How to Fill Out the Arizona Association of Realtors Pre-Qualification Form

The Arizona Association of Realtors Pre-Qualification Form is a one-page document your lender fills out and you co-sign, then your agent attaches it to the AAR Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract at the time of offer.¹ It applies to resale and vacant-land purchases, and the lender handles most of the fields.²

The form is not publicly available. You get it through a licensed AAR member — your agent or your lender — typically inside a transaction management platform.

Who Completes Which Fields

Your loan officer fills in the property details, loan program, maximum loan amount, interest rate, and the checkboxes showing which documents were reviewed. The loan officer then signs and dates the form, certifying that the information is accurate based on what was reviewed. You sign afterward, acknowledging the financial details and giving your broker permission to submit the form with your contract.² Without both signatures, it isn’t complete.

Use your legal name exactly as it appears on your government-issued ID. The listing agent may compare it to the name on the purchase contract.

What the Lender Checks Off: Property, Occupancy, and Loan

Three sets of boxes drive how a seller reads the form, because each one affects the rate and down payment the lender is willing to extend.

Property type options are single-family residence, condominium, planned unit development, manufactured home, mobile home, and vacant land or lot.² A duplex, triplex, or fourplex is not listed, so the lender uses the “Other” field for those.

Occupancy is Primary, Secondary, or Non-Owner Occupied, with that last category covering investment properties.² Lenders charge higher rates and require larger down payments for properties you won’t live in.

Loan type options are Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and Other.² The lender also states the maximum loan amount and the interest rate assumptions used to determine your eligibility, so the seller sees a concrete picture of the financing behind your offer.

The Documentation Checklist

The form lists the documents the lender may collect from you before completing the pre-qualification. Each is marked Yes, No, or N/A, so the seller’s agent can see how thoroughly the lender vetted you:

Pay stubs
W-2s
Personal tax returns
Corporate tax returns
Down payment and reserves documentation (bank or investment account statements)
Gift documentation (proof that part of your down payment is a family gift rather than a loan)
Credit and liability documentation

The form does not specify how many months of pay stubs or how many years of returns are required. Those thresholds depend on the loan program and the lender’s own underwriting standards.³ The form only records which categories were actually received.

Separately, the form indicates whether the lender held a verbal discussion with you covering income, assets, and debts, and whether the lender pulled a tri-merged residential credit report.² A pre-qualification based only on a conversation and a credit pull carries less weight with sellers than one backed by full documentation. This is where the form quietly tells the listing agent how solid your financing really is.

If You Haven’t Spoken With a Lender Yet

You can still submit an offer, but the form must accompany your contract. Don’t leave it blank. Check the box on line three stating that you have not consulted with a lender, print your name on line four, and sign and date on line five. When that box is marked, you skip the rest of the form — lines six through forty-two.¹

This is allowed, but it tells the seller your financing is unverified. In a competitive market, that offer is at a serious disadvantage against one backed by a lender who reviewed documents and pulled credit.

Submitting the Form With Your Offer

The AAR purchase contract requires the Pre-Qualification Form to be attached at the time of offer.¹ Your agent attaches it as a separate PDF inside the offer package and delivers everything electronically to the listing agent. Transaction management platforms create a time-stamped delivery record, which matters if a contract deadline is later disputed.

The listing agent reviews the form alongside your price and proposed closing date. A pre-qualification showing full documentation, a credit pull, and a loan amount that comfortably covers the purchase price can make a meaningful difference when the seller is weighing multiple offers.

What Happens After Contract Acceptance

By signing the form, you instruct your lender to deliver Loan Status Updates (LSUs) on a separate AAR form. The first LSU is due within ten days of contract acceptance, and the lender must provide further updates to the seller and brokers on request after that.² An LSU tracks where the loan stands in underwriting: conditions met, appraisal complete, on schedule to close.

You also have a short window of your own. Within three days of contract acceptance, you must provide your lender with your name, income, Social Security number, the property address, an estimate of the property’s value, and the loan amount you’re seeking.¹ Missing that window can put you in breach before escrow is barely underway.

Pre-Qualification Is Not Loan Approval

The form says so directly: “This information does not constitute loan approval. All information provided must be approved by an underwriter, and any material change in Buyer’s credit or financial profile will render this pre-qualification null and void.”² It also warns that your actual rate, payment, and costs could be higher, and advises getting an official Loan Estimate before choosing a loan. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau makes the same point about prequalification and preapproval letters generally: neither is a guaranteed loan offer.⁴

Taking on new debt, changing jobs, or a drop in your credit score after signing can void the pre-qualification. If negotiations push the purchase price above what the form originally stated, your lender needs to issue a revised form reflecting the higher loan amount before the seller will accept the new terms.

Don’t Misstate Anything on the Form

Under Arizona law, knowingly making a deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, or material omission during the mortgage lending process is residential mortgage fraud, a Class 4 felony. If the fraud involves two or more residential properties in a pattern, it escalates to a Class 2 felony.⁵

The statute defines “mortgage lending process” broadly, covering everything from solicitation and application through closing and funding, so the Pre-Qualification Form sits squarely inside it. Inflating income, hiding debts, or misrepresenting employment to look more qualified is exactly the conduct the statute targets.⁵ At the federal level, mortgage fraud can bring prison time, restitution, and fines.⁶

Even without criminal charges, a loan denial mid-escrow because of false information on the pre-qualification can cost you your earnest money and expose you to a breach-of-contract claim. Underwriting verifies everything, and gaps between what you reported at pre-qualification and what the underwriter finds will surface.

1
Arizona Association of REALTORS®. TRID Changes to AAR Forms
2
Arizona Association of REALTORS®. Pre-Qualification Form
3
Arizona Association of REALTORS. Pre-Qualification Form
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What’s the Difference Between a Prequalification Letter and a Preapproval Letter?
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-2320 – Residential Mortgage Fraud; Classification; Definitions
6
Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fraud Prevention