One of the best things about your Mission Valley condo is that it is centrally located with quick and easy access to major freeways going north, south, east, and even west, although just for a few miles before getting to the beaches.

Mission Valley condos make great living if you're moving here to work on the many Federal Stimulus projects that are either under way or just beginning.

San Diego is fortunate that we have the second largest congregation of military personnel in the free world, right after the Arlington, Virginia/Washington, D.C. area. With Camp Pendleton to the north, the 32nd Street Naval Station to the South, Coronado Naval Base, Point Loma Naval Base, the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, and many other smaller installations, San Diego has been allotted almost $8 billion in Federal Stimulus money from the Pentagon's share. The biggest project is a $563 million hospital at Camp Pendleton marine base.

In addition to money for military projects, San Diego County will get at least $1.77 billion for various federal, state, county, and city projects, among which are:

• repaving runways at Gillespie Field in El Cajon
• creating bus lanes in Oceanside
• purchasing a $9,649 wood chipper for Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary
• retrofitting buildings with photovoltaic systems
• freeway expansions, including $74 million for State Route 905 to help with Otay Mesa/Mexico border traffic
• light rail improvements for the San Diego Trolley
• $28 million for street resurfacing and sidewalk repairs
• $1.6 million for school cafeteria upgrades
• scientific research grants at Southwest Fisheries Science Center ($180 million), San Diego State University ($4 million), Veterans Medical Research Foundation, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Burnham Institue for Medical Research

If you're current living in an apartment or a hotel room, you might consider buying a Mission Valley condo. If you close escrow by November 30, 2009, you purchase will be eligible for an $8,000 federal tax credit, as long as you haven't owned a home within the past three years -- as with all government programs, there is fine print, so feel free to contact me for general information or your tax attorney for more specific details relating to your financial situation.