All Forum Posts by: Nick Coonis

John Arendsen no it's still the high school, I meant when I attended LMHS there was no middle school, so we started high school in the 8th grade through 12th grade. They opened Benton middle school when I went into 9th grade so we were the last class to attended 8th grade at LMHS. Acton is in LA county, up off the 14fwy above Santa Clarita. We bought 10 acres there about 5 years ago. With the 50k we paid for the land, we'll be at about $340k total in the project, which they appraised at $450,000 with the new finished house on it. That appraisal does not include the stainless steel appliances, stone countertops, wood flooring, landscaping, garage, etc. We're thinking the value will be closer to $500k. My dream is to do this again for profit as an investment!

@John Arendsen that's crazy, I was the last class to attend LMHS for 5 years (we started in 8th grade). I graduated in 1997. After us they opened the middle school. 

The home manufacturer is Golden West. Our all in cost (excluding the land) is $287K for a 4 bed two bath 1782 sqf single story ranch home. That's including the house delivered and installed, all appliances, all the site costs, permits, etc.

I am in the middle of building a SFR modular home on my property in Acton CA as my primary and I've learned a ton about this process. @Lee Ripma has a great idea. If anyone has any questions about modulars I am becoming an expert... I'm with you @John Arendsen I have yet to see the downside to this process other than maybe some design restrictions, but a single family home that is built in a factory to the same specs as a site built, at triple the speed and 80% of the cost is working out great for us so far.

Gina Cresse welcome to BP. I'm in the middle of building a home for my family and I in Acton. We absolutely love it up there! We bought 10 acres off of Crown Valley north of the freeway and we are developing the property into a 4 bed 2 bath SFR as our primary residence.

@Juan Carlos Quiroz Zolezzi @Manolo D.

Yes everything Manolo said. The house manufacturer had the plans drawn by an engineer and the plans come stamped and approved by the state, which supersedes the local jurisdiction. The same engineer also drew the foundation plan, but the state did not stamp those as it is the responsibility of the local jurisdiction (in my case LA County). I had a Geotechnical Engineer test the soils, do perc tests, design the septic, and he also stamped and approved the foundation plans and proposed grading. Now the Building department just has to look at his stamp, sip some coffee, look at his stamp again, wait six weeks, look at his stamp a third time, charge me 60% just for the foundation approval, which is probably 20% of the entire project, and then give me my permits.

@Manolo D. Yes you are correct. The Building Department was NOT happy about not being able to charge us a plan check fee, but then they found a way. They charged us 60% of the normal plan check fee and said it was for checking the Foundation. I'm hoping to get approved in the next few weeks, so we can chat anytime. 

@Chinua Rhodes I will send you a site plan example that I drew to see if you're interested. Are you putting a house or something on the property? Or you just need a site plan of the current vacant lot? Either way I could do this from Los Angeles no problem.

@Manolo D. Modulars don't skip the permit process, just the Building Department approval for the actual building itself. You still have to get all the site work, including the site plan with set backs, foundation, soils tests, grading, etc. all approved by all the municipalities. I only know this because I am currently waiting at a stand still for the county building and safety office to approve my modular home and give me a permit. 

@Chinua Rhodes Hello, I do my own drawings, including site plans. I've done two now so far and both were approved after the first submittal by the Regional Planning Department here in Los Angeles. Are you just looking for a site plan, or a full set of plans (construction documents)?

My goals in the next two months are to get my home construction underway. We just paid all our county permit and plan check fees and are now at the mercy of the building department, but hopefully they issue the permit this month and we can get started!

I'm in on whatever day you guys decide as long as it's a weekday afternoon (after 3pm) or a weekend day.

hey guys. I'm moving to Acton, building my house there as we speak, and I'd love to be part of a meetup. I'll be moved in at the beginning of the the year, so week nights or weekends are good with me!