Land purchasing issues in S.F. Valley

I put in an offer to purchase a 3800 sf (approx 45' wide x 84' deep) lot in the San Fernando Valley. I have about 2 weeks to do my homework to determine if the lot is buildable. At that time I can either back out of the offer or continue with the Escrow process. I went to L.A. City Hall and visited both the Planning and Building and Safety Departments. From what I gather, the lot is irregular (under 5000 square feet, and less the 50' wide). The zoning is RE40, which requires 10' of setback on both sides, 25' of setback in the rear, and the average setback of my neighbors houses for the front. The house I would like to build is Rocio Romero's LV Home - built so that the front door is accessed from the side. To get the lot approved for construction, I need to file a Certificate of Conformance application (2 month process) and apply for a variance (not enough setback on sides, 4 month process). Finally...the questions:

1) Has anyone had to file a COC with Variances? How long did it take (any shortcuts)?
2) Can any irregular lot be turned into a buildable one through the COC and variance process?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Primo:zz:

Primo, How did things come out for you?

We are not able to build on most of the irregular lots that people approach our firm about in Southern California. In the low-lying and Southern San Fernando Valley, almost all of the land has been developed for at least 40 years, so the likelihood is that the lot is vacant because you can not build on it in a cost and time effective manner.

The lot you described sounds like it has a buildable pad of 40' deep and 25' wide building pad. This is a pretty small pad, because you have to include your parking within those setbacks as well. Your choice is probably only to do a single wide module (most manufacturers don't do these as UBC modular, only a custom version of the Glidehouse 2 or a customized home from Irontown will work) and do a tandem two-car garage on the side, if the planning department allows it. Since very few planning departments do allow tandem parking, you may have to design a custom modular with parking on the bottom floor that is single wide, two-story, where you build a 10' wide stick build garage off to the side. Irontown can also design you a home with 12' wide modules, but any smaller than that width and the expense of shipping and connecting multiple modules tends to negate the costs advantages of modular construction.

Even when you solve the setback and parking issues, you have to make the home work from a design standapoint, and the architectural/design review standpoint from the planning department.

My advice to a client in this situation would be to continue looking for a better lot. There are lots out there, although I am sure they won't be as affordable as the irregular lot. The problem is that with the variances and design/planning questions, plus the lengthy nature of building in the city of Los Angeles anyway, there has to be a better way to do it. I think that this type of building is risky because you have no real way to guage whether in the end it will be more expensive or less expensive than the discount you have received on the land. It may be a good deal, and if you have significant assets to back up the deal (say 10X your total project costs), then it could be a risk you want to take. If you are cutting it close in any way, I would reccomend that you or someone else in this situation not move forward on this lot.

Hope this discussion helps

Isaac
Cutting Edge Homes

Primo, Have you had any luck finding a lot? I am just beginning the search process for a lot and have found a lot of affordable lots in Malibu and Topanga only with significant slopes. Do you have any advice in regards to prefab manufactors and their ability to build on a slope? Anything you could add would be helpful.
Thanks,
George

Pakorn:

I haven't had experience with this situation personally, but my guess is that the other landowners most likely have some sort of "easement" which allows them to use the road.  Easements give the holder the "right to use" the land (paved road in this case).  I am not an attorney, but this would be my guess on next steps if I was in your shoes.

1) go talk to your neighbors and ask them who they have an easment with (this is the person that actually owns the land under the paved road), details, etc.  hopefully they can tell you what consideration they paid in order to use the paved road.  if they will give you a copy of the easement even better.

2) contact the paved road owner to begin discussions. 

3) speak to a real property lawyer who should be able to help you with the easement documentation

 

learn more about easements here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easement

 

hope this helps and good luck