Owner financing in Arizona: a guide for the seller who carries the note
If you sold Arizona property and carried the note, you hold either a deed of trust or an agreement for sale. Arizona's rules for taking the property back on an agreement for sale depend on how much of the price has been paid, which makes the principal column of your record the number that matters most.
Deeds of trust
An Arizona deed of trust gives the trustee a power of sale by law. A trustee's sale can be held no sooner than 91 days after the notice of sale is recorded, and the beneficiary may choose to foreclose in court instead (A.R.S. § 33-807).
Agreements for sale (contracts for deed)
Arizona's agreement-for-sale rules cover contracts for deed and contracts to convey (A.R.S. § 33-741). A seller may enforce a forfeiture only after a grace period measured from the missed due date, and the period grows with the share of the purchase price paid: 30 days if less than 20 percent has been paid, 60 days from 20 to under 30 percent, 120 days from 30 to under 50 percent, and nine months at 50 percent or more (A.R.S. § 33-742).
Only the down payment, principal paid to the seller, and principal paid on underlying liens that is part of the price count toward that percentage (A.R.S. § 33-742). Interest does not. A seller who accelerates the balance is limited to foreclosing the agreement as a mortgage.
The notice of election to forfeit has no effect until it is recorded after the grace period ends. It must be served on the buyer and on recorded junior interests, and the buyer has at least 20 days after service to pay the amounts in default; if the buyer pays, the seller records a notice of reinstatement (A.R.S. § 33-743).
Licensing
Arizona's loan originator licensing article does not apply to a seller of real property who takes back one or more mortgages or deeds of trust as security for a purchase-money obligation, and separately exempts an individual financing the sale of their own residence (A.R.S. § 6-991.01). Mortgage banker and broker licensing are separate questions.
Federal rules count seller-financed sales separately; see RMLO licensing thresholds and the de minimis exemption.
The record every Arizona seller needs
Whatever the structure, the rules above all lean on the same thing: a complete record of every payment, the date it arrived, and how it was split between late fees, interest, principal and escrow. OwnerNote keeps that record. You log each payment as it arrives, and it applies every one the same way, keeps the balance current, produces payoff quotes good through any date, totals the year's interest, and prints statements for any period.
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