Make it part of the search from day one
A pretty living room can win the showing. The lot still has to work for the way you want to live. Put the fence, the RV, the boat, a garage, or the land on the list before the kitchen takes over.
Cyndi Lamperts is a REALTOR® with Mountain Top Producers Realty in Running Springs. She walks the individual parcel with you. Call (949) 338-9308. Confirm her license on the DRE public lookup. The rest of the buyer path is buying a mountain home. What to notice on a showing is looking at a mountain property.
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Put the lot on the list from day one
If a fenced yard, RV parking, boat parking, a garage, or more land is essential, say so at the start of the search. Cyndi looks at the individual parcel with you. The search path: buying a mountain home. The showing walk: looking at a mountain property.
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Check RV and boat parking before you buy
Room on the ground is one question. Whether you may park an RV or a boat there is another. Look at usable space, access, and the rules that apply to that property. Ask before you are committed. Driveways and everyday parking: driveways and parking.
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Ask about a fence on that parcel
A fence depends on the parcel, the boundaries, local requirements, easements, association rules if any, and permits or approvals that may apply. If a fenced yard is essential, keep it in the search from the beginning. County permits for many unincorporated addresses: county permits. EZ Online Permitting: county EZOP.
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Investigate a garage or an addition before you count on it
A garage or an added room is something to investigate. Lot size is one piece. Setbacks, slope, access, utilities, trees, drainage, zoning, and permits may matter. If the purchase only makes sense once you can expand, learn what is possible before you are committed. Level lots and floor plans: single-story mountain homes.
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Judge the usable land
Mountain properties with larger lots and acreage are out there. Usable land matters more than the number on the listing. An acre on a steep mountainside is a different property from an acre of relatively usable terrain. If land is important, say what you actually want to do with it.
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Ask the county, the association, and the right professionals
Association rules apply when the property has them. Review those documents in the transaction. For many unincorporated San Bernardino County addresses, start with Land Use Services. Cities have their own departments. Lake use on private Lake Arrowhead is a separate question for the Arrowhead Lake Association: Arrowhead Lake Association. Cyndi Lamperts, DRE #02187485: DRE license lookup. Guides: guides.
RV and boat parking
An RV depends on the property and the rules that apply there. Open ground is one part of the question. Access is another. So are the restrictions for that address. If the RV has to live there, investigate before you buy.
A boat is the same kind of search. You need usable space and a way to get the boat in and out. Ask while the house is still a choice. Keeping the boat on the lot is separate from using the lake. Private Lake Arrowhead use is with the Arrowhead Lake Association.
Grade, turnaround, guest cars, and where the snow can go stay on driveways and parking.
RV parking
Usable space and access, plus the rules for that property, before you buy.
Boat parking
A place to keep the boat on the lot is its own question from using the lake.
A fence
Boundaries, easements, association rules, and permits on that parcel.
Garage or addition
Investigate slope, access, trees, drainage, and permits before you count on it.
Fences
A fence is a maybe until you look at that parcel. Boundaries, local requirements, easements, association rules if there are any, and permits or approvals can all apply. If a fenced yard is essential, say so at the start.
When an association applies, read the documents in the transaction. For many unincorporated addresses, San Bernardino County Land Use Services explains permits, and EZ Online Permitting is the county’s online path. Cities have their own departments.
Garages and additions (don't buy on a promise)
A garage can be possible. Investigate it. Lot size is one piece. Setbacks, slope, access, utilities, trees, drainage, zoning, and permits may matter. If a garage is essential, that check belongs in due diligence.
An added room is the same kind of question. Cyndi wants the agencies and the professionals on that project to say what can be built. If the house only works once you can add a room, learn that before you are committed.
An addition, an enclosed deck, or a converted garage that is already there belongs on looking at a mountain property. A one-level plan and a flatter lot are single-story and level-lot mountain homes.
Acreage: usable land vs the number on the listing
Larger lots and acreage exist in these mountains. The number on the listing is the start. Usable land is the question. An acre on a steep mountainside is a different property from an acre you can actually use.
If land is important, say what you want to do with it. That use tells Cyndi which parcels to look at.
Who answers these questions (county, HOA, professionals)
The county or the city for that address answers what the rules are. An association answers when the property has one. The people who design and build the work answer whether the slope, the trees, the drainage, and the utilities can support it.
Cyndi brings the parcel into the search and lines up the questions. The official places to start are below. The guides directory is guides.
Mountain lot FAQ
Can I park an RV at a mountain home?
It depends on the property and the rules that apply to it. Open space is one part of the question. Access is another. If RV parking is important, look at both before you buy. Cyndi Lamperts (DRE #02187485; DRE license lookup) puts that on the search from the start. Everyday parking and the driveway: driveways and parking. For many unincorporated addresses, San Bernardino County Land Use Services: county permits and county EZOP.
Can I park a boat on a mountain lot?
If boat parking is important, make it part of the search. You need usable space and access, and you need to understand the restrictions that apply. Ask before you are committed to the house. Keeping a boat on the lot is a different question from using private Lake Arrowhead. Lake use is with the Arrowhead Lake Association at Arrowhead Lake Association. The buyer path: buying a mountain home.
Can I fence a mountain property?
Maybe. Look at the individual parcel, the boundaries, local requirements, easements, association rules if any, and permits or approvals that may apply. If a fenced yard is essential, say so at the beginning of the search. County permits: county permits and county EZOP.
Can I build a garage or add onto a mountain house?
Possibly. Investigate it. Lot size is only one piece. Setbacks, slope, access, utilities, trees, drainage, zoning, and permits may matter. Cyndi wants that checked during due diligence when a garage is essential. The agencies and professionals on that project determine an addition. If the purchase only makes sense once you can add a room, learn what is possible before you are committed. What an existing addition already is: looking at a mountain property. Floor plan and lot shape: single-story mountain homes.
Does a bigger acreage number mean I can use the land?
Usable land matters more than the number on the listing. An acre on a steep mountainside is a different property from an acre of relatively usable terrain. If land is important, say what you actually want to do with it. Level-lot starting points stay on single-story mountain homes. Cyndi Lamperts, DRE #02187485: DRE license lookup.
Who confirms what I can do with the lot?
The county or the city for that address, an association when the property has one, and the professionals the project needs. For many unincorporated San Bernardino County parcels, start at county permits and county EZOP. Cities have their own departments. Private Lake Arrowhead use is Arrowhead Lake Association. All the guides: guides.
Tell Cyndi what the lot has to do
The RV, the boat, a fence, a garage, or the way you want to use the land. She will keep that in the search for the house.