Buying a home in Cambria

Water meters decide what can be built

Under the moratorium, the services district allows service for new construction through a grandfathered meter, a transfer from a parcel that already has a water position, or an intent to serve letter issued before the moratorium and kept current, and it limits transfers to lots that meet its size and location rules. A remodel or a rebuild of an existing home can still get a will serve letter.

Sources:Cambria Community Services District, water positions and wait listsCambria Community Services District, water service questionsCambria Community Services District, wait list

The plumbing retrofit after closing

Every home that changes hands falls under the services district's retrofit-upon-resale requirements for high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, and the owner submits a retrofit verification form to the district.

Sources:Cambria Community Services District, retrofit program

Fire zones and the insurance market

In the State's responsibility area, every zone, Moderate included, brings ignition-resistant building standards and defensible space. The Department of Insurance lists the Cambria ZIP code among the undermarketed ZIP codes in its rules on insurer commitments to increase writing of policies in high-risk wildfire areas, and the services district is on the Board of Forestry's Fire Risk Reduction Community list.

Sources:CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo, understanding fire hazard severity zonesCalifornia Department of Insurance, distressed counties and undermarketed ZIP codesBoard of Forestry, Fire Risk Reduction Community list for this year (posted by the City of Morro Bay)

Small lots, the pine forest and the bluffs

West Lodge Hill has small lots, and building there follows the area plan's standards for footprint, height and decks; development credits bought from retired sensitive lots can allow a limited increase. Monterey pine forest covers much of the urban area, and there a project stays inside a limit drawn to protect the trees. On the shore, building needs engineering reports, a bluff setback and a deed restriction that gives up future seawalls.

Sources:San Luis Obispo County, North Coast Area PlanCalifornia Coastal Commission, Cambria transfer of development credits report

A vacation rental license does not pass to a buyer

A vacation rental needs a zoning clearance, a business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate. The license cannot transfer to a new owner. A new owner who applies before the old license lapses can get a new license with a new zoning clearance; after it lapses, the home has to qualify as a new vacation rental, spacing standard included.

Sources:San Luis Obispo County, coastal vacation rental user guide

Pre-qualification letter in Cambria

In Cambria, the listing agent reads your pre-qualification letter knowing that water service, not the loan, decides what can be built on a lot. The services district says it is not issuing new residential or commercial water or sewer connections at this time. A letter for a vacant lot has to sit beside a route to water the district recognizes. That can be a grandfathered meter or a transfer from a parcel with a water position. A remodel or a rebuild of an existing home can still get a will serve letter. Almost all of the town is in the State's responsibility area, mapped Moderate to Very High, where every zone brings ignition-resistant building standards and defensible space. The Department of Insurance lists the Cambria ZIP code among its undermarketed ZIP codes, and the insurance premium a lender counts in your payment comes from that market. After closing, your home falls under the district's retrofit-upon-resale requirement for plumbing fixtures. On a home priced above the county's conforming limit, your letter has to name a jumbo loan rather than a conventional one. Our letter puts down the program and the amount your file supports, and says in plain words that it is not a commitment to lend.

Sources:FHFA conforming loan limits by countyCambria Community Services District, water positions and wait listsCAL FIRE San Luis Obispo, understanding fire hazard severity zonesCalifornia Department of Insurance, distressed counties and undermarketed ZIP codesCambria Community Services District, retrofit program

More about pre-qualification letter

Investment property in Cambria

A vacation rental license in Cambria cannot transfer to you as the new owner, and a DSCR loan is qualified on the rent a lender can count. If you apply before the old license lapses, you can get a new license with a new zoning clearance. After it lapses, the home has to qualify as a new vacation rental, spacing standard included. So the seller's nightly income is not the rent a DSCR lender reads for you. You are qualified on the long-term market rent on the appraiser's schedule unless and until the County issues the new license. Accessory dwelling units are not permitted within the services district's boundary, so an ADU financed to rent is not a plan Cambria allows. In Cambria the license, not the house, carries the vacation rental income, and the license stays behind at the sale.

Sources:San Luis Obispo County, coastal vacation rental user guideSan Luis Obispo County, accessory dwelling units

More about investment property