Two Cities, One Postal Address
South Tucson is an incorporated municipality of roughly one square mile, completely enclosed by the City of Tucson. Addresses on either side of the boundary look alike and postal information does not distinguish them.
So an owner can spend a fortnight dealing with the wrong building department without anybody noticing the error. Establishing which city holds the parcel is the first practical step in any rebuild here.
Does That Affect the Loan Question?
Where Values Are Tighter, the Shortfall Is Likelier
The anti-deficiency question only arises where a sale produces less than the debt. That is more likely where values are modest and where a loan was taken out closer to the top of a cycle.
It is a blunt point and it is the honest one: the protection matters most to the people most likely to need it, which is why the parcel and origination-date checks are worth doing here even though the acreage limit is rarely the issue.
What If I Have Already Had a Notice?
We publish no jurisdiction determinations, foreclosure timetables or values for individual south side properties. The county assessor, the relevant city and an Arizona lawyer answer those.
Mixed Construction Across the Area
The south side holds adobe, block and timber-framed housing side by side, sometimes on the same street. What survived a fire depends heavily on which you have.
An engineer settles it, and where the walls are masonry the answer is frequently better than photographs suggest.
Repair Costs Do Not Follow Values
The trades charge what they charge across this metro regardless of neighbourhood. On modest values a full repair can approach the finished figure, which is the constraint on many files here and the reason more owners sell than repair.
Establish the finished value from evidence on your actual street before deciding either way.
The South Side in Context
Where adobe assessment is the central question, see our page about the barrios and central Tucson. Where parcel size becomes decisive, see our page for the Catalina Foothills.
The Sections That Do Not Change at a City Line
A.R.S. sections 33-814 and 33-729 are state law. Subsection (G) requires 2 and one-half acres or less and a single 1-family or 2-family dwelling, utilized as such.
BMO Harris Bank v. Wildwood Creek Ranch was decided on 23 January 2015, and subsection (H) applies to deeds of trust originating on or after 1 January 2015.
Statutory References for This Page
The governing provisions are sections 33-814 and 33-729 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Section 33-814(G) blocks a deficiency action after a trustee's sale; section 33-729(A) covers judicial foreclosure of a purchase money mortgage.
Section 33-814(H) was added by a 2014 amendment applying to deeds of trust originating on or after 1 January 2015, and not to those originating on or before 31 December 2014. BMO Harris Bank, N.A. v. Wildwood Creek Ranch, LLC, 236 Ariz. 363, was decided on 23 January 2015.
South Side Questions
Am I in South Tucson or Tucson?
The assessor's parcel record settles it. The two are different cities and the postal address does not tell you which.
Does That Change My Rights on the Loan?
No. The anti-deficiency statutes are state law and identical across both.
Will You Buy in South Tucson?
Yes, in any condition, including where a foreclosure has already started.