With a high Canadian dollar and tanking American housing prices, there are plenty of opportunities to get a deal on a home in the U.S.

Mark Dziedzic runs Arizona for Canadians, a Phoenix-based company that helps find and arrange financing for Arizona homes.

The former Canadian financial planner estimates there are 100,000 Canadians living in Arizona right now and that one out of every two buyers in the market are Canadian.

"We've got 56,000-plus listings in Maricopa County alone," he told CTV Consumerwatch reporter Eleanor Coopsammy. "We're seeing people [over 50 years-old] looking for second homes, but we're also seeing a huge amount of people 30 to 35 years-old looking at buying the property."

The company is looking at eventually giving what it calls 'webinars'; seminars on buying a home in Arizona over the internet.

Here are some tips from the experts:

Mark Dziedzic, Arizona for Canadians

"Those who rent out their property need to make sure they get a tax ID number. If they don't and earn income on that property they'll be subject to a 30 per cent withholding tax from the Internal Revenue Service."

David Mackenzie, Manitoba Real Estate Association

"The best advice is to consult your accountant or tax lawyer to make sure there isn't any problem in pursuing recreation property." 

Kate Warne, Edward Jones

"The housing prices are likely to continue to fall. If you're thinking of this as an investment, and own it for a couple of years and sell it, the returns won' nearly be as good as you're expecting."

You may also want to consider what's called a 'short sale', where the home owners sell the home for less than what they owe on their mortgage. If the mortgage company agrees to the sale price, the balance of the loan is forgiven.

"In a short sale, you are doing the lender a favor," said Vicki Harding, a real estate lawyer for Pepper Hamilton LLP. "It avoids the fees of foreclosure, insurance costs and all that. It is the best economic outcome."

Most importantly, short sales are becoming popular because it keeps U.S. sellers out of foreclosure and causes the least amount of damage to their credit rating.

Still, the experts say the economic situation is likely to stay for awhile, and that means there is more time to do the research before you fully open the door to your home in an American hot spot.

With a report from CTV's Eleanor Coopsammy, and files from ABC News