Malibu Dreams

A few weeks ago my roommate Dan brought home a real estate magazine full of multi-million dollar homes and pieces of land that were currently for sale in the Malibu area. While paging through the magazine we stumbled upon a little gem in the Rambla Pacifico neighborhood with 180 degree ocean views. My first instinct was that this little plot of land would be well over half a million dollars. But I have a news flash for you Walter Cronkite. It wasn't. This little beauty was priced at a cool $185,000. Think about that for a minute. Ocean view property in beautiful Malibu for only $185,000. There must be a catch right? Well, after doing some research on the interwob, the only "catches" I could come up with were that the building permit had expired - a new permit would cost roughly $15,000 - and the lot is really small. Really small in the sense that it is big enough for a 2000 square foot house and that is all. When I say that is all, I really mean that is all. There will be no yard and the parking space for you car will need to be integrated into the construction of the house - i.e. the house will be built on top of the garage. But lets be honest, I don't want to mow the lawn. I don't need a yard. Especially when the ocean is right there.

So this weekend I took a drive up to Rambla Pacifico to see if the property was really all that and a bag of chips. Ummm, it was. The property was towards the top of the mountain with a sweeping view out through the valley down to Surfrider Beach. The air had the distinct sage smell of Malibu that I love so much. It was super quiet and peaceful. I was in heaven. Literally in heaven. Also, the site was perfect for a pre-fab modern house of the style made famous by Dwell Magazine. Pre-fab houses can be built anywhere from $100 - $250 per square foot depending on the amenities. Think about that for a minute. I could conceivably build my dream house on my dream property for roughly $500,000. In Malibu. With sweeping ocean vistas. Within a reasonable commute to work. I am still in shock from the sudden realization that I could conceivably own my own house in Southern California and be able to afford it. Literally within the next five years I could realistically build my dream house in California. That just blew my mind. Again.

Here are a few pictures I took from the Rambla Pacifico neighborhood. My Lamejack doesn't do the location justice though. Especially because it doesn't capture the wonderful smell of the air.







PS I am in love with the FlatPak housing system. I can probably save a little money by going with another builder but that doesn't change the fact that I love the FlatPak.