Anyone build a home in Riverside Co. CA?

[used2bcool13]

We are thinking of relocating to this area and were wondering if anyone had built their own home there?

Thanks.

[Deacon Mike]

Originally Posted by used2bcool13

We are thinking of relocating to this area and were wondering if anyone had built their own home there?

Thanks.

Why build? Riverside is the foreclosure capital of California

[Pouncer]

Deacon Mike beat me to it....have family in Riverside Co, and agree with him...tons of empty houses all over, why build?

[used2bcool13]

I have looked at some foreclosures but most of them are destroyed, everything of value has been either looted or removed, if the owners are still there, they don't let you in. If the house is any good there are twenty people interested and they have cash or offer more than the asking price - usually some are realtors. I am not making this up, these are all situations that I have experienced. Buying a foreclosure sounds easy but the process is longer and until the title search is done you don't have a solid deal.

I guess the real reason is my husband can build a small new house on a couple of acres for what they want for a run down trailer.

If it were cheaper easier or in any way better I would do it, I am not a glutton for punishment and can already envision the "tension" this will cause.

I thought I read about someone building in so Cal here.

Thanks

[mightybooboo]

San Berdo County has lots of nice repo's,several in my hood.House 2 doors down guy put a pretty penny into and it went for less than owed.Guy who bought it said he couldnt afford to leave money in Bank at that price.They arent all wrecks or overly sought after.NOTHING is selling around me.

[texican]

My condolences on the move. Have you looked into the regulations out there? Can you even build your own? Codes? Permits? Certifications, etc?

I know here I can build whatever,whenever... but I have heard mysterious and spooky tales of goings on out in the Golden Bear State.

good luck!

[mightybooboo]

Yes you can build your own.One way they really stick it to you here is on utility hookups,very very very expensive.

[oregon woodsmok]

I don't know about Riverside, but around here, it is the time to buy bare land. They can't hardly give it away. It's also a good time to build, because the construction people are starving and desperate for work.

I've always felt that the location, quality, and size of the land is number one consideration. When I buy, I am looking at the land, not the house.

However, I am occasionally seeing small farms in foreclosure with all the barns and ponds and fencing already installed. Not a lot of them, but a steady little dribble. There is much less competition for these, because the investors are looking for rentals inside the city limits, not farms.

Most of the foreclosures are junk. Cheap to begin with and bought by people who had no business buying a house and had no idea how to take care of it. Then they are mad at the bank because they (the owners) sat without making their payments, so they tear the house apart to punish the bank.

Something to look into before you purchase. This is Oregon, not California, but find out anyway. Systems development fees can run as high as $30,000 per house to get a building permit. On a replacement house, there are no systems development fees, because they were already paid on that property.

Therefore, if you can find a junked out old mobile home on a very nice piece of property, you can save as much as $30,000 by removing the old junker and replacing it with a new frame built house. Also, the utilities are already in, and utilities can be very expensive to hook-up to.

Rules and fees are likely to be different in California, but find out before you do anything.

[Wolf mom]

I dunno how it is today, but when I used to drive from Phoenix to L.A., I'd get to the Riverside area, smell the smog and want to turn around & go back.

Phoenix is just as bad smog wise now.....

[tiogacounty]

Wanting to build be an owner-builder in So-Cal and "not a glutton for punishment" are by nature, completely incompatible. And this is based on real world experience. I have done several Habitat for Humanity builds in Ca. from the bay area to south-central. California is absolute ground zero for bureaucrats, out of control regulation and a burning desire to either tax or control every move you make. I have seen hard working Habitat volunteers be absolutely tortured over things like multiple rejections of proposed new homes planned for Watts. This by the "local homeowner's committee", in a place where we ended up building new homes, as gang members shot up the old ones next door. I have seen the county inspectors try to stop a project that was 80% complete and demo dozens of bathrooms, since they just "discovered" that we used (approved) fiberglass tub/shower combination units, when they HAD to be enameled cast iron. This kind of BS goes on and on. I have a buddy who demolished and replaced a 900 square foot house in Berkley about five years ago. It took 18 months to get the plans approved and the total cost of permits, including all the design, redesign, and resubmittal work was $60K. Sorry, but as a professional builder, I would rather work at McDonald's than have to build homes in Ca.

[fordy]

Originally Posted by used2bcool13

We are thinking of relocating to this area and were wondering if anyone had built their own home there?

Thanks.

.......................Have you read the NY times article about the possibility of a great storm with unbelievable amounts of rain falling on and inundating the central valley of Ca? It appeared within the last few days . , fordy

[plowjockey]

I always believed this to be true -

"Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood".

If a house is tore up, so what if the price is right?

We lived in So. Cal 20 years ago. Riverside Co was scary then. Never even looked in the rear-view mirror, when leaving that state.

