How to Get a Land Loan, Buying Land Over Time on Terms

We have numerous inquiries from land investors who are interested in land banking, but they don’t have the funds currently to buy property. They can’t get a loan from banks, private lenders or even personal loans from families. Some sellers will finance the purchase of their property with an (OWC) owner will carry usually with interest over time. But most sellers want cash. Yet buying land now as an investment is ideal as prices are much lower than they were just a few years ago. We at Vacantlanddeals.com have helped Antelope Valley Investors buy land with terms over time. We have mainly sold land to cash buyers, but we have help finance our own land and other sellers land. If you are looking to buy a parcel primarily in the Antelope Valley, but can’t currently pay cash for the property, we can buy the parcel in advance for you and provide it to you. You will be the title holder on the property after escrow and then make monthly payments from two to five years, whichever works best. If we can help you finance and buy land for you for a custom home, or longer term investment let us know.

Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One Panels Dominates the Far West of the Valley

The enormous 230-megawatt (AC) solar power plant continues to rise from the desert floor. It rises about four feet above the ground for miles and looks like a winery field from a distance. Most of the frontage from Hwy 138 Ave D is covered by a fence. It actually doesn’t run up to the highway as it is set back a few hundred feet, and you can see the panels from the road as there is a covered fence to obscure your view. First Solar provides the engineering, procurement and construction services for Exelon. They have made great strides since this past March. They hired up to 350 employees mainly from Lancaster and Palmdale area the last several months according to news reports. It has also made a substantial impact on the local economy with daily hauling and lunches for the 350 plus employee and subcontractors and local vendors. They have had some obstacles to even begin. The local communities were against the project primarily. There was theft and property damage on the sites, and some rattle snake scares as well. News reports indicated they had issues the terrain which prevented them from meeting the conditional use permits (CUP) and loan guarantee deadline, but looks like they prevailed. This facility plans to produce 230 megawatts which should provide the energy needs of 75000 homes a year. Antelope Valley continues to be a sought after site as they get 300 days of sunshine a year. .A big advantage for First Solar is that the land was used before for farming, but not recently. This previous disturbed land eliminated some environmental concerns as there were no endangered plants or animals in the area. First Solar is also working on the Alpine Solar project further west toward Hwy 5. Alpine Solar is NRG’s 92 megawatt project also near Hwy 138. Nearby Local community leaders and News reports indicate more and more projects are being proposed in the area. The Antelope Valley may get their wish as the solar capital of the world as these project progress.

Construction To begin on Cal High Speed Rail With Lowest Priced Firm

SACRAMENTO -- State bullet train leaders recently approved the start of construction for California's $69 billion high-speed rail line, choosing the cheapest but least qualified firm to build the first leg. The California High-Speed Rail Authority asked its staff questions for more than an hour, but ultimately said it was confident in choosing a Southern California firm that promised to save the state at least $100 million. The board voted 6-0 to select a developer group led by Sylmar-based Tutor Perini to lay the physical groundwork for the first 29 miles of track between Madera and Fresno, with work starting as soon as late summer. CEO Jeff Morales is expected to sign the formal contract with the developer in coming weeks following final negotiations. Tutor Perini's $985 million bid beat the state's initial $1.2 billion estimate and the bids offered by four competing firms from around the world, which ranged from $1.09 billion to $1.54 billion. But state rail officials graded Tutor Perini's technical score as 68.5 out of 100, last among the finalists, whose quality scores ranged from 69 to 92.4. Still, all five firms passed met the authority's basic standards for quality. "The questions really boil down to, can the successful bidder do the job, and will they do it within the confines of the contract as contemplated by the authority?" said board member Jim Hartnett, of Redwood City. "The questions that I had were answered to my satisfaction." High-speed rail opponents raised questions at the meeting about possible cost overruns and the financial health of Tutor Perini. But the company's CEO, Ron Tutor, told reporters the criticisms of his firm are "all nonsense" fanned by the media "to create controversy that doesn't exist." "Like most of the uneducated opinions you hear where we can't rebut them, they're not based on anything factual or real," he said. "We've built more large civil works programs in this state than anyone else, virtually all of them successfully and without the cost overruns they all allude to." Before construction can begin, the state must still clear a few last-minute hurdles. Those include buying up properties along the rail route and winning clearance from the federal Surface Transportation Board, which is expected to rule on the project in the next two weeks.

Plans for High-speed Train From Vegas to Victorville Continues....

