Suburban or Rural

[Mountain Man]

Andrea,
You got it. I have had the same problem in the past. I just told the LO to forget it and find some other sucker. And NO, the LO did not hire me, the lender, my CLIENT, hired me.

 

[Pat Butler]

Fannie Mae actually has definitions for this in the Selling Guide if your appraisal needs to comply with their guidelines. I don't have it handy but the definitions were something like--- Urban relates to a city, Suburban is anything adjacent to a city, and Rural is all else.

Pretty simple actually. I use the Census Bureau data to make the determination whether or not a 'place' is a city. If not, but it's adjacent to a city, then its Suburban. Their definition places some houses in the Rural category that probably aren't rural in the way that most of us think about it. But then, I didn't create the definitions-- only follow them for my clients who want an appraisal according to their guidelines.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

This is by far the worst thought out part of a Summary Report. Here I am, 140 miles north of the nearest official “Urban” center and the UW wants me to make a subject located in the Suburbs. Without Urban, how in the heck can you have Suburban?

What they need to do is add one classification to the Urban, Suburban and Rural. Just add Remote. Now we have something to hang our hats on.

I have, after years of fighting this come to the conclusion that since the definers of the location don't know what the location means, it really doesn't matter what I put in there. So I've made up my own rules. If it is in a town, village or anywhere that houses and buildings are clustered, it is Urban. If it is located in any proximity that the market considers reasonable to drive for medical, groceries, schools, etc., it is Suburban. Only those areas where such linkage becomes a marketing problem due solely to the distance, these areas are Rural. When I say Rural, I really mean Remote. So far nobody has complained.

I find it indefensible to list a property such as where I personally live, (840 houses in 7 sq. miles or 1 house every 5.4 acres or so) as being located in a rural area. I am 13 miles from the business/economic center of the area and only about a 16-minute drive. I have two major hospitals within 35 minutes drive. My best friend lives in "Suburban" Detroit and most of the people around him drive anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes to work. They think nothing of driving 25 to 30 minutes in god-awful traffic to go shop at a certain mall.

I have found that making my own rules on this and putting them in the report has stopped this constant badgering by being asked to change the Rural to Suburban. And if they don't like my definition, they can ask me to change it to the definition they give me for these three possible locations.

 

[Anonymous]

>>There no official rules. It is your call.

In my county there are rules and its called the Blue Book. Urban is original land tracts and fully developed areas and Suburban refer to subdivisions within a city limits, generally with 1 or 2 roads for exit and entrance. RURBAN is a platted subdivision OUTSIDE a city limit. Everything outside a city limits and divided falls under county jurisdiction and must meet county specs. Everything in section land outside a city limits is RURAL.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Richard:
I agree with your approach. I am in a county of 30,000 people miles from anywhere else. The populated area is two to five miles wide and thirty five miles long. So the "down town" areas of the incorporated towns with their horses, cows & chickens on the front lawn of city hall, with grocery and other stores that are the shopping center for over 100 mile radius is "urban" in my reports. The unicorporated villages and the residential areas are suburban. Also, the main employment, whether they live in down town Safford or outside the village of Ft Thomsas is the copper mine 50 to 75 miles east. If they don't work in the copper mine, they work in the gas stations, stores, cafes in the cities and towns. That is the urban/suburban atmosphere for my two counties. Even the ones that have the 75 mile commute, get to work faster, easier and with less stress than the residents of Phoenix five miles from their employment. After all some people like country music (the entire state has shut down for four days because of Country Thunder in Apache Junction) and some people like opera--and they live next door to each other. Yes, I wish Fannie Mae would remove that item to be checked from their forms. What they are concerned about is if the property is capable of producing agricultural income (drugs of choice don't count). Fannie Mae finances residential property and that is what I am appraising. Farmer Mac finances large parcels that are not currently is use or capable of producing an agricultural based income. For example, one hundred acres with eighteen miles of private road access, without any irrigation rights or grazing permits on state or federal land (a pending sale for two years until they can find a lender and obtain easements from the state and federal government). That could even be considered suburban, it is across the river from a populated area--problem is the bridge washed out, when the river is low they have half mile to a paved county road. Anyway, there is not a blanket explanation for rural versus suburban--it all depends on the subjects area. What is urban/suburbs in SE Arizona would be untamed wilderness in NY. By the way zoning is one residence per acre in one county, one residence per 36 acres in the other. But there are 5,000 square foot or larger lots all over the place, because nobody cares, and for $75 you just get a zoning variance. No building codes either.

 

[Bobby Bucks]

Rural.....if heifers outnumber mailboxes.
Suburban....if Volvos outnumber Cameros.
Urban......if pigeons outnumber song birds

The Bucks Ranch Rocks