Arizona is well known for it’s bustling capital city of Phoenix, a hot spot of cultural, natural and historical value. The whole state of Arizona has much to offer residents or visitors in the way of job opportunities, real estate and attractions. The economy is based around agricultural production in cattle, cotton, diary, lettuce and hay, while their industries focus on mining, electric and transportation equipment, machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, electronics and tourism. These markets are steady enough that job opportunities are all around, keeping the state a prime locale for new residents, which in turn helps stabilize the real estate market and home value averages.

Arizona is also home to one of the 7 Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon, which is the biggest tourist draw in the state. Other attractions include bustling nightlife of the major cities of Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff (where visitors and locals alike partake in the myriad bars, billiards, casinos and music and comedy shows available) as well as the many museums and festivals dedicated to the cultural arts. With a large Native American population, Native ruins, historic and cultural sites are always a big draw, as are any sites having to do with the “Old West.” With so many different things to do, it’s no wonder Arizona has been one of the top recipients of new people moving in from another state.

Arizona is currently home to 6,166,318 people, with the unemployment rate for April at about 4%, just a bit of an increase from the historical low of 3.9% from the previous month (March 2007). As of 2004 the median household income was about $43,696, which has most likely increased to about $45,000 or so by the end of 2006. The median home value in Arizona is currently $306,877 for a home a little over 1700 square feet.

Most real estate professionals agree that Arizona’s market has definitely shifted to a buyer’s market and the huge inventory of houses for sale help keep the home value averages down. Even the median home value for the greater Phoenix is down somewhat from what it was this time last year. Until the inventory of homes levels out, home value averages are likely to stay down. If you’re looking to buy in Arizona, now is a great time to do it.

Arizona Mortgage Licensing is one of the most corrupt type of mortgage licensing schemes in the United States. They require a Responsible Individual that must be a resident of Arizona to act as your responsible individual. Since there are not many people that have this type of license, it usually costs about $1,000 to $1,500 per month to hire someone to be your Responsible Individual. If you have the money to spend, this is a great state to originate in. You are required to register your corporation as a foreign corporation with the state. This is very tedious because you actually have to file with two different agencies. Any trade names also need to be filed with the Secretary of State. Both the Broker and Banker licenses require that you obtain a surety bond. The surety bond is needed to protect consumers and third parties from the mortgage companies non-payment. The surety bond is not an insurance policy so it is required to be paid back if used.

Arizona does require that you have a physical office in the state in order to obtain a mortgage license, however, the responsible individual usually has a physical location in Arizona that may be used as your physical location. This location may be the physical location for an unlimited number of companies. The responsible individual as mentioned above is the biggest scam. I don’t fault the responsible individuals for this, but the state. The responsible individual will usually review some of your files on subject properties in Arizona just to cover them in case you are audited, however, the limited number of responsible individuals in the state makes it very costly to hire someone because they can charge a lot for their services The license application is fairly extensive and requires personal and company financials. There are numerous pages of information on the owners, officers, and directors of the company that must be completed.