New Construction in Yucca Valley

[Jacqueline Levi]

Hi, we own 15 acres up on the Yucca Mesa and are finally, after a year and a half, starting the permitting process with San Bernardino County. As evidenced in these forums, building in the hi desert is no joke - you have to be in it for the long haul. 

We are building our primary residence, 1200-1400 square foot home. In addition, we will be renting out our tiny home school bus, plus a guest cabin, on the other end of our property (via airbnb/other outlets). 

We also want to make the 10 acres where the rentals will be an event space for photoshoots, small weddings, bridal shower glamping etc, so there is an entire business aspect to this. Therefore, we are following all the rules and regulations to a tee. 

Building is expensive and we are looking to do as much ourselves as possible and subcontracting for the big things: septic, foundation, roofing, HVAC, electrical etc, because we are doing this cash. We got lucky in that the county/water district made an exception and allowed us to buy a water meter 660 feet away from our land (we already have an easement with neighboring property for this)- that's going to be a lot of digging and laying pipes but its still cheaper than a well and cheaper than bringing up the main water line for $100 a foot. For electrical we are going solar. In addition, we are insulating with hempcrete, (or at least trying to, as this is an alternative material not sure it will get approval, although they said I just need a structural engineer to sign off on the Rvalue.) 

I'd like to know if anyone has successfully built with San Bernardino County permitting process, what your timelines were, budget, any specific challenges? 

Thanks!