Harvard University’s endowment is buying up vineyards in California’s wine country, and the water rights

Harvard is using a wholly owned subsidiary named Brodiaea after the scientific name for the cluster lily —to buy vineyards. They have bought 10,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties for about $60 million, according to an earlier report by Reuters. Harvard Crimson has indicated that they have bought even more land in California. They have targeted vineyards with ground water access. Water rights and uses are becoming prime needs for California’s central valley after long drought years. Some aquifers have reach critical levels. Antelope Valley is an area where water is at a premium. If you’re within the city limits than you may not have a problem other that higher rates from municipalities. If you have water rights in LA County with water shares to Mutual water companies, or a well on the property then you are in good hands. Harvard sees something in this area to invest over $60 million in California land. If you don’t have water rights or access than this investment maybe something to consider. Harvard being liberal minded takes into account global warming in their investments, but water access doesn’t need warming. Water is a commodity and maybe worth more than gold as the state grows in population. While some local farmers say they aren’t worried about Harvard’s purchases of vineyards, others—as well

LA County Building first New Freeway in 25 Years in Antelope Valley

The Los Angeles Times has reported that buying land and digging begins June 2018. That is correct Cal Trans and Joint Powers Authority has commenced the project for the freeway between Lancaster and Palmdale to San Bernardino. If you own land along P-8 you may be getting a call shortly. The $8 Billion dollar project will connect Hwy 14 to Interstate 15 along a 63 mile route. The environmental impact report has already been approved. This paves the way for land purchases along the route. They have $274 million set aside for land purchases via a sales tax increase from Measure M. Many are complaining about the environmental ecosystems of the burrowing owl, desert tortoise and kangaroo squirrel, but I failed to mention the Joshua tree and many other sensitive life. Many have squirreled away old land purchases in the hopes for development. Well the next few months you may get your opportunity. Much of the land along the route is barren unused land with little to no development in site especially along the eastern part of the valley. This land sells today for $1k/acre to a high of $2k/acre. Sellers may get more due to the need, but eminent domain may push the lower price based on recent sales. There is other land within the city limits of Palmdale and Lancaster that will fetch a much higher price, as the route moves mostly along P-8 and it will feed to the future High Speed Rail. If you have looked to sell or looked to buy then today maybe one of the best opportunities on the east side.

Bitcoin Blockchain and Land Ownership

You may think what does Bitcoin and land ownership have in common? Well it might be Blockchain. Blockchain is a ledger system, which tracks transactions securely in a very insecure internet environment. A blockchain database consists of blocks and transactions. The blocks contain batches of transactions that are “hashed” and encoded. This electronically marks a transaction, and each block contains the hash of the block before it, which links the two and forms the chain. This process validates each block, all the way back to the original, and is integral to the database’s security. Blockchains are shared on numerous computers at the same time, so a hacker would have to have access to every computer to steal the data or undermine it. The technology is highly used in a volatile crypto currencies like Bitcoin How could blockchain be used for land ownership and property rights.? Currently, governments keep records of who owns a certain piece of land or property, and the owners may or may not have a piece of paper to prove it. Owners often don’t, so they rely on title insurance companies and governments agencies who have access to the prior sales, or change in ownership. Government records can be lost or manipulated. It has not been done on a grand scale thus far, but if a hacker could make money on it they will look into this easily accessible manipulable paper trail, and steal land. The blockchain could house the land transaction electronically and more securely than a stored pdf file. The chain could track an entire property transaction to prove which parties were involved and what they agreed to in the original contract which could be verified by a blockchain database that is stored securely on the ledger. Blockchain could make pdf files obsolete. Anyother area blockchain can work is in medical records. More and more people are traveling the globe, but if one got sick how does a foreign doctor know your medical records? He doesn’t today, but an international blockchain system could keep your records secure so any healthcare professional can view them and know how to treat you from anywhere around the globe.

