared across the years you will own the home. Tell me the shape of your file and I will run them side by side.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
