Almost every Arizona resale file turns on the BINSR, the Buyer’s Inspection Notice and Seller’s Response. It’s the form that turns inspection results into repairs, credits or a cancellation, and it runs on short, specific deadlines. Miss one and your buyer may lose the right to cancel, or proceed with repairs they thought the seller had agreed to.
This guide walks through the timeline on the AAR Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract (February 2026) and the BINSR form (October 2022), with the contract sections, and what we track on every Arizona file. The parties can change these defaults, so always work from the actual contract.
Step 1: The inspection period (Section 6a)
The default inspection period on the AAR resale contract is 10 days after contract acceptance. Everything the buyer wants to investigate, including the home inspection, termite, pool, roof, sewer scope or anything else, has to happen inside it, along with reviewing the seller’s disclosures and any HOA documents that have arrived.
Days on the AAR contract are calendar days, ending at 11:59 p.m. (Section 8h). The day of acceptance isn’t counted, and acceptance happens when the signed contract is delivered to and received by the appropriate broker (Section 8i). Calendar the end of the inspection period the moment you have the fully executed contract.
Step 2: The buyer’s BINSR (Sections 6i and 6j)
Before the inspection period ends, the buyer delivers a signed notice, usually the BINSR, after finishing every inspection they want. All disapproved items have to be in that single notice. The BINSR gives the buyer three choices:
- Premises accepted: no corrections requested
- Premises rejected: disapprove the listed items and cancel immediately
- Give the seller an opportunity to correct or address the listed items
The buyer can’t change the election after the BINSR is delivered. If the buyer cancels without actually listing disapproved items, the seller can send a cure notice, and the buyer has three days to fix it or risk the earnest money.
Be specific. “Repair roof” invites a dispute; “have a licensed roofer repair the leak above the primary bedroom and provide a receipt” doesn’t.
Step 3: The seller’s response (Section 6j(2)(a))
The seller has five days after the BINSR is delivered to respond in writing. The seller can agree to all the items, agree to some, propose alternatives such as a credit, or refuse. If the seller doesn’t respond in time, it’s conclusively treated as a refusal. A credit or price change has to go on an addendum to the buyer’s lender, who may limit total credits.
Step 4: The buyer’s reply (Section 6j(2)(c))
If the seller won’t correct or address some or all of the items, or doesn’t respond, the buyer may cancel within five days after the seller’s response is delivered or the response time expires, whichever comes first, and the earnest money is released to the buyer. If the buyer doesn’t cancel in that window, the buyer closes escrow without the items the seller didn’t agree to in writing. This is the deadline that catches people: it usually falls after the inspection period has ended.
The contract is blunt about it: verbal discussions don’t extend these time periods. Only a written agreement signed by both parties does.
Step 5: Repairs and the walk-through (Sections 6j(2)(b) and 6l)
The seller completes agreed repairs in a workmanlike manner and delivers paid receipts to the buyer three days before the close of escrow (the contract lets the parties set a different number). The BINSR form notes that Arizona law (A.R.S. § 32-1121) requires a licensed contractor when the work costs $1,000 or more, isn’t casual or minor, or needs a building permit.
Three days before COE means three full days: if COE is on a Friday, the receipts are due by 11:59 p.m. Monday (Section 8i). Then schedule the buyer’s walkthrough (AAR has a Buyer Pre-Closing Walkthrough form) to confirm the repairs are done and the home is in substantially the same condition as at acceptance.
BINSR vs. cure notice
They’re easy to mix up but do different jobs.
- BINSR: the inspection process above
- Cure notice (Section 7a): what a party delivers when the other side has failed to comply with the contract, like an undelivered document or missing receipts. AAR has a Cure Period Notice form for it. If the non-compliance isn’t cured within three days after delivery, it becomes a breach.
The two meet in one place: a buyer who cancels on the BINSR without listing disapproved items can receive a cure notice. Missing the buyer’s own BINSR deadlines is different: the contract treats that as an election to proceed, and a cure notice doesn’t reopen it. Talk to your broker about where the contract leaves the parties.
What we track on every Arizona file
- Contract acceptance date and inspection period end, calendared on day one
- Inspections scheduled immediately; reports in hand
- BINSR delivered before the period ends
- Seller response due date
- Buyer’s five-day reply window, if any items are refused (no cancellation means closing without them)
- Agreed repairs, licensed contractors where required, and paid receipts three days before COE
- Walk-through scheduled after repairs are done
- Escrow updated at each step
AAR publishes sample versions of all of these on its residential resale forms page.
We run that on every file for agents in Phoenix, Tucson and across Arizona. For the full picture, see how the Arizona closing process works.