Housing Starts Indicating a Slowing Trend

For the third consecutive straight month with the May report it shows signs a future shortage of houses. A recent report from the Commerce Department indicated housing starts which had a 2.7 monthly decline in April and a 7.7 drop in March show a 5.5% drop in May. Although home construction is up 3.2% year to date. News reports indicate optimism in sales from home builders, yet the overall number of homes for sale has shown a steady decline over the last two years. Another major real estate indicator is building permits. That number has drop precipitously 5% to just over 1 million nationwide. We don’t have the local numbers in Los Angeles County, but found that the Wells Fargo builder sentiment index is 67. This is a positive number as any reading above 50 is a positive number and that number has been well above 50 for the last nine months.

EIR (Environmental Impact Report) is Under Way for Thousands of Future Solar Acres of Land in Lancaster and Los Angeles County

The Lancaster City officials recently authorized an environmental impact report on a proposal to install solar panels on 1,350 to 1,500 acres in west Lancaster. The Sustainable Power Group (sPower) (formerly Silverado Power, LLC) has filed a conditional use permit (CUP 14-10) for the development of 250 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic solar Power on approximately 1,500 acres. Due to the size of the proposed project, the preparation of an EIR is required as part of the approval process. Lancaster Planning Dept. on May 27, 2014 had a request for proposals (RFP) for the preparation of an EIR for the proposed project was sent out for consideration to 12 environmental consulting firms. Seven proposals were submitted to the City by the deadline of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Staff and the developer have reviewed the consultant proposals, and staff is recommending that the City retain the services of Stantec to prepare the EIR. Stantec will prepare the environmental impact report at a cost of more than $246,000. The cost would be paid by the Sustainable Power Group, which also would be required to pay a $25,000 deposit to cover city administrative costs. A recent article by the AV Press indicated that the 250-megawatt project is the largest ever proposed within city limits, though other larger solar plants have been approved elsewhere in the Antelope Valley. The planned solar area is generally bounded by 80th and 105th streets west, Columbia Way (Avenue M) and Avenue K-4. Just last month sPower Group received approval from Los Angeles County planners for six solar power fields proposed to cover nearly 1,000 acres around Antelope Acres and west of Lancaster. This 1500 acre Lancaster Solar Project is similar to the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One which was approved for 230 megawatts on 2,100 acres at Avenue D and 170th Street West. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's has a 579-megawatt Solar Star development is 3,230 acres straddling the Kern County-Los Angeles County line between 110th and 190th streets west. The Silverado Power/Sustainable Power Group projects approved last month by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission are proposed on Avenue B east of 110th Street West (20 megawatts, 240 acres), Avenue K west of 110th Street West (40 megawatts, 157 acres), Avenue G west of 70th Street West (35 megawatts, 135 acres), Avenue I west of 112th Street West (20 megawatts, 160 acres), Avenue D at 35th Street West (5 megawatts, 38 acres), and between avenues J to H-8 between 85th and 97th streets west (52 megawatts, 256 acres). In giving their approval, county planners attached a condition to the project at Avenue J and 85th Street West that requires the developer to provide an air filtration system for the adjacent Summerhaven Ranch All-Nations Retreat Center prior to construction. A condition was added to the project on Avenue K west of 110th Street West that requires the developer to dedicate one-third of the site as permanent open space. The Antelope Valley is quickly becoming the Solar Capital of the US. This bodes well for land owners on Lancaster’s West side. Buy land and wait still holds true in Los Angeles County.

US Topco Energy Inc. of Taiwan Furthers Solar Relationship with the City of Lancaster

The city of Lancaster press release earlier this summer regarding the Topco partnership where Mayor R. Rex Parris remarked “Great partnerships such as these are vital as Lancaster strives to further our goal of becoming the solar energy capital of the world.”