Just curious. What is the attraction to Riverside County?

[texican]

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

I don't know about Riverside, but around here, it is the time to buy bare land. They can't hardly give it away. It's also a good time to build, because the construction people are starving and desperate for work.

I've always felt that the location, quality, and size of the land is number one consideration. When I buy, I am looking at the land, not the house.

However, I am occasionally seeing small farms in foreclosure with all the barns and ponds and fencing already installed. Not a lot of them, but a steady little dribble. There is much less competition for these, because the investors are looking for rentals inside the city limits, not farms.

Most of the foreclosures are junk. Cheap to begin with and bought by people who had no business buying a house and had no idea how to take care of it. Then they are mad at the bank because they (the owners) sat without making their payments, so they tear the house apart to punish the bank.

Something to look into before you purchase. This is Oregon, not California, but find out anyway. Systems development fees can run as high as $30,000 per house to get a building permit. On a replacement house, there are no systems development fees, because they were already paid on that property.

Therefore, if you can find a junked out old mobile home on a very nice piece of property, you can save as much as $30,000 by removing the old junker and replacing it with a new frame built house. Also, the utilities are already in, and utilities can be very expensive to hook-up to.

Rules and fees are likely to be different in California, but find out before you do anything.

So, has the raw land price dropped in OR? I was looking several years ago at a nice ranch, and it was a tad steep, acre price wise, for what was there (high desert).

[indypartridge]

Originally Posted by plowjockey

We lived in So. Cal 20 years ago. Riverside Co was scary then. Never even looked in the rear-view mirror, when leaving that state.

Just curious. What is the attraction to Riverside County?

Ditto. We lived just outside Pomona, and as bad as my commute was, I pited the folks who lived out in Riverside - a sea of smog.

[NoClue]

I used to live in Riverside County - Moreno Valley to be specific. I can't imagine going back there voluntarily.

[MichaelK!]

Originally Posted by used2bcool13

I have looked at some foreclosures but most of them are destroyed, everything of value has been either looted or removed, if the owners are still there, they don't let you in. If the house is any good there are twenty people interested and they have cash or offer more than the asking price - usually some are realtors. I am not making this up, these are all situations that I have experienced. Buying a foreclosure sounds easy but the process is longer and until the title search is done you don't have a solid deal.

I guess the real reason is my husband can build a small new house on a couple of acres for what they want for a run down trailer.

If it were cheaper easier or in any way better I would do it, I am not a glutton for punishment and can already envision the "tension" this will cause.

I thought I read about someone building in so Cal here.

Thanks

Are you just shopping for a home over the internet? We live in Riverside and there are lots of perfectly good homes for sale. The home right next door to us was just sold and the new family has moved in just three weeks ago. There's another house a block down the road the bank had to take back, and they are now having contractors come in to polish it up.

Is your only problem finding a fantastic house at a ridiculously low price?

[mightybooboo]

Originally Posted by MichaelK!

Are you just shopping for a home over the internet? We live in Riverside and there are lots of perfectly good homes for sale. The home right next door to us was just sold and the new family has moved in just three weeks ago. There's another house a block down the road the bank had to take back, and they are now having contractors come in to polish it up.

Is your only problem finding a fantastic house at a ridiculously low price?

I would agree with this poster,yup,some are torn up,others are GOOD people(yes,hard to believe) that lost their house for a myriad of possible reasons who werent drugged out trash.

In my place we had the preacher and wife,he died,she left house,old couple,he died,she couldnt afford,moved in with kids,the Parolee who couldnt stay for whatever reason and bailed,and the business owner/family who's business went under. All lost their homes,all in fine shape,not trashed at all.I live 20 miles from downtown riverside.

So so much for the MSM media ignorant reporting that its all about bad people with speculative house buying,buying beyond their means and a bunch of trash taking it out on the poor banks,thats NOT the case in my hood.

[oregon woodsmok]

Texican, yes. There are some nice bargains on land in Central Oregon right now.

Price is relative, though. Texas might still be cheaper. But prices in Bend are about half what they were. Prices in Madras (which is good farm land) look low to me.

Prices in John Day, surprisingly, haven't gone down. I guess the survivalists are spending their money there. East of Prineville, prices are really down. There are tons of foreclosures in La Pine, if you like the woods, and the banks have been dropping prices like they are wrapped in concrete.

In Crooked River Ranch, there is a 2 story, 2000 sq ft custom built house on 5 good usable acres that they haven't been able to unload for $149,000. That thing sold for over $350,000 a couple of years ago.

East of Klamath Falls is lovely, and its always been cheap. Now it is even cheaper.

Buy in Central Oregon, though, and you have to be very certain that you can get water. Also that a building permit can be obtained for the property.