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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Andy
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