INTRODUCTION
On or about November 1, 2025, the Arizona REALTORS® will release a revised version of the following five (5) forms:

• Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract;
• Commercial Real Estate Purchase Contract;
• Vacant Land/Lot Purchase Contract;
• Solar Addendum; and
• Additional Clause Addendum

This three-part series will explain the revisions in detail to ensure that REALTORS® are prepared for these changes.

OVERVIEW
The Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract will include minor revisions to further disclose the possibility that seller concessions may be used by the buyer to pay broker compensation and emphasize consent to allow any broker to be paid by both parties.  For consistency, the Arizona REALTORS® revised its two other real estate purchase contracts using similar, corresponding changes to ensure consistency.  Click here to view the article introducing the revisions to the purchase contracts.  

The Solar Addendum will be heavily revised to address problems encountered by numerous solar companies filing bankruptcy.  The changes move up the timeline for buyers to begin the process of qualifying for an assumption of a solar loan or lease. 

The Additional Clause Addendum will contain two new clauses: (i) Offer Initiated By Seller; and (ii) Unrepresented Buyer Notice.

SOLAR ADDENDUM REVISIONS[1]
A redline version of the revised Solar Addendum can be found here.

Unfortunately, many solar companies and solar leasing companies have filed for bankruptcy.  This has made the process of assuming a solar lease or loan much more difficult.  Discovering and communicating with the appropriate party to process an assumption request is challenging and it may take several weeks for the approval to be granted.  Additionally, even if assumption approval is granted, it may be on terms that are less favorable than the existing lease/loan.

To assist REALTORS® and their clients in navigating this precarious process, a large notice box was inserted on the first page of the Solar Addendum warning all that the “process of transferring the Solar System to Buyer will likely take significant time” and both parties should facilitate the transfer without delay and set a realistic close of escrow date.  Specifically, the “Seller should initiate the transfer process immediately upon contract acceptance” and the “Buyer should promptly apply for, provide documents, and otherwise facilitate the transfer without delay.”  This is a significant departure from the previous language where the buyer did not even apply for an assumption of the solar lease/loan until after expiration of the Inspection Period.  Now, the buyer “shall immediately apply” for the assumption.  Other changes to the form include:

Instructions have been revised to clarify that the “Seller Owned” section should be completed if the seller will be paying off a solar loan at, and as a condition of, close of escrow.

A fifth Seller Disclosure has been added to identify whether the seller is current on their solar lease or loan.  Please note, assumptions may be denied outright if the seller is delinquent on their payment, even if the seller comes current after the assumption application is submitted.

The Buyer Disapproval and Lease/Loan Assumption Contingency paragraphs have been switched in order so that the disapproval paragraph now follows the disclosure paragraph and the contingency paragraphs follow one another.

The Buyer Disapproval paragraph deleted the verbiage “Should Buyer elect to proceed with the transaction,” which had appeared prior to that portion of the Addendum stating “the buyer shall immediately apply” for an assumption.  The language now instructs the buyer to immediately apply for the assumption instead of waiting until after the inspection period.  Because it may take a month or more before a third party even reviews the assumption application, the workgroup felt it was preferable to withdraw an assumption request if the buyer cancels as opposed to delaying submission of the application by up to fifteen (15) days should the buyer choose to proceed following the Inspection Period.

The Lease/Loan Assumption Contingency paragraph clarifies that the transaction is contingent upon the buyer obtaining an assumption on the same terms as the seller’s existing lease or loan.  Because some assumption approvals include less favorable terms than the seller’s lease or loan terms, the revision emphasizes that the buyer is not required to accept less favorable terms and may elect to cancel the contract and have their earnest money returned in such circumstances.  The buyer may also elect to waive the contingency and close escrow if the terms are different than the existing lease/loan, but still acceptable to the buyer.  Finally, the revised paragraph now notifies the buyer that they are advised to carefully review the assumption documents to verify that the terms and conditions have remained the same.

Finally, the Transfer Fees paragraph has been moved from Section 2 to Section 3 of the Solar Addendum and expanded to include additional fees.  Unfortunately, some utilities and/or other third parties charge for transferring title to solar systems owned outright or charge a fee for transferring warranties to the new owner.  The revised language includes all possible fees that may be charged but continues to allow the buyer to choose who will pay the fees in their offer.

Aaron M. Green, Esq., a licensed Arizona attorney, is the General Counsel for the Arizona Association of REALTORS®.  This article is of a general nature and reflects only the opinion of the author at the time it was drafted.  It is not intended as definitive legal advice, and you should not act upon it without seeking independent legal counsel.

Prior Form Revisions

The Arizona REALTORS® strives to keep all its forms up to date as laws change or industry practice evolves.  Once released, the forms library contained on all of the Arizona REALTORS® forms licensing platforms are updated. 

Updates to forms are made to minimize your risk and ensure legal compliance. Don’t take a chance with outdated forms.  Prior Arizona REALTORS® form revisions (2014 – 2025) can be found at:  https://www.aaronline.com/2019/05/20/form-revision-updates/

[1] Thank you to the 2025 Solar Addendum workgroup for their efforts to revise the form.  The workgroup was chaired by Cathy Swann.  Other workgroup members were Paul Bruce, Wendy Shaw and Cynthia Shobe.