Orange
County, CA Lots and Land
Whether you want
to build your own home, start a horse ranch, or just put some
space between you and your neighbors, nothing compares with
buying your own lot and building you own home. Orange
County still offers many opportunities to purchase a piece of
land and build your dream home. The biggest advantage of
buying a piece of land is that you can choose your own
location. The second advantage is that you can construct your
own custom home. You design your own floor plan, features, and
amenities. The MLS search links on this page will help you
find lots, land for custom homes, horse property, acreage,
home sites, bank owned land for sale, and build-able lots and parcels throughout Orange County,
CA. There are also links for Orange County bank owned or REO
lots and land, and land with seller or owner financing. Call
me if you are looking vacant lots for sale in Orange County,
CA!
Land loans are
available through US Bank. Contact me here for details.
You may also be
interested in this web page: Homes
for sale with large lots
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Lots
by city |
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Orange County South
- Nice
lots and large land parcels are becoming scarce in
this part of the county, but there are still a few
custom home and building sites, plus lots with reasonable acreage
available. In gate guarded Coto de Caza, lots are
still available in Los Ranchos Estates, the Village,
and Masters Collection. Ladera Ranch has a good number
of custom lots available in exclusive, gated Covenant
Hills. In San Juan Capistrano, you can find equestrian lots
and home sites in communities such as Stone Ridge
Estates. Though largely built out, a few parcels
remain in the Laguna Hills equestrian community of
Nellie Gail Ranch. This is a good opportunity to
purchase a custom lot in one of South Orange County's
most desirable areas.
Coastal
/ Beach Area - If
you dream of building a home on a custom lot with
forever ocean views, a beach area lot may be for you.
The following links will help you locate lots,
acreage, custom home sites, parcels, horse properties,
and land for sale in Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Laguna
Niguel, Costa Mesa, Corona Del Mar, Sunset Beach, Dana Point,
Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente,
Oceanside, and other coastal locations.
North
OC - If
your preference is the North part of the County, there
are still may lots available in cities such as Tustin,
Villa Park, Yorba Linda, Irvine, and Anaheim Hills.
Use the following links to find available lots,
properties, and land for sale in Tustin, Fullerton,
Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Santa Ana, Villa Park, or Yorba
Linda. Many of these properties have large acreage or
equestrian zoning.
Canyon
Areas - If
you are someone who is looking for a getaway location;
an area that is rustic and woodsy, yet still close to
the conveniences and amenities of the city, a
lot in Trabuco, Modjeska, or Silverado Canyon may be
for you. These locations are suitable for projects as
small as a weekend cabin, or as large as an equestrian
ranch or elaborate estate. Orange Park Acres is also a
popular area for horse property or an equestrian
estate.
* Note: I have a new FAQ page for buying
and building on lots in the canyons here.
 Specialty Searches
I have
added a number of specialty searches based on requests I have
had from buyers for certain property types. While
there are not too many bank owned and REO lots and land for
sale in Orange County, they do exist and may be a good buy,
For seller financing, current owners may be offering to
carry a primary or second mortgage. Seller terms vary, so contact me to find out specific terms on
each property. I have also included links for water front and
ocean view lots, lots in gated communities, horse property
lots, and lots by acerage.
By Acerage
Search for lots
and land by acreage, below.
* 20 acres+ will
be mostly inland empire locations with only a handful or
Orange County locations
When
buying a lot, where do I begin?
You
are interested in buying a piece of land in order to build
your dream home. Where do you begin? As one author states,
"Land can be deceptively complicated" - There are
many steps to go through in order to determine of a lot is the
right one for your purposes. Once you have located a lot you
are interested in,
1)
Read through the "factors to consider before buying
land", below. Determining the zoning is one of the first
steps. This will tell you want the land can be used for and if
it is suitable for your intended purpose. You will also want
to check if there are utilities to the property (water, gas,
electric, etc), are there any setbacks or restrictions?, is
there access to a sewer or will you need septic? How many
tests have already been conducted? Are there home plans in
place?
2) Get further
educated on the process. I have a number of links below with
articles on land purchasing, what to look out for, etc.
3)
Review the specific plans for the area you are interested in
using the resources links below. For example if you are
contemplating the purchase of a lot in Trabuco Canyon, you'll
want to review the Foothill-Trabuco Specific Plan, which will
tell you about requirements, restrictions, environmental
issues, etc. The Orange
County General plans will
include links to many of the cities and areas.
