Report Must be Given When Signing Contract

  Question: I signed a contract to purchase a new home in a development in west Phoenix. I paid a $20,000 non-refundable earnest-money deposit. At the time that I signed the contract, the salesman for the development company said that the company temporarily had run out of subdivision public reports, and that one would have to be mailed to me. In fact, I received a subdivision public report in the mail several days later. I no longer want to buy this home, however, and I would like my $20,000 non-refundable earnest money returned to me. If I did not receive a subdivision public report at the time that I signed the contract, can I cancel the contract and get my $20,000 back?

  Answer: Yes. If the subdivision public report was not made available to you at the time that you signed the purchase contact, Arizona law says you are entitled to cancel the purchase contract within three years and get your $20,000 earnest money deposit back, even though the purchase contract said that this deposit was non-refundable.