First-Time Home Buyer Guide for Tucson

It depends on the program, and the label is less limiting than most buyers assume. Many assistance programs use the federal definition — no ownership interest in a principal residence during the previous three years — which means a previous owner can qualify again. Others do not require first-time status at all: Arizona's HOME Plus program is open to repeat buyers who meet its income, credit and education requirements. Because the definitions differ program by program, check the administrator's own page rather than assuming you are excluded; the current Tucson and Pima County programs, with their limits and links, are listed at https://www.kyleberglund.com/resources/down-payment-assistance

Ten days from contract acceptance, under the standard Arizona Association of REALTORS® Residential Resale Purchase Contract, unless a different number is negotiated into the contract. In that window you can inspect anything that matters to you at your own expense — the home's condition, the septic or well if there is one, the HOA documents, the flood zone. You then deliver a Buyer's Inspection Notice and Seller's Response (the BINSR) listing what you want addressed, and the seller agrees, offers an alternative, or declines. Cancelling within the inspection period on a timely, properly delivered notice returns your earnest money.

Commonly quoted at 2–5% of the purchase price, but treat that as a bracket rather than a number: the figure that matters is the Loan Estimate your lender must give you within three business days of your application, and the Closing Disclosure three business days before you sign. The line items are lender fees and points, appraisal, title insurance and escrow fees, recording, HOA transfer and disclosure fees, and prepaid property taxes and insurance placed into your escrow account. Two of these are negotiable in the contract rather than fixed: seller-paid closing-cost credits, and which party pays which escrow and title charge.

Yes, for every common loan program, with documentation. The donor signs a gift letter stating the money is a gift and not a loan, and the lender traces it — a copy of the donor's withdrawal and your deposit. What varies is who may give it: conventional loans generally limit gifts to relatives and a short list of other relationships, while FHA is broader. What trips buyers up is not the gift itself but the timing and the paper trail, so move gift funds early and never as cash. Some down payment assistance programs also require you to contribute a minimum of your own funds, so check the program's rule before you assume a gift covers everything.

It is a good-faith deposit — typically about 1% of the purchase price in this market, though it is negotiable — delivered to the escrow company, not to the seller, and credited toward your down payment and closing costs at closing. You get it back if you cancel for a reason the contract allows and you do it on time: within the inspection period, or under the appraisal or loan contingency. You risk it by missing those deadlines or by walking away for a reason the contract does not cover. Deadlines in the Arizona contract are dates, not intentions — calendar them the day the contract is accepted.

Pre-approved. A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you told a lender; a pre-approval means the lender has actually reviewed your income, assets and credit and issued a commitment subject to the property and final underwriting. In a market where well-priced homes still draw more than one offer, a listing agent reads the two very differently, and a seller weighing two similar offers will take the one that is less likely to fall apart. It also protects you from the worse outcome: finding out what you actually qualify for after you have fallen for a house.

Compensation is negotiated up front and put in writing. Since August 2024, an agent must have a signed buyer-broker agreement with you before touring homes, and that agreement states what their brokerage is paid and by whom. In most Tucson transactions Kyle Berglund negotiates for the seller to cover that compensation as part of the deal, so it is paid from sale proceeds at closing rather than out of your pocket — but it is a term of the negotiation, not a rule, and the agreement will tell you what happens if a particular seller does not. Buyer consultations are free.