I had a lender come back to me about whether a rural designation would be more appropriate as I had to go out 15 miles for comparables. Yes I know, on the face of it, it seems obvious. 15 miles for comps! How could it not be rural! I typically mark it suburban based on build up and whether it is actually located in the city limits of the several small towns in the area.
Our entire area can be considered rural, most properties around here do qualify for USDA. Our nearby "big city" has a population of only 20,000. The property in question is located inside the city limits of a very small community of only 1,200. It is located within the city limits of the small town, has city water & sewer, and is located in a typical residential neighborhood with houses lining the street and site sizes of somewhere around 10,000 sf. These are the reasons I marked the property suburban. The population center is small, but the build up in the subject's immediate surrounding area is around 75%. It's just a very small center, only like 1 mile of driving or less and you are out county roads in what I would consider true rural areas.
The population is small and the market activity is extremely limited. Typically for properties like this I have to expand my search criteria to include other similar small communites that line the Ohio River, which results in comps being 15 miles away.
Should this property be actually marked as rural? I consider all of these areas small rural communities. Like I stated, I have just always checked suburban based on the facts stated above. I have never considered whether an actual suburban designation would impact lending decisions for potential USDA loans, and this is the first time I have had a lender come back with this request.
Our entire area can be considered rural, most properties around here do qualify for USDA. Our nearby "big city" has a population of only 20,000. The property in question is located inside the city limits of a very small community of only 1,200. It is located within the city limits of the small town, has city water & sewer, and is located in a typical residential neighborhood with houses lining the street and site sizes of somewhere around 10,000 sf. These are the reasons I marked the property suburban. The population center is small, but the build up in the subject's immediate surrounding area is around 75%. It's just a very small center, only like 1 mile of driving or less and you are out county roads in what I would consider true rural areas.
The population is small and the market activity is extremely limited. Typically for properties like this I have to expand my search criteria to include other similar small communites that line the Ohio River, which results in comps being 15 miles away.
Should this property be actually marked as rural? I consider all of these areas small rural communities. Like I stated, I have just always checked suburban based on the facts stated above. I have never considered whether an actual suburban designation would impact lending decisions for potential USDA loans, and this is the first time I have had a lender come back with this request.