According the city of Lancaster press releases and AVPress earlier this year, Lancaster residents consume an estimated 200 million kilowatt-hours of electrical power a year. City Council members approved an original memorandum of understanding with TopCo Energy for a photovoltaic solar power plant on April 12. That original agreement was aimed at developing one or more photovoltaic solar power plants "capable of generating at least 50 megawatts of electrical power," city officials reported.
The amended agreement signed in July increases the size from 50 megawatts "to a total aggregate of up to 200 megawatts of electrical power." The goal of Lancaster is to become a net-zero energy city, so partnerships like this with Topco will further enable that goal. Through agreements like this the city of Lancaster will generate more power than they need and so can resell excess power to Southern California Edison for regional consumption.

According to Us Topco Energy Inc. website they produce a line of service that includes the planning and establishment of solar power plants ranging from 500kW to 50mW to various new and retrofit commercial and residential constructions. Topco is at least one of twelve solar companies that are using the power of the sun in Lancaster and Antelope Valley to establish solar facilities for the production of energy for the region and state.

In our opinion this is all good news to the land investor as the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale will not only grow with urban growth with the continual population explosion in this region. They can also continue to grow economically with the power of the sun and wind in the region. The city of Lancaster should be commended for taking advantage of new solar technology and the large amount of vacant land and open space. Investors should take advantage of this growth and invest in Antelope Valley land as its future is on the rise, while the stock market is on the wane. Contact VacantLandDeals.com today and invest if low risk land banking.

How to Diversify Investments by Rolling Over or Transferring an IRA/401k into California Land Investment?

Most IRA’s and 401k are invested in stocks and bonds, but many are not aware that you can invest the money that you have in your IRA or 401K into land investment. This also includes investments such as other real estate, precious metals, and commodities.
You can simply do this by rolling your current IRA and/or 401K account into a new "Self Directed IRA" account at no major cost to you. You will also retain the tax deferred status without penalties as you have not cashed out your investment. The Self Directed IRA Company will do most of the work for you, but the stock brokerage may work to attempt to retain you as their customer.
Part of the reason a Self Directed IRA is more valuable is that it provides more control and choices. This control provides you the ability to invest in land, or precious metals like gold and silver which all are hedges against inflation. If you speak to a gold or silver investment company they typically suggest a five year hold in those precious metals. In addition, land investment companies also suggest a five year or longer hold. Longer term holds depends on the location of your land investment (distance from development), and your future retirement horizon goals.
There is a difference between and transfer and a rollover. When implementing a transfer your IRA assets are moved directly from one financial institution (typically a brokerage) to another without the IRA owner actually taking possession of the assets. An IRA transfer avoids any possible tax liabilities that could occur by taking possession of your IRA/401K funds, while a rollover occurs when an individual requests a distribution from an IRA or a Qualified Retirement Plan. Your investment firm would then roll the funds into the Self Directed IRA. According to IRA laws you are allowed only one roll-over in any 12 month period. Of the three types of rollovers a Qualified Retirement Plan Direct rollover is not treated under this 12 month rule, while the other two rollovers IRA roll over and a Qualified Retirement Plan rollover are.
An IRA Rollover occurs when an individual has personally taken the distribution of funds from their IRA. You then have 60 days to rollover the distribution into another IRA. If this is not completed in the 60 day period you would be subject to a 10% tax penalty.
The process begins by your establishment of a self directed IRA account. You then initiate the transfer with a transfer form provided by your current IRA holding custodial.
You then designate the new self directed IRA custodial and they receive your funds as the new custodial. You don’t have to transfer your entire IRA/401k but just as much as you need for the new investment.
Your new self directed IRA is now available to receive California land investment. VacantLandDeals specializes in low priced and low capital land investment opportunities. They have land near development typically with ideal zoning in the path of growth for future urban development providing your exit strategy in five to fifteen years. VacantLandDeals also specializes in investment capital under $50k and some investments fewer than twenty thousand, so the low capital and low risk investment has the opportunity to mature. Go to http://www.vacantlanddeals.com/lands-for-sale/ to review an investment opportunity.

Is the California High-Speed Rail Coming Around the Corner?

