landsofcalifornia.com has many for sale by owner parcels, as do other similar sites that come up on a google search . many seller's chose to list their properties that way, its just another way

If you hire a commercial broker in the Malibu area, they can help you with your idea to purchase land there. Not only will they know the zoning requirements for all the vacant land in Malibu,but they will have access to the owner information as well and can advise you on what a good offer would be on the land.

One thing I do know about land i is that it is important to make sure that it is buildable first. Depending on if it's a hillside plot, it can cost a good amount of extra money just to get a foundation set up to build on. Cheap land can cost you hundreds of thousands of extra dollars later on once you build.....that's why it's so cheap.

But beyond that, my unprofessional opinion would be to contact the owners and ask them about selling. The worst they can say is 'no'. If so, you persist and talk to them again in three months with a better offer!

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