Lessons Learned from Canadians Buying Tucson Real Estate

April 29, 2008 | By Kelley Koehler | Filed Under Canadians and Tucson

I recently had the pleasure of helping a couple of Canadians buy real estate here in Tucson as investment property. The current exchange rates make real estate here in Sunny Arizona rather attractive at the moment to our Canadian friends. I think we both learned a lot about how real estate works in each other’s country, but the big take-aways were thus:

It can be difficult to finance non-resident foreign nationals (AKA Canadians) trying to get an American mortgage. I believe I still have two resources where a Canadian can get an American loan to finance a home here in Tucson though. You’ll need at least 30% down.
Prices for homes in Tucson are much more affordable than pricing for similar homes in such areas as Vancouver, or so I’m told. We can find a 3 bed, 2 bath, reasonably sized home, pretty much move-in ready, anywhere between $175,000 and $250,000 pretty easily, depending on the area of town.
If you’re looking for investment property, I’ve got resources for property management, general handymen repair, landscaping, etcetera, to help you maintain and operate the property here in Tucson while you’re back home in Canada.
Also – If you’re looking for a vacation property here in Tucson, we’ve got several condo conversion projects that might fit the bill perfectly. There’s even a condo project in a resort area with a rental pool, to help offset the carrying costs of the vacation property.

I’m told it’s 12°C and rainy in Vancouver today. Supposed to be in the mid 30°s over here in Tucson. I’m just sayin’.

tags: canadian buyer, canadian investor, real estate, tucson

Comments

One Response to “Lessons Learned from Canadians Buying Tucson Real Estate”

Larry on October 29th, 2008 10:54 am

Kelly,

you are so right about the pricing in Vancouver. While we are currently in a slump the only thing I could find for under $300 was a 20 year old house boat with large moorage fees.

Basic lots 33ft x 122ft (notice I didn’t go metric on you) run $400K to $800K depending on the part of town. It’s about $225 to $290/ft to build.

And for that you get to live in paradise, rain and all. :>)

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