What You Should Know about Acreage Limitations

I live in an interesting part of Maryland. I'm 15 minutes from the the Susquehanna and 15 minutes from very rural areas. For a buyer purchasing a house with substantial land, his/her loan officer will need to sift through a few restrictions. This applies mostly Nationwide, not only in MD.

And here they are....

Astoria: Max 10 acres

Bank of America:

Conforming Loan: No restrictions other than the property must be residential and meet all eligible property requirements.

Non-Conforming Loan: Value based on lesser amount of acreage than the actual lot size in not acceptable. For properties less than 10 acres not designated as rural, Countrywide may deem the property as rural if the lot size exceeds typical urban or suburban lot size or if the location is remote from a metro area. All properties with lot sizes greater than 10 acres are subject to rural housing guidelines, even if the property is no designated as rural in the appraisal.

Lot Size is between 10 and 20 Acres: Appraisal must indicate that values are appreciating or stable. Sewage, water, and utilities must be available and in service. Property must be accessible by roads that are deemed acceptable my local standards. No more than 35% of the appraised value may be attributed to land value. 2 full appraisals are required. Value will be based on the lower and one must be from a Countrywide-approved company. Appraisal must say that the land is not being used as a working farm. Land may not have been split from a larger parcel used for agricultural purposes. Loan amount must not exceed $1 million.

Lot Less than 10 Acres: Working farms, ranches, orchards, and/or commercial operations are not permitted. Sewage, water, and utilities must be available and in service. Property must be accessable by roads that are deemed acceptable my local standards. All comps must be within 5 miles. Land may not have been split from a larger parcel used for agricultural purposes. Loan amount must not exceed $1 million.

BB&T: No income producing activity is allowed on the acreage, land valuation should not exceed 30% of total value, additional residential structures or numerous outbuildings are not permitted.

Wells Fargo, US Bank, Sun Trust, Franklin America, Chase, and CitiMortgage: I couldn't find any significant limitations if any.

Where I live, this is handy information.

Have a super day!

Linda