Arizona Home-Buying Process: A Practical Guide for Buyers Coming from Taiwan
If this is your first time buying a home in the United States, it’s easy to focus all of your attention on one question:
“Which house should I buy?”
But in reality, there’s a lot of homework worth finishing before you ever see that house — and doing it well makes everything afterward much easier. That’s especially true if you’re in Taiwan preparing to move to Arizona.
I’d actually love for you to complete half of that homework before you even arrive.
Step 1: It’s Not Zillow — It’s Confirming Your Budget
I know many people start with Zillow, and that’s completely normal.
But don’t see “homes I like are around $700,000” and automatically treat $700,000 as your budget.
Because what you truly pay is: mortgage + property tax + insurance + HOA + maintenance. If the home has a pool or solar, or is an older home, there are additional considerations.
So the question I need answered isn’t:
How much can you buy at most?
It’s:
At what price point do you still feel comfortable every month after buying?
Those two numbers aren’t necessarily the same.
Step 2: Get Your Financing Confirmed Early
If you need a loan, I usually want buyers to complete their pre-approval before they start seriously touring homes.
Especially if your income or assets are in Taiwan, don’t wait until you find a home you love to start asking. Different lenders have different requirements for foreign income, asset documentation, credit history, and down payments.
Know how you can buy first — so you don’t waste time later.
Step 3: Choose Your Area First
This is the step I consider especially important in Arizona, because Greater Phoenix is truly huge.
Two places can both be called the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and still be a long drive apart.
So instead of “the internet says Gilbert is great, so I want to buy in Gilbert,” I usually narrow things down this way:
Work location → acceptable commute → lifestyle needs → home prices
If you work at TSMC, we’ll start with North Phoenix / North Peoria; if you work in the Chandler tech corridor, we’ll look at it the East Valley way.
The city is the result, not the starting point.
Step 4: Start Touring Homes
Only at this step do we really start choosing a house.
But when I tour homes, I don’t just look at whether the kitchen is pretty or the floors are new. In Arizona I pay special attention to the HVAC, roof, pool, solar, water heater, windows, the age of the home, the HOA, and what might be built on nearby vacant land in the future.
Because a beautifully renovated home doesn’t necessarily mean low future maintenance costs. Sometimes the things you can’t see matter more.
Step 5: An Offer Is About More Than Price
Once you find a home you love, it’s time to make an offer.
Many first-time buyers only think about one thing:
How much should I offer?
But an offer includes many terms — earnest money, closing date, financing, seller concessions, and other contract conditions.
So it’s not always simply “highest price wins.” It depends on the market at the time and the seller’s situation.
Step 6: Inspection Is a Critical Step
After the offer is accepted, you enter the due-diligence phase.
A home inspection isn’t about asking, “Is this house perfect?” Almost no resale home in America is completely without issues.
The purpose of the inspection is more like this:
I want to know exactly what I’m buying.
Then we distinguish what’s routine maintenance, what needs further inspection, and what might affect whether you still want to buy.
Depending on the home, we sometimes add further checks for the HVAC, roof, pool, sewer scope, termites, and more.
Step 7: Escrow, Loan, and Appraisal
If you’re using a loan, the lender keeps working through underwriting during this phase, and an appraisal may be ordered.
This is when I usually remind buyers:
Don’t suddenly buy a car, open new credit cards, or make major financial changes without asking your lender first.
Because you haven’t closed yet — don’t create unnecessary problems in the final few weeks.
Step 8: Final Walkthrough
Before closing, we usually visit the home one more time to confirm it’s in the agreed-upon condition and that any required items have been handled.
The final walkthrough isn’t a second inspection — it’s more like a final confirmation before closing.
Finally: Closing
When the loan, documents, funding, and title process are all complete, the transaction is officially done.
If you’re still in Taiwan, whether parts of the process can be completed remotely needs to be confirmed in advance with the lender, title company, and other parties — so international buyers need to plan even earlier.
Suzy’s Advice
If you plan to buy in Arizona three months from now, I won’t tell you to wait three months to contact me. You can start right now.
Get the earlier steps done first:
- Budget, financing, city, area, and needs.
Then when you actually arrive in Arizona, we won’t be “starting from zero” — we’ll be touring in person the few real contenders.
For buyers coming from Taiwan, I believe this is the most efficient approach.
Further Reading
This article provides general real estate information. Please confirm contract, loan, tax, and legal matters for your specific situation with the relevant professionals.
A real estate advisor who understands homes — and who understands the value of real estate investment.
