Three things decide whether your California to Scottsdale purchase gets approved: what happens to the home you are leaving, how your income is documented once you move, and whether you buy before or after you sell. Everything else about the file is ordinary.
Buyers spend their energy on the Scottsdale house. Lenders spend theirs on the California one.
The departing residence is the whole file
If you still own a home in California when you close on Scottsdale, an underwriter has to decide what to do with that payment.
If it is sold and closed before your Scottsdale closing, it disappears from your ratio. Cleanest outcome. The sale proceeds also become documented funds once the transaction closes, not before.
If it is under contract but not closed, treatment varies by investor. Some will exclude the payment with a fully executed contract and evidence the sale will close; others require the actual closing. Ask early, because the answer changes what you qualify for.
If it is being rented, you generally need a signed lease and evidence of receipt, and only a portion of the rent counts against the payment. Expect a vacancy factor. Expect to carry part of that payment in your ratio regardless.
If it is sitting empty, you carry the entire payment on top of the Scottsdale payment. Many buyers can. Many cannot, and this is where a California to Scottsdale file most often stalls.
The instruction: decide the departing residence question before you write an offer in Scottsdale, and tell your lender the real plan. A file built on "we will probably sell it" and a file built on a closed sale are different approvals.
Buying before you sell
Common, and workable, but understand the mechanics.
You are qualifying while carrying two homes. That means the ratio has to support both payments, and your reserve requirement typically applies to both properties. Above the conforming loan limit that reserve requirement is real money. See Jumbo Loans in Scottsdale.
Your equity in the California home is not usable for the Scottsdale down payment until the sale closes or you borrow against it, and borrowing against it adds a payment to the same ratio you are trying to clear.
If the numbers only work after the sale, then the sale comes first, and you shop with a written plan rather than an offer.
Income after the move
W-2 employment continuing remotely. Generally straightforward, but document it properly: a letter confirming your role, that remote work is approved, your compensation, and that the arrangement continues after relocation. Underwriters ask.
A new job in Arizona. An offer letter can work, subject to conditions that vary by investor: a start date within a defined window before or after closing, an accepted and executed offer, and sometimes evidence of first payment. If your start date is well after closing, ask early.
Relocation packages. Signing bonuses, relocation allowances and temporary housing stipends are usually treated as one-time income and typically do not count toward qualifying. Do not build your budget on them.
Self-employed and moving the business. Two years of returns still govern, and relocating the business raises continuity questions an underwriter will ask about. The income mechanics are in Self-Employed and Buying in DC Ranch.
Retired, or living on assets. Asset depletion and distribution income are their own calculations, and often produce a better qualifying number than people expect.
What surprises California buyers about Arizona
Property taxes generally run lower than California, which helps your ratio, but do not estimate. Get the actual figure for the specific parcel, because it feeds directly into your housing expense.
Insurance is a real line item. Get a quote on the actual address early rather than assuming.
The dues stack can be substantial. Master association, sub-association or village dues, and mandatory club dues in golf communities. This is the item most likely to move your Scottsdale purchase price, and it catches out-of-state buyers hardest because it is larger here than they expect. See HOA Dues, Club Dues and Assessments.
Condominium project review applies to attached product, and can fail independently of you. See Scottsdale Luxury Condo Financing.
Well water, septic and large acreage appear in north Scottsdale and carry their own inspections and conditions on some programs.
Occupancy matters. If this is a second home for now and a primary later, say so accurately. See Second Home or Investment Property in Scottsdale.
The timeline that actually works
Ninety days out. Get fully underwritten with a lender licensed in Arizona, using your real departing-residence plan. A pre-qualification is a calculator; an underwritten pre-approval means someone read your documents. In a competitive Scottsdale segment that difference decides whether your offer is taken seriously by a listing agent who has never heard of you.
Sixty days out. Nail down the departing residence: listed, under contract, or leased with a signed lease. Get insurance quotes on real addresses. Get the actual dues for the communities you are considering.
Under contract. Order the appraisal early. Do not move large sums without a paper trail, do not open credit, do not change how you are paid.
Why bring this file to us
- Licensed in Arizona and California, along with Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Indiana, so the conversation about both sides of your move happens with one person.
- We ask about the California house on the first call. That is the file, and most lenders treat it as an afterthought.
- Broker model. Multiple investors rather than one bank's shelf, which matters because departing-residence and offer-letter treatment vary meaningfully between them.
- The full toolkit, agency and jumbo through bank statement, asset depletion and no-ratio non-QM, chosen on the file rather than on inventory.
- 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.
Tell me what happens to the California house and I will tell you what you qualify for in Scottsdale.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Departing residence treatment, offer letter requirements and relocation income treatment 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. Non-QM financing carries different pricing and terms than agency financing.