4)
Call the local planning department. The phone number can be
found by going to the city (or County) web site. If you give
them an address or APN number of the property, they can
usually provide you a lot of information on the
property.
Factors
to Consider Before Buying Land
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There are a
number of factors to consider before buying a piece of
land |
- Zoning Requirements
Check with local
authorities (city, county and state) to determine zoning
ordinances and whether you can build the type of home you
want before committing to buying the land. For example,
some communities may not permit construction of any
structure on parcels smaller than 20 acres. Ask about
future zoning, whether there are plans to put in shopping
centers or airports, or to change nearby land uses that
could also devalue your land.
- Natural Hazards
Obtain a natural hazard
disclosure and look for soil problems. A disclosure will
tell you if the land is a protected habitat, which would
prohibit building. Is the area a known fire hazard? Is the
fire department supported solely by volunteers? Many
owners in the country maintain private ponds for fire
emergencies.
- Elevation
If the land is located near
hills, how likely is the land to move? Some slab
foundations can crack if the land is unstable. Find out if
your parcel lies within the path of a potential landslide.
For construction near bodies of water, you might want to
consider building a raised foundation and make sure to buy
flood insurance. If the land was once a swamp, ask
neighbors about the condition of their foundations.
- Easements
If access to your land is
provided by driving across an adjoining parcel, you should
obtain an easement and make sure it is recorded. Find out
who maintains the roads and what your prorata share might
cost for upkeep. What rights do neighbors have to cross
your land? Are the boundaries clearly marked? Obtain title
insurance, which will disclose easements and restrictive
covenants or conditions. You might want to order a survey
of the land.
- Utilities
Water is important. Not all
water is potable. Sometimes water rights don't "run
with the land," which would mean you could not dig a
well. Find out the depth of your water table and determine
the difficulty of digging. Is the ground mostly rock? It
can be costly to bring electricity, telephone or cable
services to the property if they are not already
established nearby. Will you need to install a propane
tank? Consider a generator for back-up during power
outages. If you cannot hook up to a sewer, what will it
cost to install a septic system?
- Appraisal
It's common to pay cash for
land. If you're not planning to finance the land purchase
through a conventional lender, which will require a lender
appraisal, then obtain your own appraisal to determine an
appropriate price before making an offer. Comparable sales
are sometimes difficult to find when buying land.
Insurability of a property is
very important. In certain areas, insurance may be difficult
to acquire, due to fire hazard, earthquake damage, or other
cause. In this case, you may have to insure through California Fair Plan or
other insurer. Fair Plan is a private association based in
Los Angeles comprised of all insurers licensed to write
property insurance in California. They can often provide
insurance coverage in areas that other insurers will not
cover.
Types of
tests commonly used
Percolation
test (perc test) is a test to determine the absorption rate of soil for a
septic drain field or "leach field". The results
of a percolation test are required to properly design a
septic system. In its broadest terms, percolation testing is
simply observing how quickly a known volume of water
dissipates into the subsoil of a drilled hole of known
surface area. While every jurisdiction will have its own
laws regarding the exact calculations for the length of
line, depth of pit, etc., the testing procedures are the
same. Read more about perc testing here.
Slope
stability analysis is performed to assess the safe design of a human-made or
natural slopes (e.g. embankments, road cuts, excavations,
etc) and the equilibrium conditions. Slope stability s the
resistance of inclined surface to failure by sliding or
collapsing. The main objectives of slope stability analysis
are finding endangered areas, investigation of potential
failure mechanisms, determination of the slope sensitivity
to different triggering mechanisms, designing of optimal
slopes with regard to safety, reliability, and
designing possible remedial measures, e.g. barriers and
stabilization (retaining walls, etc)
Soil
testing is usually performed by a geotechnical
engineer in order to understand the soil's reactivity and to
check for chemical or physical conditions that might be
detrimental to your future house. Soil reactivity refers to
how much the soil on the site is likely to move, expand and
contract, as a result of moisture content.
Links
Resources
(Many
links load slowly so be patient)
| California
Fair Plan - Insurance coverage for the canyon areas |
| Foothill
Trabuco Specific Plan - Guidelines for building in
the canyons (large file so be patient) |
| Foothill Trabuco Specific Plan land use map |
| Silverado-Modjeska Specific Plan |
| Silverado-Modjeska plan map |
| Land loans are
available through US Bank. Contact me here for details. |
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