AMM Land Sales (815) 384-6153

Arizona · AZ

Sell your land in Arizona.

Arizona has a disclosure requirement for rural land that most sellers have never heard of, a water supply question that has begun deciding what parcels are worth, and a checkerboard of state trust land that leaves ordinary private parcels with no legal way in.

Selling vacant land in Arizona requires an Affidavit of Disclosure if you are selling five or fewer unsubdivided parcels in an unincorporated county area, which surprises most out-of-state owners. Water supply and whether the parcel has recorded legal access across state trust land drive the price. Arizona tax liens run three years before foreclosure.

Tax sale type
Tax lien
Redemption window
3 years before deed
Rate on redemption
16% maximum interest
Closings handled by
Title company
Arizona tax sale and closing at a glance
ArizonaWhat applies
Tax sale typeTax lien
Redemption window3 years before deed
Rate on redemption16% maximum interest
Closing conducted byTitle company

Redemption runs at different stages in different states — before a sale in some, after it in others, and not at all in a few. The sections below set out how it works in Arizona, and where they and this table describe different clocks, the sections are the precise account.

Last reviewed

Figures describe Arizona generally. Counties administer their own sales and their own calendars — your county treasurer is the only source for a payoff figure or a sale date you can act on.

Local detail

What actually matters about land in Arizona

Do you need an Affidavit of Disclosure in Arizona?

Under A.R.S. § 33-422, a seller of five or fewer parcels of unsubdivided land in an unincorporated area of an Arizona county must give the buyer a completed Affidavit of Disclosure. It asks direct questions: whether there is legal access, whether the road is county-maintained, whether the parcel has water and sewer service or a permitted well, whether it is in a flood plain. This is the opposite of the usual pattern where vacant land carries no disclosure obligation, and it catches out-of-state owners regularly. It is also useful to you — a completed affidavit answers the questions a buyer would otherwise discount for.

How does water supply affect Arizona land value?

Inside the Active Management Areas that cover most of the populated state, new subdivisions must demonstrate an Assured Water Supply, and in 2023 modelling in the Phoenix AMA found insufficient groundwater to support further approvals relying on it. Outside the AMAs the rules are looser but the question does not go away, and buyers now ask it early. For a parcel whose value assumed future subdivision, whether water can be demonstrated is no longer a footnote — it may be the whole valuation.

Is your Arizona parcel landlocked by state trust land?

Arizona holds roughly nine million acres of state trust land, much of it in a checkerboard with private ground. Trust land is not public land in the way a national forest is — crossing it requires a permit, and the Land Department is not obliged to grant access across it to reach your parcel. The result is private land that looks reachable on a map and is not reachable in law. If your parcel is bordered by state trust sections, whether a recorded easement exists is the first thing worth establishing.

How do Arizona tax liens work?

Arizona counties sell tax liens as certificates of purchase, bid down from a maximum 16 percent, and a holder may begin foreclosure after three years. Three years is comparatively generous, which means an Arizona owner who has fallen behind usually has room to act — but the interest compounds and the certificate holder has every incentive to see it through. Your county treasurer can give you a payoff good through a specific date.

Questions

Selling land in Arizona

Do I have to give an Affidavit of Disclosure when selling Arizona land?

Yes, if you are selling five or fewer parcels of unsubdivided land in an unincorporated area of a county. A.R.S. § 33-422 requires a completed Affidavit of Disclosure covering access, road maintenance, water and sewer, and flood plain status among other items. It is unusual — most states impose no disclosure duty on vacant land at all — and out-of-state owners frequently do not know it applies to them.

Does my Arizona parcel need proven water to sell?

Not to sell, but the answer increasingly drives the price. Inside an Active Management Area a new subdivision must demonstrate an Assured Water Supply, and 2023 modelling in the Phoenix AMA found groundwater insufficient to support further approvals relying on it. If your parcel was worth something because it could one day be subdivided, water is now the question that determines whether that value is real.

My land is surrounded by state trust land. Is it landlocked?

Possibly, in the legal sense that matters. State trust land is not public land you may freely cross — access requires a permit, and the Land Department is not required to grant an easement to reach a private inholding. A parcel that looks reachable on a map may have no recorded legal access, and that is what a title company and a buyer will look at. We buy landlocked Arizona parcels, priced for the constraint.

Arizona primary sources

Sources for the figures above

These are secondary references, accurate enough to orient you and not a substitute for the statute or your county. Tax procedure changes; nothing here is legal advice.

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Tell us about your Arizona parcel

The state is filled in already. County and parcel number is enough to start, and AMM Land Sales replies within one business day.

No listing agreement and no obligation. We reply within one business day.

Arizona law, tax procedure and county practice vary and they change. Nothing here is legal or tax advice about your parcel. Before you act on a deadline, confirm it with the county or with an attorney in that state. See our editorial standards for how this is researched and how to tell us if something is wrong.

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We buy vacant land across Arizona and pay the closing costs. Back taxes are settled from the proceeds. No listing agreement, no fee, and no obligation to accept anything.

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