While much of the country is facing bone chilling temperatures, mounds of snow and snow drifts making roads nearly impassable, and heating bills which will totally upset the family budget, we here in Tucson Arizona are facing temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s.  Our evening temperatures dip about 30 degrees which is typical of desert weather. 

It may be time to consider a move to the sunny southwest where there is sunshine nearly 350 days of the year.

The price of homes has dipped considerably.  For retirees, homes in many areas are extremely competitively priced, and that combined with the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit – which is applied to anyone who has not owned a home in three years, sweetens the purchase price.     The home buyer who has owned a home which sold and is buying again may be entitled to a $6500 tax credit.  Checking with one’s accountant is always prudent. But one can purcahase a comfortable two bedroom home in an active adult community for $250,000 or less.

For families and military personnel, buying in Tucson may be a sound financial decision,  Using a VA loan with no money down and the military housing allowance, then calculating costs and deducting the tax writeoff for interest and property taxes, many military people will come out paying far less for a home on a monthly basis than they would for a rental.  Find a Realtor who can help you calculate the costs, and then run the costs before a reputable loan officer. 

The average and median price of housing here in Tucson has decreased substantially within the past two years.  Savy buyers with a good Realtor can look at both short sales and foreclosure properties.  Buyers who want to give a property their own touch have a golden opportunity to purchase a foreclosure property which may be deeply discounted, and then take the money saved and turn the home into their own private palace.

And if you are coming from a situation where you must sell your own home, remember you may take a haircut on your home when you sell, but you can probably  purchase at an equally low price. 

Ask your local Realtor to put you in touch with an agent located wherever you want to move.  Your agent and that agent can work in tandem to maximize benefit for you, and your Realtor will be paid a referral fee by the Realtor from whom you purchase a home.  It is a win win situation for everyone!

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 8:04 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.