Selling a home is a multi-stage process with legal obligations, firm deadlines, and financial decisions at nearly every step. Understanding what those stages are before you begin makes it significantly easier to move through them without surprises.
This guide walks through the steps to selling a home in the order they typically occur. Every transaction is different, and specific timelines are governed by the terms of the purchase contract. The steps below reflect how a standard residential home sale in Arizona generally unfolds.
Step 1: Determine an asking price
Before listing a home for sale, the seller needs to decide on an asking price. This is typically done by reviewing recent sale prices of comparable homes in the same area — properties that are similar in size, age, condition, and location.
The goal is to identify a price that reflects what buyers are currently paying for similar homes in the local market. A price set significantly above what comparable homes have sold for may result in the property sitting on the market for an extended period without offers. A price set in line with recent comparable sales tends to generate more buyer interest.
Sellers can research comparable sales independently using public records and real estate listing platforms. Comparable sales and how they are used to assess home value are covered in detail in our guide: What are comparable sales (comps) in real estate?
Step 2: Prepare the property for sale
Once a price is established, the seller prepares the home for sale. This typically involves cleaning and decluttering the space, addressing any known maintenance issues, and photographing the property to use in the listing.
Arizona law requires sellers to disclose all known material facts about the property to prospective buyers. A material fact is any information that could affect a buyer’s decision to purchase the property or the price they are willing to pay for it. This obligation exists regardless of whether the home is being sold as-is, and it applies to all sellers in Arizona, regardless of how the sale is structured.
This disclosure is made through a written property disclosure statement, which the seller completes and provides to the buyer after a purchase contract is accepted. Qilo provides sellers with a disclosure form that satisfies this legal requirement as part of the platform.
Step 3: List the property
Listing the property means making it available for sale and visible to prospective buyers. The listing typically includes a description of the property, the asking price, photographs, and details such as square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, lot size, and any notable features.
On Qilo, the seller’s property is listed directly on the platform, where buyers searching for homes can find it and request a showing.
Step 4: Show the property to prospective buyers
Once the property is listed, interested buyers request showings to view the home in person. The seller coordinates access to the property for these visits.
Sellers are not required to make any specific improvements to the property before showing it, but the condition of the home during showings will affect buyer interest and the offers received.
Step 5: Review offers and negotiate
When a buyer decides they want to purchase the property, they submit a written offer in the form of a Purchase and Sale Agreement. This document sets out the terms of the proposed transaction, including the purchase price, the amount of earnest money the buyer is offering, the proposed closing date, and any contingencies the buyer wants included.
A contingency is a condition written into the contract that must be satisfied for the transaction to move forward. Common contingencies cover the buyer’s home inspection, their financing approval, and the property appraisal. Each of those is explained in detail in a separate guide in this series.
The seller has three options when reviewing an offer: accept it, reject it, or respond with a counteroffer proposing different terms. Negotiations may involve multiple rounds of counteroffers before both parties agree on all terms. Once both the buyer and seller have signed the same version of the contract, the agreement is fully executed and the transaction moves forward.
Qilo provides sellers with a legally compliant Purchase and Sale Agreement as part of the platform.
Step 6: Accept earnest money into escrow
Once the contract is signed by both parties, the buyer deposits earnest money with a neutral third party — in Arizona, this is typically a title or escrow company. The earnest money is held in a trust account until closing.
The seller does not receive the earnest money at this stage. It is held by the escrow company and credited to the buyer’s funds at closing. The conditions under which the earnest money is refundable to the buyer or forfeited to the seller are governed entirely by the written contract terms.
For a full explanation of how earnest money works, see our guide: What is earnest money?
Step 7: Provide the property disclosure statement to the buyer
Under the standard terms of a purchase contract in Arizona, the seller is required to deliver a completed property disclosure statement to the buyer within a defined number of days after the contract is accepted — commonly within three days. The buyer then has a set period to review the disclosure and raise any concerns.
The disclosure statement covers the known condition of the property, including structural and mechanical systems, environmental conditions, property history such as prior damage or insurance claims, utility information, and any applicable homeowners association details.
Arizona law requires sellers to answer the disclosure based on what they actually know. Sellers are not required to conduct inspections or hire experts to discover unknown conditions, but they cannot deliberately avoid learning about a known problem in order to avoid disclosing it. Disclosures that are false or materially incomplete can expose the seller to civil liability after closing.
