Building New Construction in Joshua Tree

[Brian Singer]

Hello BP... I'm a house flipper and general contractor. I have flipped several houses in Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley. I'm looking into raw land or homestead houses for building new construction. 

I have heard horror stories about the costs of installing water meters and pulling power from SCE. I just wanted to find out how true they are an if anyone here has built new construction or had experience working with Joshua Tree (unincorporated San Bernardino County). 

Here is what I have heard... $10,000 for install a new water meter and a wait time of "many months".... Moving or relocating desert trees and Joshua Trees is a nightmare... nightmare time issues dealing with the county waiting for planning approval (I know that building inspections only occur one day a week). etc...

Any insights for new construction in JT would be helpful...

Thanks

[Brian Singer]

@Josh Bloemendaal Thanks for your input... I have done a ton of research for Joshua Tree. I knew our buyer would be from LA. I know the Airbnb market is super hot... what I can't wrap my head around it WHY? 

As a Southern California native growing up in Orange County... the "high desert" and Joshua Tree are not at all sexy. I don't really get it... I understand that its turning into a mini Palm Springs and i see it is becoming a destination spot for out of state and even people from France, Germany and other spots...

I got into the JT market by accident. We got a call from a seller, and it was so cheap I couldn't refuse. But at the time, i literally thought the high desert was a bunch of meth labs and crack houses. (sorry to any locals reading this.. LOL). After some research we discovered this crazy hot vacation market... we remodeled our house for a hip LA buyer and it sold in 22 hours for cash.... see pics here... https://goo.gl/gyk4Cf

Again... I know it's hot... for me the appeal is the interest from high end buyers and renters for Modern architecture in the desert, but cheaper than Palm Springs. But as far as I'm concerned, Joshua Tree is like a Jackson Pollock painting... yea, he's famous, it looks cool, but I still don't get it!

So Please... as a New Yorker, explain to me what you see and what's so hot about Joshua Tree. I need an outsiders perspective... :)

Thanks