When you purchase a house with a VA Loan, you will of course need to have the house appraised by an VA appraiser prior to having the loan funded and closing. The number one reason for the appraisal is so the VA lender can be sure the value of the property. But in additional to the home’s value, the VA appraiser may note small items that will need to be fixed prior to the lender funding your loan. If any items are noted, these items will need to be fixed and the appraiser will go out to re-inspect to verify the items have been fixed before the lender funds the VA loan. Generally VA appraisers are looking for “health & safety” issues. VA wants the home be free of health and safety issues before the VA borrower moves in.
Below is a list of some of the more common items the VA Loan appraiser could ask for to be fixed:
- All utilities (power, gas, water) will need to be on at the time of inspection and it working order
- If there is chipping or pealing paints on houses built prior to 1978, the appraiser will ask just those spots to be re-painted. This is usually a really small and easy thing to fix.
- Crawl space free of debris and moisture
- The house must have a working heat source
- Strapped and raised hot water heater
- The house must have hot water Working plumbing (bathrooms, etc…)
- Safety of the property (broken windows need to be fixed, if property has security bars they must have quick releases, etc…)
- Working smoke detectors
- Photo’s will be taken of the front, back, sides and at least 3 interior photo’s
So those are some of the more common items needed to be fixed that could pop up in a VA appraisal. When you are out looking at properties to buy, keep an eye out for these items and realize that the appraiser may ask for them to be fixed.
Remember, to complete your VA Loan, you will need a termite clearance report. This means if the seller has a termite inspection, all the section 1 and 2 items noted in the report must be fixed and the termite inspector must provide a clearance in writing before the VA lender will fund the loan.
If you have any questions or would like to be pre-approved for a VA home loan, please don’t hesitate to call me at 858-922-7899 or email me at homeloan8@gmail.com
Warm Regards,
Rob Chomentowski Sr. Loan Officer (and VA specialist)
858-922-7899 direct
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