Buying, start to keys
- 1
Corridor selection before house selection
We identify which corridors actually fit how you live — commute, walkability, lot type, HOA tolerance, school needs — before we look at a single listing. Falling in love with a house in the wrong corridor is the most expensive mistake in this market.
- 2
Financing verified, not pre-qualified
Pre-qualification is a conversation. Underwritten pre-approval is a document. In a competitive corridor the difference decides the contract.
- 3
Showings with a checklist, not a vibe
Every showing gets the same read: envelope, mechanicals, panel, supply lines, drainage. Finishes last. You get the notes.
- 4
Offer built on screened comparables
You see the comparable set, including the ones I excluded and the stated reason for each exclusion.
- 5
The four tests inside the inspection period
Sewer scope, moisture survey, HVAC load, panel ID — ordered immediately on acceptance so results arrive with time to act on them.
- 6
Findings priced, then negotiated or walked
Every finding becomes a contractor-sourced number. Then we decide: credit, repair, re-trade, or walk. Walking is a real option and I will say so plainly when it is the right one.
Step five, in detail
What gets ordered the day we go under contract.
Not on day seven. The whole value of an inspection period is having time to act on what you find, and a finding that arrives on the last afternoon is a deadline rather than leverage.
- $150–$300
Sewer scope
Cast iron and clay laterals in pre-1980 Phoenix homes fail at the joints and at root intrusions. A collapsed lateral under a slab is a five-figure repair that no visual inspection finds.
- $200–$400
Moisture survey
Monsoon intrusion, condensate pans that never fully drain, and irrigation run against a stem wall create exactly the warm, damp, undisturbed conditions that grow things. Mapped before an offer, not discovered after.
- $100–$250
HVAC load verification
Undersized systems are common after additions and get sold as 'runs a little long in summer.' In Phoenix that is not a quirk, it is a replacement on a clock.
- No added cost
Panel identification
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels carry documented breaker failure modes. Many insurers will not write a policy on them, which makes it a financing problem as well as a safety one.
Orientation tool
What it actually costs per month.
Principal, interest, Maricopa County property tax, insurance, and HOA — because the payment people budget against is rarely the one they end up making.
Estimated monthly
Maricopa County effective property tax runs near 0.51% of full cash value; insurance estimate is a valley average. Both vary by property — this is an estimate, not a quote.
Not sure which corridor yet?
That is the right place to start, and there are seven written guides on this site — each one including the parts that are inconvenient.
Get the four-test checklist.
Printable, free, no email wall — it lives at /resources. Or send me an address and I will tell you which of the four matter most for that specific house.