Now is a great time to buy. You have a decent budget and as long as you have good credit borrowing is cheap.

Dont even bother looking into building. Building materials are very expensive right now. You can buy MUCH nicer for the money.

Since you arent in a hurry to buy, get a hold of an agent and look into short sales. Also, get yourself preapproved so you know exactly what you have to work with.

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