Closing and Escrow in an Arizona Business Sale: the full guide

Escrow is the neutral desk that holds the money and the paper until both sides have done what they promised. In an Arizona business sale that desk is often an escrow or closing company. Sometimes a closing attorney runs the same job. Either way, the point is the same: neither side hands over value too early.

This page is education, not legal or escrow advice. I am a broker. I am not your attorney and I am not your escrow officer. Counsel and the closing company run the instruments. I keep the commercial checklist clear so closing is not inventing missing terms.

Who picks the company varies by deal and local practice. Counsel usually drives that choice. I do not publish a preferred list and I do not invent a close date.

Closing day is a handoff. Final schedules. Keys and codes. License transfer steps if a liquor or other license moves. Payoff letters if there is debt to clear. A transition plan the buyer can actually use.

Your attorney and CPA cover the legal and tax pieces. I do not draft those. I do not invent a document list as a legal requirement. The file in front of us sets the list.

Prep that pack early. Missing paper shows up in diligence. See due diligence for Arizona sellers.

The stalls I see most: lease consent, liquor or other licenses, last-minute diligence findings, and funding timing.

A landlord who has not been asked for assignment will not move on your clock. A Series 6 or 7 transfer that starts late sits at the board. Books that do not match the tax returns reopen the number. A buyer whose funds are not wired does not close.

I do not guarantee a close date. Clean books and an early call to the landlord reduce surprises. How long the rest of a sale can take is on how long a sale takes in Arizona.

The purchase agreement sets the path. Closing is when the conditions are met and the transfer happens. Those are rarely the same day. What gets signed, what gets funded, and what can still walk the deal live in that contract. More on that paper is on the purchase agreement in an Arizona business sale.

The LOI is the sketch that came first. Price, structure, deposit, how long diligence lasts. Closing is the funded handoff at the other end. How I walk sellers through the term-sheet stage is on letters of intent in an Arizona business sale.

I help keep the commercial terms clear. Counsel drafts the paper. Escrow holds the money until the conditions are met. I do not publish sample legal forms. I do not guarantee a close date.

I work across Arizona. Restaurants, bars, service businesses, and contractors. I set closing talk on the file in front of us.