It's also going to 100% be a commercial loan product and just as the post above mentioned you should be going local with this type of a product.  

For various reasons (numbers don’t work, offers get declined, etc.)

The difference between this type of lender/loan product and a bank will be in process, underwriting requirements, rates, and fees -- so basically everything except that you'll be able to get a 30 year fixed.

Your intent was to hold the lot for productive use with a rental on it. 

Products - and your rental is a product - are priced based on all kinds of factors, including scarcity, business objectives, long-term strategies, etc.

Declining you for it is fine but shouldn't have taken that long. 

@Eric TilsonDepends mostly on the loan products. 

If it’s like a MN farm it will be a tiny percent if it’s only housing or a section (640 acres) but a much larger percent if it’s housing plus grain or machinery storage on a quarter (160 acres) usually 3-10 acres can be included with the buildings if it isn’t production land. 

A friend of mine has 20 door at good cash flow from each and now his banker calls HIM with deals they've found complete with a loan product ready to go. 

With such a head wind coming from getting a commercial loan you may want to look at non-qualified mortgage products like debt-service-coverage-ratio loans or possibly a HELOC.