Buying a home in Templeton
An unincorporated community: the County issues permits and sets the ADU and vacation rental rules, while the Templeton Community Services District provides services that include water, sewer and fire, and its special taxes appear on some tax bills. The community sits over the Atascadero subbasin, not the overdrafted Paso Robles one, though some rural land with a Templeton mailing address sits over the Paso Robles subbasin.
Templeton at a glance
What the public records say about building, insuring and lending here. Each line names the record it was read from.
- Local government
- An unincorporated community governed by the County, under the Templeton community standards in the County's code.Source: San Luis Obispo County Code, section 22.104.090, Templeton community standards
- Services
- The Templeton Community Services District provides water, sewer, fire, parks, refuse, lighting and drainage services.Source: Templeton Community Services District
- Fire hazard zones
- High and Moderate zones across much of town on the State Fire Marshal's map, and State responsibility land, much of it High, at some rural edges.Source: State Fire Marshal, fire hazard severity zone map
- Flooding
- FEMA maps flood zones in parts of the community, including along the Salinas River and along Toad Creek and its South Branch.Source: FEMA Flood Map Service Center, Templeton
- Groundwater
- The community overlies the Atascadero Area Subbasin, which the State rates very low priority, rather than the critically overdrafted Paso Robles subbasin.Source: San Luis Obispo County, water resources update to the advisory committee
- USDA home loans
- Inside the eligible area on USDA's map.Source: USDA Rural Development, property eligibility map
What a loan meets in Templeton
Rules in the public record that can bear on buying in Templeton.
County rules, district services
The County issues land-use and building permits and its ADU and vacation rental rules apply, while the services district provides services that include water, sewer and fire. Inside the urban reserve line, the County's Templeton standards require a Minor Use Permit for new construction and exterior changes that already need a land use permit, with exemptions the County lists, among them ADUs and single-family homes away from creek habitat.
Sources:San Luis Obispo County Code, section 22.104.090, Templeton community standards
The services district's taxes
The district's fire special tax, its community facilities district annex fee and the tract assessments for several subdivisions appear on the County property tax bills of the parcels they cover.
Sources:San Luis Obispo County, special assessments and direct charges
Toad Creek and the flood maps
FEMA's flood zones include the Salinas River and Toad Creek, where FEMA lists a levee that has never been accredited, and the County's code sets planting rules for new development in the Toad Creek flood hazard area. For a home in a special flood hazard area where federal flood insurance is available, federal law requires flood insurance on a loan from a federally regulated lender or a federal agency lender.
Sources:FEMA Flood Map Service Center, TempletonSan Luis Obispo County Code, section 22.104.090, Templeton community standardsUnited States Code, title forty-two, section on flood insurance purchase requirements
ADUs under the County's ordinance
An ADU gets a ministerial zoning clearance, may be rented for thirty days or more but not sold separately, and on a septic parcel the County's septic rules limit how many there can be. The County publishes pre-reviewed ADU plans, which cannot be modified.
Sources:San Luis Obispo County Code, section 22.30.470, accessory dwelling unitsSan Luis Obispo County, pre-reviewed ADUs
Loans that come up in Templeton
Programs with a rule that touches something on this page, and the rule. Other programs can work here too.
- USDA loan
USDA's map shows Templeton inside its eligible area, so a USDA loan can be part of the comparison here, within USDA's household income limit.
- ADU financing
The County approves an ADU here by ministerial zoning clearance and offers pre-reviewed plans, and on a septic parcel the County's rules limit the count.
- Construction loan
New building inside the urban reserve line can need a Minor Use Permit under the County's Templeton standards, and new homes in High fire zones follow the State's wildland-urban interface code.
Our services in Templeton
What each of these means here, from the records this page cites. The service pages explain each in full.
Pre-qualification letter in Templeton
In Templeton, the listing agent reads your pre-qualification letter knowing the County, not a city, issues the permits here. Along Toad Creek and the Salinas River, FEMA's maps show flood zones, and FEMA lists a Toad Creek levee that has never been accredited. For a home in a special flood hazard area where federal flood insurance is available, federal law requires flood insurance on a loan from a federally regulated lender. That premium belongs in the payment behind your letter. The services district's fire special tax, its community facilities district annex fee and several tract assessments appear on the tax bills of the parcels they cover. A lender counts them in your housing payment. USDA's map places Templeton inside its eligible area, so your letter can name a USDA loan where your household's income and the address fit. A home priced above the county's conforming limit calls for a letter that names a jumbo loan rather than a conventional one. Our letter gives the program and the amount your file supports and states that it is not a commitment to lend.
Sources:FHFA conforming loan limits by countyFEMA Flood Map Service Center, TempletonUnited States Code, title forty-two, section on flood insurance purchase requirementsSan Luis Obispo County, special assessments and direct chargesUSDA Rural Development, property eligibility map
Investment property in Templeton
If you add an accessory dwelling unit in Templeton, it goes through the County's ordinance: a ministerial zoning clearance, rental for thirty days or more, and no separate sale. For an ADU you finance to rent, that means the rent a lender reads is a monthly tenancy rather than a nightly rate. The unit stays part of the same parcel and the same loan. On a septic parcel, the County's septic rules limit how many units there can be, which bounds your rental plan before you choose the financing. The County also publishes pre-reviewed ADU plans, which cannot be modified, and if you are building to rent you can start from one of them.
Sources:San Luis Obispo County Code, section 22.30.470, accessory dwelling unitsSan Luis Obispo County, pre-reviewed ADUs
More on the Central Coast:The Central Coast, town by townThe county's loan limitsCentral Coast questions
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This page is general information about buying in Templeton, not an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. The records it cites change, and what a lender will do with a file depends on the file.
Tell us about the house in Templeton
Start with a few questions about the property and your plans, or call and ask.
No credit pull to get started. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.