Buying Land and Adding a Permanent or Non-Permanent Structure | San Diego
Rental Property Investor · San Diego · Member since 2021 · 36 posts · 23 votes
Hello All!
I’m currently helping my cousin buy her first property in San Diego County. She’s interested in buying land and then separately purchasing a trailer or manufactured home to place on it. I know land can be more difficult to finance, and I’m also a little nervous about the process of adding a manufactured home (utilities, site work, permits, etc.).
She is very capable, and her dad is a contractor, so she definitely has strong support. I just don’t want her to buy land and then get stuck with unexpected hurdles.
If anyone has feedback, ideas, or advice, it would be highly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Brianna
Not many jurisdictions love the idea of a trailer being put on land as a residence. You can do it temporarily, but eventually may get hit up by the city/county. A lot of people try to do that as a short cut to buying a regular home. A manufactured home can work, but it all depends on the building codes of that city/jurisdiction. But yes, things to consider are utilities, drainage, environmental, etc.
Hello All!
I’m currently helping my cousin buy her first property in San Diego County. She’s interested in buying land and then separately purchasing a trailer or manufactured home to place on it. I know land can be more difficult to finance, and I’m also a little nervous about the process of adding a manufactured home (utilities, site work, permits, etc.).
She is very capable, and her dad is a contractor, so she definitely has strong support. I just don’t want her to buy land and then get stuck with unexpected hurdles.
If anyone has feedback, ideas, or advice, it would be highly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Brianna
If she is planning on only doing this once, hire a contractor with experience in doing these types of things in the jurisdiction with the property. I state this even if her dad is a contractor with a lot of experience in a different jurisdiction.
Around 2 years ago, I got red tagged for a few issues in a city in San Diego county (not the city of San Diego). None of the issues seemed overwhelming, so I went owner/builder route.
Immediately, I encountered issues that required tribal knowledge to avoid. The worst permit took me over a year to open and I do a fair amount of permits most years. someone fairly high in the permitting department ended up taking pity on me otherwise it may still not be open. How bad was it? The person who issued the red tags (who after a couple months required to be kept apprised of the progress because the red tags had not closed) told me privately that if he knew that item was going to be that difficult, that he would not have tagged it. The other idea of how bad it was is that someone high up in the department basically ended up dictating that it get opened (he saw all the bs I had already dealt with and bluntly 1) felt sorry for the bs I endured 2) probably was shocked how cumbersome the process for this one item was in my case). Needless to say I wish I hired an expert with contacts to deal with this.
Each jurisdiction can have different rules. They all seem to have different permit/inspection process.
Good luck
Thanks @Dan H.! This will be good information to show her. While I don't want to talk her out of doing something that she has her mind set to - I also want to give her a realsitic expectation of reality and make sure that whatever she ends up purchasing achieves what she needs it to, with as minimal headache as possible. Do you know any people who would be good resources for this?
Hello All!
I’m currently helping my cousin buy her first property in San Diego County. She’s interested in buying land and then separately purchasing a trailer or manufactured home to place on it. I know land can be more difficult to finance, and I’m also a little nervous about the process of adding a manufactured home (utilities, site work, permits, etc.).
She is very capable, and her dad is a contractor, so she definitely has strong support. I just don’t want her to buy land and then get stuck with unexpected hurdles.
If anyone has feedback, ideas, or advice, it would be highly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Brianna
If her dad is a contractor, he is probably the best person to advise her. What is the lot zoned? It's San Diego, you can't just go put a MFD home on any lot. There is zoning, CCRs, size of lot to meet setbacks, etc. Is it in an area covered by the coastal commission? What infrastucture is at the lot or needs to be installed? Costs? Whenever you are doing new construction, there are a zillion things you have to cover, and in areas like San Diego, it matters.
Not many jurisdictions love the idea of a trailer being put on land as a residence. You can do it temporarily, but eventually may get hit up by the city/county. A lot of people try to do that as a short cut to buying a regular home. A manufactured home can work, but it all depends on the building codes of that city/jurisdiction. But yes, things to consider are utilities, drainage, environmental, etc.
Buying land and placing a manufactured home in San Diego can work, but there are a few key things you’ll want to nail down before she closes on anything. The biggest risk isn’t the home itself, it’s buying a parcel that ends up being unusable or way more expensive to develop than expected.
Here are the core things I’d focus on:
This is the make-or-break point. She needs clear answers to:
Is water available? City water or well?
Is sewer available? If septic, will the county approve a system?
Is electricity at the street, or will she need poles/trenching?
Any easements that affect utility access?
Utility installation can swing the project by $20K–$80K+ depending on the lot.
San Diego County is strict. She’ll want to confirm with the county:
Manufactured homes allowed by right?
Age and foundation requirements? (Some areas require newer units or permanent foundations.)
Minimum square footage or design requirements?
ADU restrictions if she plans non-permanent structures.
A 20-minute call with planning can save months of pain.
Even with a contractor dad, the land prep can stack up fast:
Grading / leveling
Driveway access
Foundation or pad
Tie-down system
Utility trenches
Permits and inspections
Site work can cost more than the manufactured home itself in certain SD areas.
Most banks treat raw land and manufactured homes as higher risk. Options usually look like:
Land loan + separate construction/installation package
Chattel loan if the home isn’t on a permanent foundation
A one-time close construction loan (ideal, but harder to get)
She’ll want a lender that specifically handles manufactured housing, not just a general mortgage lender.
Buying land first and figuring everything else out later.
It should be the opposite:
Get the home plan + utility plan + zoning approval roadmap first, then pick the land that fits.