There have been plans developing since 2009 for a high-speed rail alternative to the often discussed magnetic levitation train to Southern California. The plan has been targeting using private funds, and will create up to 3,000 jobs during construction and prompt the displacement of some desert tortoises, representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration and an environmental consultant have proposed. Nevada Senator Harry Reid has also been a promoter of the train. It has been targeted to be called the DesertXpress, and would connect Las Vegas to Victorville not Anaheim, as the California Nevada Super Speed Train Commission proposed. The DesertXpress would operate at a speed of 150 mph which is half that of maglev (Anaheim Train). A one-way ticket would cost about $55. But DesertXpress Enterprises believes its project is more viable than the prior alternative, and DesertXpress could be funded through long-term debt and equity financing, as well as a public loan. DesertXpress will be electric and proposes a second phase to connect the train either diesel or electric-based to a nexus of public transit north of Los Angeles in Palmdale, Calif. The draft environmental impact statement has not initially included a study of the Victorville to Palmdale leg. Representatives of DesertXpress estimate that construction of the 180-mile project at $3.5 billion to $4 billion, whereas they predict the alternative 260-mile maglev line at $16 billion to $52 billion. The commission, however, recently pegged the maglev project at about $12 billion. DesertXpress would share existing transportation corridors, mostly Interstate 15. For example, an 85-mile stretch from Yermo, Calif. to Mountain Pass would be built in the freeway median and alongside it.. A span of the train could be built along the Union Pacific Railroad into the Las Vegas area, north of Jean. And a section of I-15 in the southern Las Vegas Valley could be built over the median. A potential Las Vegas station could be near I-15 and Flamingo Road consultants have indicated. A maintenance facility could be built near I-15 and Wigwam or I-15 and Robindale Road. A train from Long Beach to Vegas was used before in 1955 and taken out of service by 1966. It was a standard train of its time, but a direct express. Is there enough potential traffic between Victorville and Las Vegas? Or will the bulk be gamblers and resort seekers. It will certainly create a lot of activity and speculative land activity if this project truly takes off. Most of this land east of San Bernardino is open space, and habitat for endangered species.

Japanese Rail Carmaker Looking at Palmdale Plant

PALMDALE – AV Press recently reported: A Japanese company could start building rail cars out of a former bomber factory in the city as soon as August, the city's mayor said Monday. City of Palmdale leaders met Monday with five representatives of Kinkisharyo International, a Massachusetts subsidiary of Japanese firm Kinki Sharyo, to discuss the company's use of Site 9, the former B-1B bomber plant located at 30th Street East and Avenue P. Kinkisharyo is negotiating with Los Angeles World Airports, which owns Site 9, for a lease for one of the massive hangars. Ledford said they gave the company's representatives a feel for the permitting process. City officials also vowed that they would help them with any issues with other jurisdictions. Kinkisharyo has a $890 million contract to build potentially hundreds of light-rail cars for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The immediate work would be to produce two rail cars in what Ledford called a demonstration phase of the contract. Kinkisharyo International was awarded an $890 million contract by MTA last April to produce as many as 235 rail cars, with the first 28 cars to be delivered by 2015. The contract included a commitment to creating U.S. jobs in delivering the vehicles. "It sets the stage for the balance of the program," Ledford said. "This opens the door with MTA for other rail car construction." Initially, the work would provide 50 to 60 jobs. As the program progresses, it could mean as many as 200 to 250 jobs. Dave Walter, Palmdale's director of economic development, said the company has the capability to do more than light rail. The company could play a role in the planned high-speed rail project that would link Southern and Northern California. Having those rail cars produced in California could help lower the cost of that project, Walter said. The next step is for the company to finalize a lease agreement with Los Angeles World Airports. An organization spokesman said those discussions are ongoing. "They are coming," Ledford said. "It's a home run for us. Now we have to perform." Site 9 has a remarkable history. It was used by Rockwell International during the 1980s for the assembly of 100 B-1B bombers. The site saw use as a soundstage for four major movies. For the 1998 release "Hard Rain,'' starring Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman, several sets depicting a small town were built inside one of the massive hangars. The set was flooded for the movie's climax. One assembly building was used in the 2003 Steven Spielberg movie "Terminal,'' starring Tom Hanks. For that film, a 2-story replica of an airport terminal was built, complete with some 40 retail shops and restaurants. The site also was used for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and for a "Mission Impossible" film. For approximately two years in the early 2000s, the plant was occupied by Swiss-based SR Technics, which arrived in the Antelope Valley with much fanfare in 2000, intending to run an airline maintenance and renovation operation. However, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent nosedive in the aviation industry forced its parent corporation into bankruptcy, taking fledgling SR Technics with it. One of the two hangars at Site 9 already is under lease to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA uses the site to house a number of science aircraft, including the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy flying telescope, the high-altitude ER-2s and a DC-8 flying laboratory. NASA's 20-year lease for what is now known as the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility was signed in 2007. NASA invested $6.4 million in modifications and upgrades to the facility, in addition to $4 million in refurbishments by Los Angeles World Airports.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo makes history with 1st rocket-powered flight. Antelope Valley First in Private Rocket Flight?