Step 8: The buyer completes inspections
During the inspection period — commonly 10 days from the date the contract is accepted in Arizona — the buyer arranges for a licensed home inspector to evaluate the property. The seller is required to provide reasonable access to the property for these inspections.
After reviewing the inspection report, the buyer may submit a written request asking the seller to make repairs, reduce the purchase price, or provide a closing cost credit. The seller can agree to some or all of the requests, decline them, or propose an alternative. If the parties cannot reach agreement on inspection items, the buyer retains the right to cancel the contract within the inspection period.
Arizona law also requires sellers to maintain the property in the same condition from the date the contract is accepted through the date of closing. If the condition of the property changes materially — a new leak, damage from a storm, an appliance that fails — the seller is required to notify the buyer.
Step 9: The buyer’s lender orders an appraisal
If the buyer is using a mortgage to finance the purchase, the lender will order an independent appraisal of the property. An appraisal is an evaluation of the property’s market value conducted by a licensed, independent appraiser. The seller does not order or pay for the appraisal — that is the buyer’s lender’s responsibility.
If the appraised value comes in at or above the purchase price, the transaction proceeds. If the appraised value comes in below the purchase price, the lender will not approve a loan for the full amount. At that point, the buyer and seller must decide how to resolve the difference: the seller may lower the price, the buyer may pay the difference in cash, or both parties may negotiate a combination. If they cannot reach agreement, the buyer may have the right to cancel the contract under the appraisal contingency.
Step 10: Title review
While the inspection and appraisal are underway, a title company conducts a title search on the property. A title search is a review of the property’s public ownership records, the purpose of which is to confirm that the seller has a clear legal right to transfer ownership and that there are no outstanding liens, unpaid taxes, or other claims against the property.
If the title search reveals an issue — an old lien, for example, or a discrepancy in the ownership records — it must be resolved before the transaction can close. The title company works with the seller to clear any such issues.
For a full explanation of what escrow and title companies do, see our guide: What is escrow, and what does it do?
Step 11: Closing
Closing is the final step in the home selling process. At closing, both the buyer and seller sign the documents required to complete the transfer of ownership. The buyer’s funds — the purchase price, minus any deposits already held in escrow — are wired to the escrow company. The escrow company pays off any existing mortgage on the property, deducts applicable closing costs and fees, and releases the remaining proceeds to the seller.
The escrow company then records the deed with the county recorder’s office, which transfers legal ownership of the property to the buyer.
Seller closing costs in Arizona typically include escrow and title fees, the county recording fee, prorated property taxes through the date of closing, and, if the property is part of a homeowners association, any applicable HOA transfer fees. These costs vary depending on the sale price and the service providers involved. The full breakdown of what sellers typically pay at closing is covered in our guide: What are closing costs, and who pays them?
Most financed home sales in Arizona close within 30 to 45 days from the date the contract is accepted.
Frequently asked questions
What does a seller in Arizona legally have to disclose? Arizona law requires sellers to disclose all known material facts about the property — meaning anything that could affect a buyer’s decision to purchase or the price they are willing to pay. This obligation applies to all sellers regardless of how the home is sold and survives closing, meaning a seller can be held liable for failing to disclose a known defect even after the sale is complete.
Does the seller have to make repairs after the inspection in Arizona? No. Arizona sellers are not legally required to make any repairs requested by the buyer after an inspection. However, if the seller declines to address inspection findings, the buyer may have the right to cancel the contract within the inspection period and receive their earnest money back, depending on the terms of the contract.
When does the seller receive the proceeds from the sale? The seller receives their net proceeds after closing. Once the buyer’s funds are confirmed received by the escrow company, the escrow officer pays off any outstanding mortgage on the property, deducts closing costs and fees, and wires the remaining balance to the seller. This typically happens on the day of closing or within one business day.
Can a seller accept a new offer after going under contract? Once a purchase contract is fully executed — signed by both parties — the seller is legally bound by its terms and cannot accept a competing offer to replace it. Sellers can, however, request backup offers from other buyers, which would only become active if the primary contract is terminated.
Qilo is a flat-fee real estate marketplace for buyers and sellers in Arizona. Buyers and sellers on the platform receive legally compliant transaction documents, listing tools, and step-by-step guidance through every stage of the process described above.
Related reading: What Is Escrow, and What Does It Do? and What Actually Happens When You Buy a Home, From Start to Finish.