AP Business news reported on Governor Swarzenegger’s trip to China promoting California products and tourism, but a main point on this overseas trip is to investigate high-speed rail technology and financing. The New York Times also reported in early April of this year about China negotiations with Sacramento to use their high speed rail technology to build the rail-line from Sacramento ultimately to San Diego. The proposed rail would initially be built from Los Angeles to Anaheim and San Francisco to San Jose and then expand from their (see cahighspeedrail.ca.gov). A future rail stop will also be in Palmdale Ca. In the AP News article the Governor was to travel from Shanghai to Nanjing using China’s speed train. Currently China has the world’s longest high-speed rail network spanning 4300 miles, and can run up to 220 miles per hour.

The Governor is also planning stops in Japan and South Korea to experience their high speed rail systems as they are also suitors to build the California Rail System. Interesting though South Korea and China learned the technology from France and Germany which have also presented proposals to Sacramento along with Italy and Spain. The Europeans are skeptical of Chinese technology, since its European grown, so there maybe some licensing issues. There may also be labor issues as Chinese labor laws do not favor the laborer. Yet, the Chinese have preliminarily agreed to abide by all US labor laws. The NY Times indicates the cooperation agreement would entail eighty percent of the components to come from American suppliers and assemble to be done in the US. A potential site would be the previous auto plant in Fremont Ca. thereby keeping most of the jobs in the State. The largest obstacle may be financing as the project is expected to cost $46 billion, but Chinese Banks may also be the solution. Up to $8 billion has already been pledged by the Federal Government as part of the Recovery Act. The Chinese have offered to also help further finance the project. Can the US afford such a large contribution in technology and financing from a foreign power? Can the State afford not to with 12 % unemployment? Would travelers actually take the train? There are many real issues that can derail this project, yet numerous governments are also fully behind it.

Many investors in Lancaster and Palmdale have been looking for signs of growth, so the potential for a rail line with the expansion of Solar and Wind technology in the Valley does show current and future expansion. The State Department of Finance is also expecting population growth from 2010-2015 to increase by 2 million and potentially an additional 18 million by 2040 with Southern California getting most of this growth. There looks to be speculative land opportunities still on the horizon, and Antelope Valley looks to benefit.

Solar Power Company Gets Approval to Implement Its Development Plan on Rural Residential Los Angeles County Land

A rectangular shaped parcel of just over 200 acres at 100th Street West and Ave H has won preliminary approval for solar development by the City of Lancaster planning commission. TA High Desert LLC (Tuusso Energy) plans to construct of a 20 megawatt solar photovoltaic electric generation facility on rural residential zoned land in Los Angeles County. This land has been typically vacant land or farm land, but the green energy economy has changed the future for rural Los Angeles land.
The location is designated NU (Non-Urban Residential) by the General Plan and is zoned RR 2.5 (Rural Residential 2.5 one dwelling unit per 2.5 acres), and this site is currently unused. This proposed project would operate year round with a production of up to 20 megawatts of renewable electric power during daytime hours. Tuusso Energy has a 20 year agreement with Southern California Edison to supply electricity generated by the proposed project. The project needs to clear a few environmental, biological, and mitigation steps.
The environmental review documents have disclosed no significant adverse impacts resulting from the proposed project after mitigation measures have been applied.
The photovoltaic panels and trackers are silent and low profile of six feet to eight feet depending on the position of the sun, so visual impact would be minimal. In order to further reduce any impacts, Tuusso Energy would install a line of trees along Avenue I and H, 100th Street West, and 97th Street West that would provide additional screening of the site. Additionally, two biological resource surveys were conducted for the location which found approximately 160 acres of potential foraging habitat within 10 miles of a hawk’s nest, thus the removal of the 200 acres of potential foraging habitat would be minimal. Also, mitigation measures are required to ensure that impacts to biological resources remain less than significant. Once these mitigation measures are taken the board found that the potential impacts to any special status species would be reduced. They also indicated that the projects construction and materials will not pose any environmental hazard to the local community.
This project appears to have met all the necessary requirements for implementation, and it was done in under a year. The landscape of Antelope Valley has been rapidly changing, and this exercise shows the potential for profits outside of typically residential building can be found in the valley as the State moves to green energy.

