Arizona note holders range from Phoenix retirees who carried paper on a house to owners who sold desert lots on installments. We shop the note to several buyers and show the pricing behind each offer.
Gaps in the file that lower an Arizona offer before the pricing even starts.
The same worksheet comes with every offer.
| Remaining balance | $129,400 |
|---|---|
| Payments left | 168 |
| Buyer’s target yield | 8.0% |
| Purchase price | $115,000 |
| Discount from balance | 11.1% |
| Our fee | shown on every offer |
| Sell the whole note | Sell 60 payments | Keep it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash today | $115,000 | $56,200 | $0 |
| Payments still coming to you | None | 108 payments of $1,140 | 168 payments of $1,140 |
| Total you receive | $115,000 | $179,320 | $191,520 |
| What you give up | Every future payment | The next five years | A lump sum now |
Illustrative example. Totals add up the payments as scheduled; they assume the payer keeps paying and are not adjusted for the value of money over time.
The promissory noteThe mortgage or deed of trustA payment historyThe closing statement from the saleArizona seller-financed sales are commonly secured by a deed of trust. It names a trustee who can sell the property if the borrower defaults. That sale, called a trustee’s sale, generally takes place outside the courts and is the common way a default is resolved here, with a court foreclosure available and less used.
You may instead hold an agreement for sale, the Arizona term for what other states call a land contract or contract for deed, under which you keep legal title until the last payment is made. Ending one after a default follows a separate process, forfeiture as opposed to foreclosure, and a buyer treats the paper as one of the land contracts, which are sold a little differently from a note and deed of trust. Which process applies to your document, and what it requires today, is something to confirm with an Arizona attorney or title company before you rely on it.
Some sold a house. Across the Phoenix area, from Mesa and Chandler to Glendale and Sun City, and in Tucson, Prescott and Yuma, owners who are downsizing carry the financing for a buyer. A retired seller may enjoy the monthly income for years and then need a lump sum for a move or a medical bill.
Others sold land. Arizona has a long history of rural lots sold on installments: acreage in Mohave and Cochise counties, parcels near Show Low and Snowflake, high desert tracts in Apache and Navajo counties. Balances on these are small next to a house note and the terms run long, and the seller may be a developer or a family that bought the land decades ago.
One Arizona habit works in a seller’s favor. Sellers here have long used account servicing companies to collect payments on a financed sale, and the company keeps its own ledger of what was paid and when. That ledger is independent proof of the payment history, which is the thing a buyer most wants to see. If your payments go through one, ask for the full history from the first payment onward before you request a quote.
A buyer decides the return they want on their money and pays the amount today that produces it from your remaining payments. That amount is less than the balance owed.
A deed of trust with a working power of sale gives a buyer a known route to the property, and that supports the price. An agreement for sale can be just as sound, but it calls for a buyer who handles them, so the field is smaller.
On a lot note the questions change. Can you drive to the parcel on a legal road? Is there water, or does it have to be hauled? Is power at the lot line? How much did the payer put down, and would they walk away from it? A lot with no utilities and a small down payment prices lower than a house in Gilbert with years of payments behind it.
Name the document at the start: note and deed of trust, or agreement for sale. Then send it with the recorded copy and the servicing ledger, if one exists, when you ask for a price on your Arizona note. Where no servicing company was involved, bank statements showing each deposit are the next best record.
Deeds of trust are the common way to secure a loan on Arizona real estate, and a default is generally handled by a trustee's sale outside the courts. Mortgages and agreements for sale also exist, mostly on older transactions.
It is Arizona's name for a land contract. The seller keeps legal title until the buyer finishes paying. It can be sold, but a buyer reviews it differently from a note and deed of trust, so say at the start which one you hold.
Yes, where a buyer can get comfortable with the lot. They look at the down payment, how many payments have been made, legal access, and whether water and power are available. A small balance leaves a buyer less room to cover the cost of reviewing the file, so fewer of them bid.
Yes, if the ledger is complete. A record kept by an independent company is strong proof of payment history, and a buyer pays more for what can be proved. Ask the company for a full payment history before you request a quote.