We buy houses in Maricopa County, AZ

Arizona splits the tax bill in two. The first half is due October 1 and late after November 1 at 5 p.m. The second half is due March 1 and late after May 1 at 5 p.m. (A.R.S. 42-18052).

In 2026, some Maricopa County bills arrived late. The Treasurer's Office said first half payments made by November 2 at 5 p.m. would carry no interest or late fee.

Late tax grows at 16 percent a year, simple interest. Part of a month counts as a full month (A.R.S. 42-18053).

The Treasurer sells liens for unpaid tax each February (A.R.S. 42-18112). The buyer gets a lien, not your house.

You can pay it off within three years, and after that until a treasurer's deed is handed over (A.R.S. 42-18152).

If the lien holder sues to take the home, you can ask the court for a sale instead. The court finds that fair if the home is likely to sell for more than $2,500 above what is owed (A.R.S. 42-18204).

Your home's assessed value is 10 percent of its full cash value or limited value (A.R.S. 42-15003). Rates apply to each $100 of that assessed value.

For the 2026 tax levy, the county lists these countywide rates per $100:

• county primary, $1.1463, down from $1.1591 in 2025
• flood control, $0.1428
• library district, $0.0462

School, college and city rates come on top of those.

Arizona has no real estate transfer tax. The state constitution bars any new tax or fee on the act of selling real property (Ariz. Const. art. 9, sec. 24).

Owners 65 or older can ask the Assessor to freeze their home's limited value for three years. You must have lived there at least two years. The Assessor's page lists an income cap of $47,712 for one owner or $59,640 for two or more, averaged over three years.

Applications are due September 1, and renewal comes every three years.

If the home uses a septic system, the seller must hire an inspector within six months before the sale (A.A.C. R18-9-A316). This rule overrides any contract that says otherwise.

Here is how the septic step works:

• the inspector writes a report and pumps out any real amount of waste
• the seller gives the buyer that report before closing
• the buyer files a Notice of Transfer within 15 days after the sale

Cesspools may not be used at all in Arizona (A.A.C. R18-9-A309).

A mobile home is personal property with an MVD title until an affidavit of affixture is filed. That filing makes it part of the real estate.

The Flood Control District will tell you a property's flood zone at no charge. It warns that land not yet studied may still flood, and maps can change.

Maricopa County Public Health counted 111 indoor heat deaths in 2025. Most happened in houses, and 13 happened in mobile homes.

An AC unit was present in 94 percent of those indoor deaths. The report groups the reasons as broken, turned off, or no power.

If your cooling has failed and you can't afford the fix, that is a safety problem first. Selling as is, without making the repair first, may be one way out.