Buying a home in Paso Robles

Short-term rental use ends at the sale

The owner agrees that short-term rental use ends when the property is sold, except in the City's T zoning districts. The City's code lets the council cap the number of short-term rental permits and keep a waiting list.

Sources:City of El Paso de Robles Municipal Code, chapter 21.64, short-term rentals

High fire zones and the newer building code

The City's adopted map has High zones and no Very High zone. The City has adopted the State's wildland-urban interface code, which applies wildfire construction standards to new buildings in High zones as well as Very High ones.

Sources:State Fire Marshal, fire hazard severity zone mapCity of El Paso de Robles Municipal Code, section 17.04.010City of El Paso de Robles Municipal Code, section 16.04.010

Acreage outside the city limits

Outside city limits, a new parcel with both a septic system and a well has to meet the County's minimum parcel size, and land designated Agriculture may be under a Williamson Act contract, which the County calls a legally binding, enforceable restriction.

Sources:San Luis Obispo County, septic system programSan Luis Obispo County, Williamson Act policy guide

Special taxes in the newer neighborhoods

The Olsen and South Chandler Ranch area carries community facilities district taxes for facilities and for services, and the City has a services district for new development as well. Each appears as its own line on the property tax bill and adds to the cost of owning the home.

Sources:San Luis Obispo County, special assessments and direct charges

Pre-qualification letter in Paso Robles

When you make an offer in Paso Robles, the listing agent reads your pre-qualification letter for the program it names and whether that program fits the house. If the home is priced above the county's conforming limit, your letter has to name a jumbo loan rather than a conventional one. Outside the city limits, even with a Paso Robles mailing address, the County's code applies. Acreage there can sit on a well and a septic system, which changes what the appraisal and the lender ask for. Land under a Williamson Act contract carries what the County calls a legally binding, enforceable restriction. A letter written before you know those things can name the wrong program. FEMA's flood zones along the Salinas River and the city's creeks bear on the insurance premium a lender counts in your payment. In the Olsen and South Chandler Ranch area, the community facilities district taxes appear as their own lines on the tax bill. Our letter names the program and the amount your file supports, and it says in so many words that it is not a commitment to lend.

Sources:FHFA conforming loan limits by countySan Luis Obispo County, septic system programSan Luis Obispo County, Williamson Act policy guideFEMA Flood Map Service Center, Paso RoblesSan Luis Obispo County, special assessments and direct charges

More about pre-qualification letter

Investment property in Paso Robles

A DSCR loan rests on the rent a lender can count, and in Paso Robles that rent depends on where the house stands. Outside the City's T zoning districts, a short-term rental permit ends with the sale. So the seller's short-term rent is not the rent a DSCR lender reads once you are the owner. The lender counts the long-term market rent on the appraiser's schedule instead. The City's code lets the council cap short-term rental permits and keep a waiting list, so a new permit is not something you can count on. An ADU here may not be rented for less than thirty days under the City's ADU chapter. That bears on how an ADU you finance to rent is qualified. Outside the T zones, the rent you underwrite in Paso Robles is the rent a tenant signs a lease for.

Sources:City of El Paso de Robles Municipal Code, chapter 21.64, short-term rentalsCity of El Paso de Robles Municipal Code, chapter 21.58, accessory dwelling units

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