When it comes to Vacant land in Lake Tahoe there are a lot of questions that pop up. The biggest question is, “can I build on this parcel?” In Lake Tahoe a buildable lot is determined by the IPES score which is placed upon a property by the Tahoe Regional Planning Association. The IPES score of 726 is required to be buildable in the Tahoe Basin. The IPES score is based on an assessment of soil, slope etc.. The next step is to determine how big of a structure you can build on the parcel? This is determined by the allowable coverage set forth on each parcel.
You can search each parcel by APN through the TRPA website and find the IPES and coverage scores for the parcel.

https://parcels.laketahoeinfo.org/

Now, in order to get started for the building process you must first have an allocation. In El dorado county these might be hard to come buy as they are limited every year. You will have to apply early in the year in order to obtain one of these allocations. Placer county usually has these allocations available all the time. You will also need an allocation to start your building process. When it comes to purchasing vacant land, you will want to take these criteria into account before finalizing anything. Determining value in a Lake Tahoe lot has a lot to do with the IPES and Coverage scores. Without these two things you basically have a vacant lot you can’t do anything with. Now, if you have a vacant lot with a score that is not buildable you still may have some value in the coverage which can be sold and transferred to other properties that may not have enough coverage. You can find more information about this on the TRPA or County websites. All in all, building in Lake Tahoe is not the easiest process that takes a lot of time and patience.