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HOME
Title and HOA contingencies provide further safeguards. The seller must furnish a title commitment, which discloses liens, encumbrances, or legal restrictions. If significant issues arise, buyers can withdraw. Likewise, properties within homeowners’ associations require sellers to provide disclosure documents. Buyers then have five days to review and cancel if the terms are unsatisfactory. What about the seller? Unfortunately, the contract provides no contingencies for sellers. The only escape hatch is a breach of contract by the buyer. If you find yourself in a tricky situation, talk to an experienced real estate professional. They can offer strategic negotiation and expert guidance, which can mean the difference between closing on a dream home and watching it slip away.
concerns by providing proof of their home being under contract or already in escrow. Beyond home sale contingencies, Arizona law provides several other exit points for buyers. The inspection period is the most critical. Under the standard Realtor Residential Purchase Contract, buyers have 10 days from contract acceptance to conduct inspections, ranging from general home inspections to specialized evaluations like termite, roof, or pool assessments. If issues arise, buyers can request repairs or concessions. The seller then has five days to respond, either agreeing to the buyer’s requests, offering alternatives, or refusing to make repairs. If the seller declines or does not respond within the timeframe, the buyer has another five days to decide whether to proceed or cancel the contract and reclaim their earnest money deposit. Financing contingencies also play a major role in real estate transactions. Buyers who require a mortgage typically include a financing contingency that allows them to exit the contract if they cannot secure a loan. Lenders almost always require property appraisals, unless the buyer is putting more than 20 percent down. If a home appraises below the purchase price, the appraisal contingency allows buyers to renegotiate the price or walk away.
Going native With the hot season officially on, gardeners may opt for heat loving plants
B UYING A HOME WHILE STILL OWNING one presents a logistical puzzle. Do you sell first, risking temporary housing limbo, or buy first, potentially juggling two mortgages? For many, the answer is a real estate contingency — a contractual safeguard allowing buyers to purchase a home only if their current property sells. This prevents buyers from overextending financially but can be a disadvantage in a competitive market where sellers prefer offers without such conditions. A buyer can mitigate Contingencies offer protections for buyers BY DAYV MORGAN
BY CHERYL PURVIS
P
LANTS THAT PREFER TRIPLE- digit temps? Really, there are some out there! Once spring comes and the
PALO VERDE TREE
HEDGEHOG CACTUS
Dayv Morgan is a Maricopa realtor and owner of HomeSmart Premier.
weather gets toasty, many of us Maricopans tend to start fantasizing about the next beautiful addition to our gardens. Well, believe it or not, there is an array of plants that thrive in these conditions without using more water than we think is available, we can afford, or they need. The advantages of Arizona native plants are they use little to no water or are drought-tolerant, attract native wildlife (including hummingbirds and butterflies) and help our local ecosystem. No, you do not have to have only cacti or succulents. (Did you know that all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti?) Be sure to pick plants that are mature to ensure they have lived through some of our record-setting highs. If they are “babies,” they may not be prepared to tolerate our long summers! Here are some beautiful flowering plants and greeneries you can add to your garden this month: • Annuals: Arizona and Mexican gold poppy, sunflower, verbena • Cacti and succulents: Agave, jumping cholla, hedgehog cactus or saguaro — but remember, saguaros are very, very slow growers — 1½ inches at 10 years old from seed —but your grandkids might get to appreciate them. Theirs is our state flower. • Flowers and small shrubs: Angelita daisy, Arizona milkweed (monarch butterflies love this), desert globemallow, desert marigold, fairy duster, firecracker penstemon, ocotillo • Large shrubs: Bougainvillea, brittlebush, Calliandra californica, cape honeysuckle, creosote bush (it can live up to 1,000 years), hopbush, sugar sumac (no, it isn’t poisonous)
480-251-4231 DayvMorgan@gmail.com
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You probably want variety in your garden to highlight bloom time, size, watering needs and so on. It is important to plan where your plants will live (think compass direction, irrigation availability), when it might bloom and any special needs it may have. This is your garden. Pick what you want — just be sure it can survive our heat. Ensure your choice is tolerant here. Like most of us, if it gets too hot, we wilt and are not happy. Neither will they be!
• Ornamental grasses: Bull grass, deer grass, muhly grasses • Trees: Desert ironwood, desert willow, velvet mesquite and our state tree, the Palo Verde The above list is not inclusive, by any means. It just gets you to explore the potential of some varieties for your garden. Keep an open mind as you begin your search. Whatever you choose, remember we live in a desert and our USDA Hardiness Zone is 9b. Before you buy, check out the specifications of your proposed plant. See to what size they grow, their color and their specific needs, like water and sunshine.
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Cheryl Purvis is a Pinal County Master Gardener
May 2025 | InMaricopa.com
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InMaricopa.com | May 2025
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