The Antelope Valley Continues its thrust as a major location for aeronautics with now Virgin Galactic, but also with the Stealth Bomber, and the big three Northrup, Lockheed and McDonald Douglas have manufacturing facilities in the valley. Mojave, Calif. – From Foxnews and Space.com A private spaceship designed to carry space tourists made its first rocket-powered test flight Monday, April 29, reaching supersonic speeds as it paved the way toward commercial flights in the near future. Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo space plane fired its rocket engines for the first time during flight this morning in a test from California's Mojave Air and Spaceport. The vehicle was carried aloft by the mothership WhiteKnightTwo, and then released in midair at an altitude of about 46,000 feet. At that point, SpaceShipTwo test fired its rocket engine, designed to propel the craft of the rest of the way up to space. 'We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.'- Virgin Galactic president and CEO George Whitesides After a short 16-second burn today, SpaceShipTwo reached a maximum altitude of 56,000 feet before flew back to Earth. The trip marked the 26th test flight of the vehicle, and the first "powered flight," which propelled the ship to Mach 1.2, fast enough to beat the speed of sound, which is 761 miles per hour. [See amazing photos of SpaceShipTwo test flights. "The rocket motor ignition went as planned, with the expected burn duration, good engine performance and solid vehicle handling qualities throughout," Virgin Galactic president and CEO George Whitesides said in a statement. "The successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our program. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space." SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital vehicle, designed to carry space tourists on trips to the edge of space and back for $200,000 a ride. Though these flights wouldn't make a full orbit of the planet, they would provide passengers with a brief experience of weightlessness and a view of Earth from the blackness of space. Virgin Galactic is backed by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who was on the ground at Mojave to view the flight today. "This is a momentous day and the single most important flight test to date for our Virgin Galactic program," Branson wrote in a blog post on Virgin's website. "What a feeling to be on the ground with all the team in Mojave to witness the occasion." If test flights continue to go well, SpaceShipTwo may carry passengers as soon as this year or 2014, Virgin Galactic officials have said. Already, more than 500 people have signed up for the flights, which will be run out of Spaceport America in New Mexico once testing is complete. The test flight began this morning at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT, or 1400 GMT). Flying aboard SpaceShipTwo were pilot Mark Stucky and co-pilot Mike Alsbury, both test pilots for the private aerospace firm Scaled Composites, which built SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic. It comes after two recent glide test flights, on April 3 and April 12, that set the stage for today's landmark powered test. Scaled also built the space plane's predecessor, SpaceShipOne, which won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 by becoming the first commercial vehicle to fly people to space and back twice in a week.

Recycle Your Tires Day And Other Recylcing Programs that LA County Sponsors

Saturday April 20th 9am to 3pm Open to L.A. County residents. No tires from businesses, no oversized or tractor tires. Rims accepted. If you transport more than 9 tires per trip you will neec to call ahead. This is sponsored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and cleanLA.com There are other similar programs as part of the recycling programs for the county which can be found via www.cleanla.com There are Plastic Bag Programs now for Stores in unincorporated LA County are no longer allowed to provide single-use plastic carryout bags. To find out more about the County's Carryout Bag Ordinance go to cleanla.com Residential Recycling Program Find out about the County's Residential Recycling programs via this link here: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/rethinkla/ . Los Angeles County Materials Exchange (LACoMAX.com ) The Los Angeles County Materials Exchange, is a free Countywide materials reuse service that can help you find markets for your surplus materials and other usable discards. Also, Construction and Demolition Debris Projects requiring a construction, demolition, and/or grading permit must recycle at least 50% of the debris generated. Illegal Dumping is a big problem for many land owners in the valley and there is a means to report it via You can report large piles of illegally dumped trash, visit our this site: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/illdump/ There are three reasons: money, health, and the environment. It decreases property values, and costs millions in clean up cost. It further pollutes land and water ways, and ruins wildlife habitats. It is a major problem and it ends up being the responsibility of the property owner to remove the debris. If the property owners doesn’t remove the debris then the county will and they will place a lien on the property for the cost to clear up the debris.