VA Definition Of "total Floor Area"?

[RocketDog]

JTip, I think the purpose of understanding the VA commercial-residential loan process (or any process), is to ensure I am knowledgeable and comfortable to make an informed decision to advocate (or not) for a VA loan if the correct conditions exist. My personal integrity is far to valuable for a few thousand dollars saved or made one way or the other by engaging in questionable or uninformed business. This dive into your world has given me an additional tool, a "square peg for a square hole" if you will. As a member of a small town community trying to revitalize itself, I have already started discussions with the city planners and the county appraisers about several current self-imposed city and county policies that limit legitimate options to bring single family residences and small businesses back to a downtown business district. VA is not the only game in town you're right, but you have to start learning someplace, and I choose VA.

RD

 

[Eli]

The 25% rule needs to be looked at. Who came up with that percentage and why that percentage?

 

[Don Clark]

Thanks to all.

jTip, the question is actually the question. There is a long backstory regarding county zoning and development regulations for business district work/live residential property versus VA requirements for a residential/commercial property, but the question remains - can somebody please provide a citable VA definition for Total Floor Area.

Backstory. Town I am working with is trying to revitalize its historic downtown section. Town realty market is influenced by VA eligible Service Members. Town is supporting the renovation of warehouses into condo's and encouraging single family residential occupation of downtown buildings as appropriate. However county zoning and development regs require 50% of the ground floor of all buildings in the business district to be (must be) commercial space. In order to abide by the county code almost all the properties the city is promoting for renovation would not be eligible for VA financing because the 50% first floor commercial space almost always exceeds the 25% VA TFA statement. I am putting together a packet to try to influence the county to amend their zone/dev regulations to accommodate VA mortgages and need some type of official VA definition of how TFA is calculated.

Don, I appreciate your experience and expertise and will use your input (as I will use all input from this thread), thank you. I am guessing VA commercial/residential properties are a pretty insignificant portion of the market and probably doesn't get much attention. However, with the 25% TFA commercial statement being such a explicit entry hurdle to clear before most buyers will order a VA appraisal to find out how the assessor will "determine" TFA. It just seems that TFA should be defined by VA if they are using as a quantifier for property eligibility.

RD

VA is primarily concerned that a residential property not have it's residential characteristics iminished.It should have a primary use as residential property. Other than that, I suggest you contact the VA Regional Office you work for.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I've only done a dozen or so appraisals for the VA that had commercial usage and in all but one those were "in-house beauty or barber shops". The other case was an auto mechanic using a detached garage as a shop. In all cases the usage was permitted under zoning.

There certainly could have been others but those were not readily identifiable such as day care or animal boarding (horses).