How to walk a land parcel before you buy it
In San Diego County, the land is usually the hard part. A parcel that looks perfect from the road can hide grading costs, utility gaps, and fire-zone requirements that add six figures to a project. A careful walk with a checklist, before you're emotionally committed, is the cheapest inspection you'll ever do.
What you'll learn
- How slope translates to grading cost, and the eyeball test for a pad that needs engineering
- What to check for water, sewer or septic, power, and access before you ever call the county
- How to look up fire hazard severity zones and what they mean for a manufactured home placement
- Which easements and setbacks shrink your buildable area, and where to find them
- The questions a site evaluation answers that a listing never will
Step by step
- Walk the property lines first with the parcel map in hand. Confirm corners, access points, and any visible easements like poles or pipes.
- Stand where the home would sit. If you cannot find a near-level area larger than the home footprint, budget for grading and a retaining solution.
- Locate the nearest power pole and water meter. Every additional foot of trenching and line extension is real money.
- If there is no sewer, look for the flattest open area downslope for a septic field and ask whether a perc test has ever been done.
- Check the parcel's fire hazard severity zone on CAL FIRE's map before you fall in love with a backcountry view.
- Photograph everything, including the access road surface and width. Transport companies care about that road as much as you do.
A perc test and a preliminary site evaluation together usually cost less than one percent of the project. Skipping them is how buyers end up owning land they cannot place a home on.
Want help with the whole process?
We guide manufactured home buyers across San Diego County, from finding the right home to placing it on land. A real person picks up.
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