California City,, CA Land for Sale: 0.16 Acres with Owner Financing Available

If you are scanning for low-entry California land, the real question is not just price. It is whether the parcel’s access, zoning, utilities, and permit path fit what you want to do with it.
This offering is parcel 218-312-16-00-8, a 0.16-acre vacant lot on Kathleen St in California City, Kern County, ZIP 93505. The listed cash price is $4,500, with owner financing advertised at $5,800.
The important caveat: R1 zoning, dirt-road access, and well/septic needs are listing data, not a guarantee of buildability or service availability. Confirm the exact parcel with city and county resources before relying on those assumptions.
Property snapshot
Here are the core facts from the supplied listing data, with plain-English notes on why each one matters to a land buyer.
Use this number when checking county tax records, maps, and parcel identity.
Helpful when asking LandCentury or the seller about this specific listing.
This is a small lot, so setbacks, parking, septic layout, and usable footprint need careful review.
The street reference helps narrow the search, but buyers should still confirm boundaries and legal access.
The incomplete block field is a reason to compare the listing against recorded maps or title documents.
Cash is the lower listed price; financing provides a lower entry point but increases total cost.
Treat these as diligence flags. They do not prove legal access, road maintenance, water, power, or septic feasibility.
This may suggest a low carrying cost, but it should be verified with Kern County before purchase.
California City and parcel setting
General area context: California City is a planned city in Kern County, within California’s Mojave Desert region. Land buyers here often focus on zoning, access, utilities, and long-term holding costs rather than finished-site conveniences.
Local review context: California City uses its General Plan, municipal code, zoning resources, and site-plan review process for development questions. That makes the planning department a key stop before assuming what can be built or placed on a lot.
Parcel-specific context: the supplied data places this lot on Kathleen St and lists dirt-road access, R1 zoning, and well/septic needs. The data does not confirm installed utilities, maintained road conditions, legal access documentation, or permit-ready buildability.
Potential uses and buyer fit
This property is best approached as a low-cost vacant lot with a defined parcel number and owner-finance option, not as a ready-to-build site. The attractive part is the entry price; the serious work is verifying whether the parcel fits your intended use.
Because the lot is 0.16 acres and utilities are not shown as installed, the strongest buyer fit is someone comfortable doing zoning, access, title, utility, and permit due diligence before making improvement plans.
- Single-family residential concept, only if California City confirms the R1 designation, permitted use, setbacks, lot standards, legal access, utilities, and building-permit path.
- Long-term land hold, after confirming taxes, title status, restrictions, and any special assessments or access issues.
- Manufactured home, mobile home, or RV-related use only if the municipal code, zoning, permits, sanitation rules, and time limits allow it for this exact parcel.
- Nearby-owner or assemblage purchase, if a buyer wants to add a small parcel and verifies boundaries, title, and access.
- Limited personal or recreational use only if local rules allow the intended activity and the access route is legal and practical.
Due diligence checklist before you buy
Use the listing as a starting point, then verify the items that affect cost, legal use, and resale value. For a small desert-area lot, the biggest questions are zoning, access, utilities, title, and site feasibility.
Confirm the parcel identity
Match APN 218-312-16-00-8, property number LC26446, the Kathleen St location reference, and the legal description against county and recorded-map records before sending funds.
Verify zoning and permitted use
The listing states R1. Check the official California City zoning resources for the exact parcel and ask what uses, structures, temporary uses, and approvals are allowed.
Review setbacks and lot standards
A 0.16-acre lot can be constrained by minimum yard setbacks, lot coverage rules, parking requirements, and utility or septic placement. Ask whether the lot can support your intended plan.
Prove legal and practical access
Dirt-road access does not automatically mean public, maintained, recorded, or year-round access. Verify frontage, easements, maintenance responsibility, construction access, and emergency-service access.
Price water, septic, sewer, and power
The listing says well and septic are needed. Confirm whether public utilities are nearby, whether extension or hookup is possible, and whether septic testing or local approval would be required.
Check taxes, assessments, and liens
The listing shows a $36.00 tax amount. Verify current taxes, any delinquencies, special assessments, liens, and recorded restrictions through county and title resources.
Review flood, drainage, and desert-site conditions
Check FEMA flood information and local drainage conditions. In desert areas, washes, grading, runoff, dust, and access during heavy rain can matter even when a parcel appears simple on a map.
Read the financing documents closely
The supplied terms describe a contract for deed with deed transfer after final payment. Confirm payment schedule, fees, default terms, prepayment rights, taxes during the contract, and when documents are recorded.
The best official starting point is the City of California City Planning Department’s land-use information because it connects buyers to zoning references, municipal-code context, development review, and planning contacts.
Owner financing terms to understand
The listing gives two pricing paths: a $4,500 cash price or a $5,800 owner-finance price. The advertised owner-finance structure includes $500 down, 10% APR, and a separate $249 processing and origination fee.
The supplied monthly options are $112.61 for 60 months, $87.96 for 84 months, or $70.03 for 120 months. The listed financed amount is $5,300, calculated from the $5,800 owner-finance price minus the $500 down payment.
The terms also describe a contract-for-deed arrangement, with the deed transferred after final payment. That makes the paperwork just as important as the monthly payment.
- Is the $249 processing and origination fee due before or at signing?
- Can the balance be paid off early without penalty?
- Who is responsible for taxes and assessments during the contract period?
- What happens if a payment is late or missed?
- When is the deed transferred, and will any contract documents be recorded?
Questions buyers may ask about this property and area
Bottom line
Parcel 218-312-16-00-8 is a low-priced California City lot with clear listing data on size, APN, cash price, owner-finance price, and stated R1 zoning. For buyers comparing small Kern County land, that makes it easy to identify and research.
The tradeoff is due diligence. The lot is small, access is listed as dirt road, and the utility notes say well and septic are needed. Those facts can materially affect whether the parcel works for a home, RV-related plan, manufactured-home idea, or long-term hold.
If the price point fits your budget, the next step is not to assume the use is approved. Review the listing details, ask for current seller documents, and confirm the parcel through official city and county sources.
Interested in this Kathleen St lot?
Review the full listing, request current purchase documents, and run the zoning, access, utility, tax, and title checks before committing.
Helpful next comparisons
Compare other California land, vacant land options, mobile home and RV land, and owner-finance deals if you want to weigh lot size, infrastructure, and payment terms.






