Very cheap land in California (San Diego, Lancaster: low income, for sale, real estate)

[MikeKle]

We are considering moving to southern CA from KY,(hate the cold weather!),We have looked at buying a lot from some of the real estate websites.I dont know much about CA except the weather is nice year round and second,property is very expensive!but we have seen some cheap property which made me wonder what the catch is.There seems to be quite a few lots and acreage for sale in Lancaster,Ravendale,Lassen,Blythe and Imperial.It says these are all in southern CA.One example is a property in Ravendale/ Lassen Co. which is 40 acres and is selling for $15,000! I am aware this is probably in the middle of nowhere but that is what we are looking for.I contacted the real estate co. and they say all these listings are legit.I just cant believe theres not a catch to this,anybody know anything about these areas and why they seem to have such a low price?Thanks for the help.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Ravendale/Lassen are way out in the middle of nowhere in northeast CA. Its nowhere near SoCal. If that's your thing, great. If you need to be near a city for work, that's a problem.

Lancaster, Blythe, and Imperial are in the desert with the last two being in the middle of nowhere. Lancaster is closer to LA but its still desert and is becoming Compton of the desert as low income people get chased out of LA by high housing costs. Its also close to a state prison so the prisoner's families like to hang out there for easy visiting.

[NDA]

Lancaster can freeze at night and have desert hot temps in the day time. It snows near there and it might actually snow there. I have no idea why 40 acres would be $15k, perhaps it is home to an old toxic site and even those would probably go higher.

[VLWH]

You can find plenty offers like you mention. Just as stated, they are usually in the middle of nowhere. I mean nothing for miles and miles, except for a few run down mobile homes. Usually the closet towns are crappy desert towns.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by MikeKle

We are considering moving to southern CA from KY,(hate the cold weather!),We have looked at buying a lot from some of the real estate websites.I dont know much about CA except the weather is nice year round and second,property is very expensive!but we have seen some cheap property which made me wonder what the catch is.There seems to be quite a few lots and acreage for sale in Lancaster,Ravendale,Lassen,Blythe and Imperial.It says these are all in southern CA.One example is a property in Ravendale/ Lassen Co. which is 40 acres and is selling for $15,000! I am aware this is probably in the middle of nowhere but that is what we are looking for.I contacted the real estate co. and they say all these listings are legit.I just cant believe theres not a catch to this,anybody know anything about these areas and why they seem to have such a low price?Thanks for the help.

Others have answered your request by telling you about the desert. I wanted to specifically address the bit about the Ravendale/Lassen area. As was stated earlier, this is in the northeast part of the state, near both the Oregon and the Nevada borders. This is a very isolated part of the state, where some of California's cheapest real estate can be found. Quite often, you will find that properties like the one you mentioned are in a very desolate area, where you can't even see a tree for miles. It is also pretty common for the cheapest of these properties to have no guarantee of access, meaning there are no road easements to the property. These properties are also completely undeveloped, and may be in an area where the water table is very deep. In order to build anything in these areas will require a well and septic system at the very least. If the water table is 800 to 1000 feet down, you're looking at a cost of 25,000 to 30,000 dollars to drill a well. You then need to get power to the pump, which gets expensive very quickly. I don't know much about what this costs, but I do know that I spoke to someone that has property in Wyoming about what it cost him to run power about 2000 feet. I believe he told me it was nearly 10,000 dollars. As you can see, the cost of developing that cheap property suddenly becomes quite expensive.

I hope this helps you to understand the reasons behind the cost of real estate in California.

[eminent]

i have built many homes in the areas you are speaking of. to be honest, you need to know the exact street location of the land in question. there are indeed great deals to be found in the high desert. however, there are many questions that MUST be answered prior to buying. Moderator cut: soliciting and or advertising not allowed per site TOS

[MikeKle]

I guess the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true,it probably is" still holds true!! While it does sound very good on paper, There is always a catch! I guess it would be great if you like living near a prison and having extreme temperature flucuations! In the ad, they show a pic of what looks like somewhere in San Diego with a beautiful oceanfront view, And all for just $15K!!! Yeah Right!

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by MikeKle

We are considering moving to southern CA from KY,(hate the cold weather!),We have looked at buying a lot from some of the real estate websites.I dont know much about CA except the weather is nice year round and second,property is very expensive!but we have seen some cheap property which made me wonder what the catch is.There seems to be quite a few lots and acreage for sale in Lancaster,Ravendale,Lassen,Blythe and Imperial.It says these are all in southern CA.One example is a property in Ravendale/ Lassen Co. which is 40 acres and is selling for $15,000! I am aware this is probably in the middle of nowhere but that is what we are looking for.I contacted the real estate co. and they say all these listings are legit.I just cant believe theres not a catch to this,anybody know anything about these areas and why they seem to have such a low price?Thanks for the help.

Be VERY careful about this land. Yes it's cheap but their is a reason for that. If you are looking for land in the middle of nowhere that's fine, But you will have to drill a water well and bring in power and that can cost allot more then you may think. I lived in the Palmdale/ Lancaster area for many years and I know what this land is.
I moved out of California two years ago and so glad to be out of the place. and going to California just because of the sun shine just is not worth it. But be very careful about this land if its in Blythe, Lancaster or riverside it's the same thing.

Merry Christma

[robin2226]

When you go shopping in K-mart and Macy, what is difference . The price in K-mart is cheapper than Macy , right. But the quality of stuffs in K-mart also lower than Macy.
The property in getto area is cheaper than in nice area , and you are buying property.

Check out the weather in the area you plan to buy and see how much difference from KY.

Speaking of land , once I plan to buy a property in Hawaii (on internet), I asked my relative , who is living in Hawaii, to check out the land for me, he called me and tell me that "The price of that piece of land is very good but your neiborgh is Mr. Vocano"

[olman889]

Originally Posted by MikeKle

I guess the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true,it probably is" still holds true!! While it does sound very good on paper, There is always a catch! I guess it would be great if you like living near a prison and having extreme temperature flucuations! In the ad, they show a pic of what looks like somewhere in San Diego with a beautiful oceanfront view, And all for just $15K!!! Yeah Right!

depends what your budget is.but the high deset living is great.theres all sorts of country living up there.pretty much evry1 keeps to themselves.
now the weather get a little cold like 20 30 at nite to like 40 50 in the day.now thats cold to mose socal ers.id give littlerock,pearblossom, lake la a shot.id rent a house first then look around.youll like it.the bad part is all the good jobs are all bout 1 hr+ away commute.but then again it depends on your trade.