Posted by Rich-CA on July 06, 2007 at 19:08:02:
Probably.
HELP!!! - Mortgage/zoning problem - Posted by SteveOH
Posted by SteveOH on July 05, 2007 at 19:15:21:
Lender was ready to close until the appraisal came back. The SFH is zoned for manufacturing. Lender says if house burns, it can’t be rebuilt. I was ready to pull my cash out to buy my next property but now I’m stuck. Are most lenders going to have a problem with this property? The appraiser also knocked $15,000 off the value because of the zoning.
Re: HELP!!! - Mortgage/zoning problem - Posted by Tim
Posted by Tim on July 08, 2007 at 15:41:20:
I had a similar problem. There was a guy selling his two 4-plexes, one to me and the other to another investor. We both had a contract on our respective buildings, but both of our financings became derailed because it was not zoned for multi-units. They said the same thing yours said - if it burnt down it couldn’t be rebuilt. I called other lenders, and they also said they couldn’t help me unless the property was rezoned. Funny, when they were built 40 years ago, they ignored the zoning laws (small town, incorporated 45 years ago), and built them anyway.
The owner had to go to the city hall and get the zoning changed. It was brought up at the public city council meeting, and a few people objected. They voted, the zoning was changed, and we both closed on our buildings. It took about three extra months, however.
You might make a few calls to city hall and see if you can get it rezoned. You might only be stuck for a few months. Good luck.