Rural Property Loan

Saxton Mortgage does. We finance homes on rural land through USDA purchase loans, where the property must be in a rural area as defined by USDA, and through other programs that list rural properties and acreage as eligible. At least one program we offer allows residential properties of up to 40 acres, and hobby farms are not eligible on that program.

Not harder so much as narrower. Some programs take it with tighter terms and some refuse it outright, so the work is choosing the route rather than fixing the property.^*

It depends on the program. At least one program we offer allows residential properties of up to 40 acres and another allows up to 20 acres, and above a program’s ceiling the file stops regardless of how strong the borrower is. Check the number before you make an offer.^*

Not on their own. What decides it is whether the property still reads as residential rather than as an operation. At least one program names the examples that push it the wrong way: greenhouses, grain bins, silos, dairy farms, hog barns, barns and multiple equestrian stables, along with anything used primarily for agricultural, farming or commercial enterprise. Those are listed as income producing property, and income producing property is not eligible.

Because a short form appraisal is not accepted here. Land, access, outbuildings and water supply all have to be described, which takes a full report.^*

No. USDA is a specific government program tied to designated eligible areas and household income limits. Rural property financing is broader and covers parcels that USDA would not touch.^*

Not on its own. At least one program spells out what it needs: a private road or street has to be protected by a permanent recorded easement running from the property to a public street without trespass, or the street has to be maintained by a homeowners association. Shared driveways fall under the same rule and need a recorded easement for ingress and egress. The agreement has to bind successors and title, and a copy of the title report can be used to evidence it.

On at least one program, a private well needs a water quality analysis performed by the local health authority or a state certified laboratory, no more than 180 days old at closing, and the water quality has to meet state or local standards. Where the state or local authority has no specific requirement and EPA testing is not available, the water test is not required. A private septic system has to be free of observable evidence of failure and typical for the area as described by the appraiser. An FHA roster appraiser, a government health authority, a licensed septic professional or a qualified home inspector may perform that check.

Rural property finance is a home loan on a house that sits on more land than a typical subdivision lot, often with outbuildings, a private road or its own water supply. On our conventional programs, residential property up to 40 acres is eligible when the parcel still reads as residential on the appraisal. Acreage over 40 acres, hobby farms, and land that is zoned or used commercially or agriculturally are not eligible on those programs and route to a different one. The 40 acre line is the first number to check before you write an offer, because above it the file stops regardless of how strong the borrower is.

Not on at least one program we offer. For a property over 20 acres, up to the 40-acre limit, the property must not have income-producing features, and the acreage must be typical for the area.