Antelope Valley Groundwater Case Flows On…

There is a class action lawsuit, which is about a land owners right to pump groundwater in the Antelope Valley. This lawsuit addresses a property owner’s right to pump their own water beneath their property. Currently State Law allows property owners to pump and use groundwater beneath the surface on their land. In Los Angeles County, however, the naturally available supply of water in the Antelope Valley Basin may not be adequate to satisfy everyone who wants to use that water.
The suit is the Willis Class Action which requests the Court to rule that private landowners in the Antelope Valley who do not presently pump water on their properties retain the right to use the water underlying their properties. The Court has not yet ruled on these claims. This will affect land owners who wish to build custom homes on county land, but not city residents. Most of Antelope Valley is rural residential and agricultural land, so the ruling targets private land owners and farmers.
The Case Number is 1-05-CV-049053 at Santa Clara County Court under Judge Komar, with the next calendar date set for July 15, 2010. The schedule indicates that this will be the deadline for expert witness disclosure and exchange of expert witness information, including any reports prepared by such experts, and any party who intends to call non-expert witnesses to provide percipient testimony must file their statements listing such witness(s). The court calendar is set through Sept. 27, 2010 where the Court Trial Phase 3 takes place, (Status of Valley Aquifer and Issue of Overdraft)10 days with all discovery to be completed 30 days before trial and all motions shall be heard no later than 15 days before trial date.
The lawsuit has been dragging on for years now with the essential position by Los Angeles County claiming adverse possession, and rescinding property owner and residents' rights to their own water? We will keep you updated here as this litigation progresses.

160+ acres at 50th Street West & Avenue H, The Development That Didn't

This large swath of land in Los Angeles County has had a proposed amendment to the General Plan land use from rural residential agricultural land (one dwelling per 2.5 acres) to a proposal for R-7000 urban residential (one dwelling unit per a minimum net area of 7,000 square feet). It would entail a subdivision for 655 single family residential lots in the R-7,000 Zone. The Planning Commission undertook a resolution to adopt the recommendation to deny the General Plan Amendment of zone change. The Planning Commission sent a letter in January requesting a response to the property owner’s engineering department regarding their project. If there was no response then the commission would recommend denial of the project, which had originally begun in October 2004. As there wasn’t an environmental review of the project, hence the property owner’s inaction was the indication that they were giving up their plans. To date no environmental progress has been made, and it cannot move forward without the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). As the project requires the application payment and a redesign of the plans, thus the inaction by the property owner forced the planning commission to deny the zone change.

Many investors may have purchased land in this area in anticipation of the zone change and potential housing track of hundreds of homes. The real estate foreclose rate in Lancaster and Palmdale has been significant, and most of those foreclosed homes have been repurchased by investors for a fraction of their prior value. The outlook for new housing in the valley has curtailed plans by this developer and others as there has been a few mapper’s who have dissolved their plans to develop a number of parcels on the east and west side of Lancaster and Palmdale. A loss for some can be an opportunity for another.

As land prices have dropped then low priced pre-developed land opportunities become available. The most recent low prices in land came after the Internet bubble in 2000 to 2004. Prices increased dramatically after that to the highs of 2006 and 2007. Buying at the end of the recession and selling at the top of the next wave has proved to be prudent for a number of investors. Unfortunately, many investors buy at market highs and sell in desperation when the market is at its lows. This current time frame is a much better period to look into pre-developed land investment. Pre-developed land has the greatest increase in potential value, since undeveloped land is much lower in price. Once development occurs in the area then Commercial and Housing companies need the land based on its proximity to other development. These developers have the funds to buy at $100,000 or more per acre for the right type of property. Today an investor can pay less then half that price. If you are looking for an opportunity for your IRA, or 401k then contact us and we can locate prime opportunity low priced land options.

