CHeap land in California? Is it possible?

My mother & I are torn between California & New Jersey. We have a small farm here in Alabama and we're trying to decide where to move. But since this is a s/western forum I thought you guys might be able to help me figure out if it's possible to get cheap land in Cal? Within 1 to 1 1/2 hr drive to Los Angeles. Cheap meaning only a couple thousand or under for at least a couple of acres.

How about some of these ? LA is in LA county isn't it?

Might be pretty hot ,so don't buy until you have checked it out!

http://www.landwatch.com/default.aspx?ct=r&type=5,30;6,1466;268,6843&r.PSIZ=2%2c&q=+&px=10000

Miles Flansburg wrote:How about some of these ? LA is in LA county isn't it?

Might be pretty hot ,so don't buy until you have checked it out!

http://www.landwatch.com/default.aspx?ct=r&type=5,30;6,1466;268,6843&r.PSIZ=2%2c&q=+&px=10000

Awesome!!! Thanks so much!! We're already used to hot humid weather in Alabama so I think it should be ok but we will be checking stuff out first. Thanks!!!

I used to live in the ventura county area (couple hours from LA) and there was a lot of good cheap land out there. Currently I live about 90 minutes from Los Angeles in the high desert and land is pretty affordable down here in the high desert. Good luck with the move!

Joseph, I don't know if you took a look at the link I posted above?
Some of those lots look pretty rough/hot to live in. What is your opinion of that. Is it doable?

Before buying be sure to check out the yearly weather patterns and rainfall. I live in Mission Viejo and water is a big deal. What most people in the U.S. would call a drought we just call that summer.

My step sister used to live in Palmdale and it's definitely hot and dry, as is Lancaster. It might be really hard to get something going quickly in those areas. I would assume that if you used some intensive water gathering measures you could do something, but not a lot. That whole area is really reliant on pumped in water and there are months of no rainfall at all. When I was in Palmdale there was always a steady baking breeze.
The price of the land is so cheap, by California standards, that it may give you room to start some projects (Swales, trees, ground cover) that could get you some water, but the rainy season has probably passed by the time of the move and you would be entering the hot and dry summer. When we were looking to buy, the average cost of usable land was about 8000 an acre.
There are also a lot of farmers who are giving up due to this drought and years of horrible agriculture practices so you may be able to find someone who would love for you to take over some of their land. I would look a bit around Ventura county and focus on the farmland areas like Oxnard and the surrounding area. Riverside county has a ton of agriculture too and you might get lucky with a farmer or family up there.
Yesterday I bought a water tanker off of a guy who lives 5 miles down the road and he said the neighboring 3 plots of 5 acres around him have laid bare for years after the owners died, seems it's not even worth it to the families to try to sell it so he has just been slowly taking their growing areas over....

I agree with most of what was said re Palmdale and Lancaster. Also to look at Ventura County and up the central coast. Fillmore is still a farming town and lower cost. An area further out (2.5 hrs) that is very inexpensive and great for a permie site is Lake Isabella. I have looked at that quite a bit. Because of elevation ranges you can find a wide variety of micro-climates. To be within an hour and a half of L.A. is relative to what time you drive in or out. Gorman is another area which is higher elevation and gets snow but is closer to LA.

I'm surprised that there is cheap property in Ventura county. I grew up there as well. Take into consideration the cost of living in California. Some of the rules & regulations are a shock as well. There is also property that is not allowed to be built on because of moratoriums that were put in place due to the water shortage. Be very careful.

You can find just as cheap up in northern CA and have all the rain you can handle. I went overboard on an acre of land for $75K, but it is close to my job and a ton of bike trails and 2 rivers and hour to ski slopes and $25,000 septic *footinmouth* I wish mine was out of sight from neighbors, becuase I'd have a house by now since I would be the one signing off on the permits

But 1% property tax adds up if you are living off the land with living off the land income!

Kyle Ignaitis wrote: I went overboard on an acre of land for $75K,

$75,000.00 per acre is far from inexpensive. How far "overboard" did you go?

$75,000 - inexpensive land price = how much overboard I went

I know people that commute an extra 50+ miles a day to their nice plot of land. You pay for it one way or another in gas or premium priced land (assuming you will be commuting to a populated area for work) I think my future home will appreciate in value at a higher rate where I am too. Then I will cash out and move to one of these dirt cheap areas.

Kyle Ignaitis wrote:$75,000 - inexpensive land price = how much overboard I went

I know people that commute an extra 50+ miles a day to their nice plot of land. You pay for it one way or another in gas or premium priced land (assuming you will be commuting to a populated area for work) I think my future home will appreciate in value at a higher rate where I am too. Then I will cash out and move to one of these dirt cheap areas.

Does it have utilities? That's always the big one IMO.

It had a well, electricity $2500 away, and no septic. I planned 10-15,000 for a septic. Didn't plan for have no topsoil for perc. Also didn't plan for a sand filter system being a non DIY type of septic. Having an inherited house to sell helped in my carelessness, along with hitting mountain bike trails a stones throw away.

Not gonna hook up to electric though. I'm gonna do 12V DC solar. Im sick of these services like "smart"meters, mandatory trash service. Such BS. I understand that this curbs illegal dumping, but why not tax products that come in packaging? Half the food I buy doesn't have a barcode so I hardly produce trash yet I have to pay for trash service on a piece of undeveloped land. /rant

Ditto northern california.
Good rainfall in many areas, though rainfall tends to be seasonal.

Central coast gets less rain but also gets less summer heat, depending on where you are. Microclimates are everything.

***NOT POSSIBLE***Sorry! I have said it before but maybe I should tell you about myself and my acquired knowledge in order to be taken seriously. I have lived in the Lake Isabella area for the last 21 years and before that I lived even more years in LA county where I owned a house on a 1/2 acre. I owned 3 small lots in Ventura County that were cheap but not buildable. I paid $4000 for permits to place a dbl mobile on 2/3 of an acre in Lake Isabella 7 years ago and now it is about $7000 for permits. Average (which we haven't seen for several years now) rainfall is 9 inches per year. Much less than that in Lancaster. Lots of restrictions in these three counties, L.A, Ventura, Kern. If you are going without permits, good luck! Really! I would not waste money just to have to tear out everything you have done. If you insist, you would want to be very mobile and well hidden. In these areas, Lake Isabella, which is Kern county, has more options for a hideout but people around here will turn you in to the Building Dept. in a heartbeat. You can get an older mobile home on a residential size lot here for as little as $25000 but a bank would not likely finance. Some owners are willing to carry the loan. My 1985 doublewide on 2/3 acre rural/horse area will sell for at least $50,000. Lancaster/Palmdale is too flat for hiding and the building code enforcers WILL hunt you down. I am sorry to discourage you but I would hate to see you get hurt. I can try to check out any prospective properties if you need help but I would look elsewhere if I were you. Filmore, Oxnard and anything else in Ventura is not cheap except for the unbuildable lot that I used to have. I am not a realtor or in any related business. I am actually retired from the phone company so, I just want to help. Please listen. I don't want to have to say that I told you so. And I didn't mention the rattlesnakes which are plentiful.
Landwatch.com is not a reliable site. Try Zillow or for some areas including these counties, ListingPreview.com is excellent and kept current.