Rural areas. Rural Development will only guarantee loans made in rural areas designated as rural by Rural Development. However, if a rural area designation is changed to nonrural:

Existing conditional commitments in the former rural area will be honored;

A supplemental loan may be made in accordance with § 3555.101 in conjunction with a transfer and assumption of a guaranteed loan;

Loan requests where the application and purchase contract was complete prior to the area designation change may be approved; and

REO property sales and transfers with assumption may be processed.

Site standards. Sites must be modest and developed in accordance with any standards imposed by a State or local government and must meet all of the following requirements.

The site size must be typical for the area.

The site must not include income-producing land or buildings to be used principally for income-producing purposes. Vacant land without eligible residential improvements, or property used primarily for agriculture, farming or commercial enterprise is ineligible for a loan guarantee.

The site must be contiguous to and have direct access from a street, road, or driveway. Streets and roads must be hard surfaced or all weather surfaced and legally enforceable arrangements must be in place to ensure that needed maintenance will be provided.

The site must be supported by adequate utilities and water and wastewater disposal systems. Certain water and wastewater systems that are privately-owned may be acceptable if the lender determines that the systems are adequate, safe, compliant with applicable codes and requirements, and the cost or feasibility to connect to a public or community system is not reasonable. Certain community-owned water and wastewater systems may be acceptable if the lender determines that the systems are adequate, safe, and compliance with applicable codes and requirements. The Agency may require inspections on individual, central, or privately-owned and operated water or waste systems.