Buying a home in Orcutt

Inland permits, not coastal ones

The County's map places the whole community outside the Coastal Zone, which the County's permit pages call the Inland Area. There, a property needs a building permit for an ADU rather than a coastal development permit as well, and the inland short-term rental and homestay rules are the ones that apply. The County has been converting its historic planning records into an online archive, and a request for a specific permit or address file goes through its public records portal.

Sources:County of Santa Barbara, zoning and land use mapCounty of Santa Barbara Planning and Development, accessory dwelling unitsCounty of Santa Barbara, short-term rental ordinanceCounty of Santa Barbara, archived permit records lookup

A second unit on an Orcutt lot

In the Inland Area an ADU or junior ADU needs a building permit and no zoning permit, and some need a grading permit too. The County publishes free, County-approved plan sets for a detached ADU in the unincorporated area, with reduced plan check fees, and its fact sheet says they may not suit a site with steep slopes, unstable soils or flood hazards. And an ADU may not be rented as a homestay.

Sources:County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development, accessory dwelling unitsCounty of Santa Barbara, fact sheet on the County's approved building plans for detached ADUsCounty of Santa Barbara, homestay frequently asked questions

Short-term rentals and homestays

The County says it is illegal to advertise or rent a property in the Inland Area on a short-term basis without first holding a short-term rental or homestay permit. Its zone table allows a short-term rental permit only in certain commercial zones and in two mixed-use zones of the Old Town zone district the plan describes, and not at all in a residential or agricultural zone. A homestay, where the owner or a long-term tenant lives on the lot during the stay, is allowed in residential zones; the permit renews annually, and an owner may hold one homestay permit however many properties they own.

Sources:County of Santa Barbara, short-term rental ordinanceCounty of Santa Barbara, homestay frequently asked questionsCounty of Santa Barbara, Orcutt Community Plan, adopted text

Orcutt Creek and the flood maps

FEMA's maps show flood zones along Orcutt Creek and Pine Canyon and a regulatory floodway on part of Orcutt Creek, which runs through the urban area in a floodplain the County's plan describes as a gentle valley with low bluffs. The plan also records the Flood Control District's ordinances, which call for mitigation for development near the top of bank of a watercourse and a finished floor above the flood elevation for habitable structures.

Sources:FEMA Flood Map Service Center, OrcuttCounty of Santa Barbara, Orcutt Community Plan, adopted text

Two fire maps, State and local

The State Fire Marshal's map shows Moderate and High zones in the part of the community that lies in the State's responsibility area, and Moderate and High zones on the local map it recommended for the rest. The County Fire Department notes that a local agency may raise a State designation or add area to it, but may not lower it. The County's plan also records that the County Fire Department identified portions of the planning area south of Clark Avenue as high fire hazard areas, for limited access, topography, limited water for fire protection and flammable vegetation.

Sources:State Fire Marshal, fire hazard severity zone mapSanta Barbara County Fire Department, local responsibility area fire hazard severity zone mapsCounty of Santa Barbara, Orcutt Community Plan, adopted text

Vandenberg families and the VA loan

The County's plan records that when Camp Cooke became Vandenberg Air Force Base, many of the base's families could not be housed in Lompoc and spread to other nearby towns, Orcutt especially. The base, now Vandenberg Space Force Base, describes itself as part of the Central Coast community. Whether you can use a VA loan is decided by VA's own eligibility rules, which rest on your service history and duty status, and on credit, income and occupancy requirements from VA and from your lender.

Sources:County of Santa Barbara, Orcutt Community Plan, adopted textVandenberg Space Force Base, Mission Update community seriesU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA home loan eligibility

Pre-qualification letter in Orcutt

In Orcutt, the listing agent reads your pre-qualification letter against a County record the letter cannot see yet. The community is unincorporated, so the County holds the permit records, and it has been moving its historic planning records into an online archive, with address files available by public records request. The County's plan, describing conditions as it found them, records that the area east of the freeway was on septic tanks, and an appraisal asks about a septic system or a well before a letter can. FEMA maps flood zones along Orcutt Creek and Pine Canyon, and Moderate and High fire zones lie in parts of the community, so the insurance a lender counts in your payment depends on the parcel. If the price sits above Santa Barbara County's conforming limit, your letter names a jumbo loan rather than a conventional one. Our letter sets down the program and the amount your file supports, and says outright that it is not a commitment to lend.

Sources:FHFA conforming loan limits by countyCounty of Santa Barbara, archived permit records lookupCounty of Santa Barbara, Orcutt Community Plan, adopted textFEMA Flood Map Service Center, OrcuttState Fire Marshal, fire hazard severity zone map

More about pre-qualification letter

Investment property in Orcutt

In Orcutt, the County's inland rules decide what rent an investment loan can rest on. The County issues a short-term rental permit only in certain commercial zones and two mixed-use zones, and says it is illegal to advertise or rent short-term in the Inland Area without a permit. On a residential lot, the only short-term use the County allows is a homestay, where you or a long-term tenant live on the lot during the stay, and an owner may hold one homestay permit. So the rent a DSCR lender reads for a house in a residential zone here is long-term rent, the figure on the appraiser's rent schedule. An ADU may not be rented as a homestay either, but in the Inland Area a second unit needs only a building permit, so an ADU you add to rent long-term is a plan the County's rules allow.

Sources:County of Santa Barbara, short-term rental ordinanceCounty of Santa Barbara, homestay frequently asked questionsCounty of Santa Barbara Planning and Development, accessory dwelling units

More about investment property