Residential Financing Guidance

[Stuart Udis]

I am permitting two townhome style housing units on one lot to be sold as condominiums. That portion of the fact pattern I am clear on as I've built and sold condos permitted this way in the past. What I am not clear on is the ground level use & how it will impact financing options for the end buyers. The zoning is CMX25 which requires a commercial use for a space that spans the first 30 feet of building depth on the ground level. The parcel is on an entirely residential street but the community organization which influences zoning decisions is best described as obstructionists. Rather than spend a lengthy period fighting with the community organization on what should be a reasonable variance request, I would like to satisfy the ground level commercial requirement with a space that has the appearance and would function as a home office (which is how this space would likely be designed and used anyway even if the zoning requirement did not exist). The homes otherwise have unique dimensional characteristics such as a true 5th floor walk out to the roof deck and I would imagine seeking a variance will give the community organization an opportunity to push back on the height and other design elements that make the homes marketable. However, I want to make sure the homes are financeable to the end buyers. To summarize, these homes will contain a ground level space that's called out as "office space" on the zoning permit and other pertinent facts include the SF which totals 3,100 SF with 250 SF of the total SF of that space attributed to the "commercial space" and estimated price point of $1.1M for each home. Any insight from residential lenders would be appreciated.