California Rural Homesite
The Musts
These are the things that you must have to live on the land.
Access
You must to be able to get there from here. Access involves two elements:
(1) legal access or the legal right to get to the land and (2) physical
access consisting of the roads or the route to get to the land.
Legal Access
Usually, you have legal access if you front on a County or City owned
and maintained road, or if your parcel has deeded access to a County
or City Road. Access to some State Highways is restricted. Many lending
institutions will require legal access as a condition of a mortgage.
Your title company can assist you with evaluating your legal access.
They can even insure it for you in many cases. A land surveyor can help
you locate your legal access on the ground. Prescriptive access, or
the right of many years of use, may be challenged or may be difficult
to demonstrate. Prescriptive easements can only be perfected through
agreement between the parties involved, or a legal action resulting
in a judgement or court decree establishing the rights. Usually, prescriptive
rights can't be increased, as might be required for subdividing the
property
Physical Access
Now that you have the right to get to it, can you get to it? There are
parcels out there with access easements that cross swamps, canyons,
and cliffs. If the access road is not constructed, make sure that it
can be, and check into the cost. Make sure the access easement is wide
enough. The easement should contain all of the cut, fill, and culverts
needed to build the road. For a 12' wide road, it can easily take 20'
to contain the earthwork. This is probably less important on old, established
roads, where the cuts and fills may be established through years of
use. Don't forget to consider your driveway. There are some doozies
out there. Cut and fill slopes associated with the main access road
may make driveway construction even more difficult. Look at surrounding
properties that are improved and similar in terms of cut/fill slopes
and lot cross slope. How well do they work? Don't forget that you may
have to use the road during snowy or frosty conditions. A civil engineer
or engineering contractor can help you evaluate driveway feasibility
and costs.
Water
Some rural areas have treated domestic water available from a city,
irrigation district, or utility district. Most rural parcels are served
by ground water wells. Your REALTOR® or local water provider can help
you identify the availability of treated domestic water and the connection
fees and monthly charges associated with its use. There is certainly
no assurance of a good well. I learned this the hard way. I recommend
a contingency of a successful well or pump test of an existing well
before purchase, if possible. Should you use a witcher or a geologist
to help determine the location of the well? That is difficult to say.
I've seen both work and fail.
Many well drillers guarantee water but
at a higher cost. Don't forget to check the water for minerals. You
can also have the water tested for its quality. A water quality laboratory
or water systems specialist can help you check the quality and content
of your water. Some parcels have raw (open ditch) water sources. This
water can be treated by a small system to meet drinking water standards
under most conditions. Check with the local Environmental Health Department
for water source standards. The quality of such water varies and the
opportunity for contamination is great. It should be avoided as a drinking
water source if at all possible. Its great for irrigation, however!
Following a number of devastating fires in California, there are now
state-wide "fire safe" standards which sometimes require that you construct
water storage as a condition of a building permit. Many people use buried
tanks for this purpose. Check with the local building and fire departments
for details.
Sewer
Some rural parcels can connect to public or community sewer systems.
Check with your REALTOR® or local sewage collection agency for details.
Most rural parcels will be served by individual septic tank/ leachfield
systems. All household waste water goes to a 1000-1500 gallon septic
tank where solids settle and are pumped out every 5-10 years. The water
is then distributed through buried perforated pipe into level trenches
filled with drain rock. The leachfield trenches cover an area ranging
from about 3000-10,000 square feet, depending on the soil capabilities.
The leachfield area should be kept devoid of trees and brush so that
the roots won't interfere with the drain. Nothing varies more between
parcels than the ability to support septic systems. Most environmental
health departments require percolation and soil mantle tests prior to
the issuance of a sewage disposal permit. If they don't, have the tests
done anyway as a condition of your closing escrow.
Believe me: every parcel cannot support
a septic system! Parcels with numerous rock outcrops, swampy areas,
water courses or ditches, and sparse trees and vegetation may be particularly
suspect. A soils mantle test is usually one or more backhoe pits dug
at least eight feet deep and observed by a civil engineer, geologist,
or environmental health specialist. The soil can't have ground water
or shallow bed rock. The soil should be reasonably able to absorb and
filter water all the way down. Percolation tests are a series of tests
to measure how quickly the ground absorbs water. They are usually run
by one of the above professionals by measuring the drop of water in
a post hole over time. Your REALTOR® can assist you in finding an appropriate
professional. Once your system is in, don't forget to maintain it by
keeping the leachfield cleared of trees and brush, and by having the
septic tank pumped when necessary.
Utilities
Okay, so utilities aren't a must with some people. They are with me!
Obtaining electricity, telephone, and other utilities requires that
your land be reasonably near existing facilities and that there be appropriate
easements allowing the utility company to extend their facilities. No
one can really assure you about utilities, except the provider. Your
title company can assist you in identifying the availability of general
utility easements. However, only the utility provider is familiar with
the location and capacity of nearby facilities. Natural gas is available
to a few areas, but most rural sites require propane (LPG) tanks. Cable
television is available in some areas, usually close to towns or the
more densely developed areas. Conventional TV antenna reception varies
in rural areas, due to topography and other factors. The small satellite
dish units are a great way to address your television entertainment
needs, although most do not carry ABC, CBS, and NBC local stations.
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