I see that there are people from SoCal posting here.Would it make sense to buy a piece of land and just build a house on it in Lancaster?

@Yasmine BisumberI have two pieces of advice:  the second is the one you gave yourself, take action.  

@Gary EnnisI stepped backwards into my first VR and therefore it was extremely piece meal (read CRAIGSLIST). 

A piece of the pie is better than no piece of the pie imo.

Lets says worst case it needs a new piece of plywood, 40 bux, and one sq of tile ( its 10 x 10 so should be more then enough ) thats 120 bux, If this makes your deal no longer a deal, well then it wasn't one to begin with.

A piece of furniture moved, some cobwebs on my bear rug, a picket that is loose somewhere, etc.

Final piece of advice is network like crazy.

I ended up selling a piece of property that I owned for a good chunk of money and paid cash for a $175,000 house (because I could not get any financing for 3 years I believe from the April 2013 date). 

Finally, if you have a spouse and/or children over 5, then o-boy does it get fun then :) ...but that's another topic of fun.These are an advanced wealth management strategies of course and one that requires a few moving pieces to be done in order so be sure to discuss with professionals (Attorney, CPA, Estate Planner, etc.) that are knowledgeable about the issues and processes to assist and guide you.

Those being cinch rings, crimp rings, SharkBite, and expansion fittings.This was our test: Each test piece consisted of a brass valve with a 1/2" pex adapter soldered on, a few sections of 1/2" PEX, and various types of fittings.