Antelope Valley Weed Abatement Notice and the Responsibility to the Vacant Land Investor

Los Angeles County via the Dept. of Agricultural Commissioner Weights and Measures has increased its Annual Weed Abatement Notices. There have been a number of properties in Lancaster and Palmdale California which have gotten this notice for the first time. The Abatement Notice levied to properties when an abundant amount of weeds, brush, neglected vegetation or trash has accumulated on properties. This includes homes and vacant lots. In addition, properties were sited if these weeds are located near a house or structure as they create potential fire hazards to all homes. Specifically in Antelope Valley there is a special notice. If your property has a large amount of tumbleweeds, which can roll onto roads, damage agriculture crops or build up near homes and fences then your property can be sited. If you are sited then the responsibility of the property owner is to clear the dry weeds or brush within one hundred to two hundred feet from a home or structure, and ten feet from a road.

Some owners are getting this notice and they do not have an abundant amount of weeds on the property. It is because of the special information regarding tumbleweeds. Because of environmental factors, inspections and abatement of the current season’s growth of tumbleweeds on parcels in the Antelope Valley will not begin until Oct of 2010. We surmise the Department of Agriculture will wait until the end of the summer season to see if tumbleweeds have rolled onto your property.

There have been hearings in late February for property owners who wish to present objections to their notice. After April 1, 2010 the County will be inspecting properties for excessive weeds and brush. If property owners have not inspected their parcels and cleared bush per the notice then the county will begin enforcement of the notice and clear excessive weeds, and the cost of the county abatement will be assessed to the property tax bill. If the property owner has not cleared the property themselves by March 15, 2010 then the county abatement team is on its way. The county has already assessed an inspection fee of $45 even if the property owner cleared the brush themselves. If the county hires independent firms to enforce the notice then the abatement fee will be much more expensive then if the property owner were to maintain their own parcel. In addition, if you received the notice and sold the property then the sited property owner will be liable for the assessed abatement fees, and not the new owner.

These abatement notices may increase over the years as Antelope Valley grows, so it is important to view your property periodically and maintain any debris and vegetation. The debris issue is a separate issue as people have used remote parts of the valley as a private dump. The land investor has less issues then the home investor but still must invest with responsibility.

Los Angeles County Attracts Another Renewable Energy Project As Antelope Valley and Agricultural Land Benefit with the Development

Another Solar company is taking up roots in Antelope Valley. Tuusso Energy headquartered in Seattle Washington with a medium size project, which can power up to 15 thousand homes and connects directly to existing transmission lines. The proposed location is on LA County land and it is a rectangle shaped area at 100th Street West running north to south from Ave H to approximately Ave I-8. This area is just south of the community of Antelope Acres, and it is just north of Edison power lines that cris-cross the western valley. Their technology uses photovoltaic panels which look very similar to rooftop panels. The benefits with photovoltaic’s are that they use a limited amount of water and they are low profile as they stand just a few feet above the ground.

Tuusso’s project proposal has been underway for a year and they are currently conducting environmental studies with Los Angeles County and local government agencies. As part of the environmental impact, they have targeted dormant agricultural land away from any current major development. It is not known if this land has been previously disturbed land, or simply vacant agricultural land. The environmental impact may be the biggest hurdle to overcome as the State and local governments are favorable to renewable energy projects, but environmentalists prefer limited change. The production is expected to begin later this year and run through early 2011. Lancaster Ca. has proposed a number of zoning changes within the city limits to entice alternative energy projects within its boundaries, so many more projects are sure to arise.

This is the fourth and separately planned renewable energy project on LA County land in the Antelope Valley. It is sure to change the landscape dramatically, but change for the valley will be good for the economy and community. The agricultural land targeted is a big bonanza for the long-term land banker. This area was vacant land for decades caught between power lines, and a pocket of custom homes. It further highlights that agricultural zoned pre-developed land provides a great investment opportunity. These Solar Companies are capturing lower real estate prices during this downturn, and it is a good time for new investors to take advantage of this land banking opportunity also.