I have asked a lawn care company about sodding it just to get ideas and it will be very costly and they also cannot guarantee that the sod will last due to 1) large trees causing shade and sucking all of the moisture out of the ground and 2) poor soil in that area.

I'm also keeping dry powder so when the market makes a turn I would have a clue on what to do... haha.

California, especially Pasadena will suck your wallet dry.  

Just keep your eyes on the prize and learn as much as you can as you go, take your calculated risks when you're ready, and it'll just become white noise that you can brush over. tl;dr : I hear you man.

I do expect things may dry up at my bank. 

Some topics that have been brought to my attention are:-timber sales, soil mining, solar power generation (solar farming)As of now, there are two separate tracts of land with potential opportunity in two separate states in the SE (USA) I am looking at.

I know the feeling when you see the ink on the first deal gets dry.

For a while, the insulation on individual wires was rubber, which tends to dry out and come off over the decades. 

The seller is a nice person, and I don't want leave him high and dry when he expects me to buy the property.

Initially we bought it to flip it but after renovating and marketing being dry, we decided to use it as our primary residence.