Anyone Ever Bought Land and Built a Home on It?

you cant afford a realtor (free unless you're selling) but think you can afford that in the bay area?

pretty sure this is a make believe thread designed to make people think you have money and could afford that... which you more than likely cant ..
 
SFMMA said:
So I live in California, my wife and I are recently married and are looking into buying a home in the Bay Area. We were thinking about buying land and then placing these two (or something similar style homes on it) with the first image being the main home and the second being the in-law unit:

Solaire_Standard_Angle%203_Final.jpeg


Cabana.jpeg


Anyway, is there any recommended reading or information? I don't even know the first thing about buying the land to make sure it's right for permits, make-ready site work, etc. I'm not even sure where to start in the process. We were thinking about starting with the "...for Dummies" series, as I don't personally know anyone else that's done this.

Thanks for any information you can provide!
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where in the bay area do you plan on buying land? are you a millionaire?
 
My parents did that, bought land and then built a house while living in CA. It was in the Vacaville area, out in the country. I don't have much more to add other than I remember there was a great number of mistakes made resulting in a large pile of wood out in the back. It was likely slowing being used as firewood back then, but don't remember. It was good enjoyment playing in the pile as a kid.
 
IIIIIIII said:
where in the bay area do you plan on buying land? are you a millionaire?
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East Bay (Berkeley or maybe Walnut Creek). I guess I am a millionaire if that means I have more than a million dollars, but I don't feel rich by any means. I have been smart with my money and my wife also does very well.
 
kevy2pale said:
you cant afford a realtor (free unless you're selling) but think you can afford that in the bay area?

pretty sure this is a make believe thread designed to make people think you have money and could afford that... which you more than likely cant ..
Click to expand...

I didn't say that I can't afford a realtor. I said I want to gather information from outside sources before I go waste a professional's time or my money with questions I could have answered for free. My experience with realtors in the past has been that quite a few of them are cutthroat and oily.

My ego isn't so fragile that I would try to make some people I've never met think that I'm rich. I don't think I'm rich at all, but I guess it all is a matter of perspective.
 
SFMMA said:
I didn't say that I can't afford a realtor. I said I want to gather information from outside sources before I go waste a professional's time or my money with questions I could have answered for free. My experience with realtors in the past has been that quite a few of them are cutthroat and oily.

My ego isn't so fragile that I would try to make some people I've never met think that I'm rich. I don't think I'm rich at all, but I guess it all is a matter of perspective.
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you are going to have to get one anyways... might as well now. Also you dont pay unless you are the seller, they get a percentage of the sale. You will have to shop around and purchase land then find someone to build your home. Land in the bay area is very expensive...
 
kevy2pale said:
you are going to have to get one anyways... might as well now. Also you dont pay unless you are the seller, they get a percentage of the sale. You will have to shop around and purchase land then find someone to build your home. Land in the bay area is very expensive...
Click to expand...

Yes I know, I've been looking at land for a while. Depending on where you buy (at least in the range of places I've been looking) it's anywhere from $150k to $1.5mm for a half acre plot.
 
SFMMA said:
Yes I know, I've been looking at land for a while. Depending on where you buy (at least in the range of places I've been looking) it's anywhere from $150k to $1.5mm for a half acre plot.
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thats ridiculous
 
SFMMA said:
East Bay (Berkeley or maybe Walnut Creek). I guess I am a millionaire if that means I have more than a million dollars, but I don't feel rich by any means. I have been smart with my money and my wife also does very well.
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that's awesome. the berkeley/walnut creek area is beautiful, especially around orinda/lafayette.
 
kevy2pale said:
thats ridiculous
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No argument here. You can get more land than that and a mansion on it to boot in the city where I was born (Monroe, Louisiana).

IIIIIIII said:
that's awesome. the berkeley/walnut creek area is beautiful, especially around orinda/lafayette.
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Thanks, man. Looking at a plot of land in Lafayette this weekend.
 
SFMMA said:
So I live in California, my wife and I are recently married and are looking into buying a home in the Bay Area. We were thinking about buying land and then placing these two (or something similar style homes on it) with the first image being the main home and the second being the in-law unit:

Solaire_Standard_Angle%203_Final.jpeg


Cabana.jpeg


Anyway, is there any recommended reading or information? I don't even know the first thing about buying the land to make sure it's right for permits, make-ready site work, etc. I'm not even sure where to start in the process. We were thinking about starting with the "...for Dummies" series, as I don't personally know anyone else that's done this.

Thanks for any information you can provide!
Click to expand...


I've been down this path (albeit in Hawaii). Miserable fucking experience.

I'd imagine the realtor for your land purchase will know pertinent zoning laws. A general contractor would likely facilitate building permits.
 
Google is more useful than a karate forum. Pay the professionals to do this for you. Buying land in the Bay area, you're already making someone rich for doing absolutely nothing, so I don't understand your logic.
 
Great homes man. I have no experience. But i would love to do this. Not a main home. But cabin in the woods
 
Why do you need a realtor if you are building with a gc?

We built in a 200 house subdivision with a builder that required a realtor...total horseshit.

But we also talked to independent builders that would build on our land with no realtor. Also what will the land cost you?
 
kahiljabroni said:
Why do you need a realtor if you are building with a gc?

We built in a 200 house subdivision with a builder that required a realtor...total horseshit.

But we also talked to independent builders that would build on our land with no realtor. Also what will the land cost you?
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The land costs range massively depending on the area.

Please note to everyone I'm just looking for advice from people who have been through this process. I've already done a lot of preliminary research and am trying to explore all avenues. Much love for those of you who gave me advice!
 
It can be very profitable if you do a lot of the building yourself. My boss did it and he used to pull me out of work to come help hall shit and such. Anyways he spent roughly 320k on this house he built and last year ( 5 years since he built it) its appraised at 870k. Now that's a huge profit but I mean this guy worked liked 19 hours a day on this place and even told me regardless of the savings he would never do it again.
 
Buying land for residential real estate in the Bay?

Best bring truckloads of CASH, not silly bank loans.
 
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