A VA loan appraiser is coming to appraise our house soon, advice needed

#1
KnoxRealtorVOL

KnoxRealtorVOL

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#1
I've heard they can be a nightmare. For most loans, an appraiser just comes out to make sure the house is worth what you're asking. VA appraisers from what I hear basically want your house to be perfect. Our house was built in the 1930's so I have concerns. The flooring was replaced recently but with it being an older home it still has some quirky spots.

Underneath the house is pretty limited access, but from what I'm hearing the crawl space must be completely free of any debris, there can be no non-working outlets anywhere in the house, things along those lines.

The inspection revealed a couple of quirks in the roof that we are giving the buyers an allowance for.

I guess my question is, are VA appraisers as much of a nightmare as everyone is saying? Or is this maybe a bit exaggerated? I did have a co-worker say he sold to a VA buyer and it was relativity painless, but I just wanted some extra opinions. The house is in great shape, but again, it has some older home quirks.
 
#2
#2
I've bought using my VA and sold to buyers using their VA and never had any issues with the appraisal. It's been a while but seemed like they were more concerned with getting an accurate evaluation of the house's worth than doing a home inspection. I think their concern is more along the lines that the loan isn't for more than what the house is really worth.
 
#6
#6
Make sure vegetation is trimmed back away (not touching) the house and all window screens are around - they don't have to be on the windows. Remember - whatever conditions s/he places on the appraisal, you'll have an opportunity to correct.
 
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#7
#7
VA appraisers are bound by VA reqs to which appraisers for conventional loans are not subject. You can search for VA minimum property requirements. This link is for a VA document.

Hopefully, this helps.
 
#8
#8
VA appraisals aren't nearly as tough as they used to be. If a decent home inspector didn't point anything out, you should be ok. Last goofy one I had was on a $90K house in ER with some woodpecker holes in the siding. Appraiser said to just fill them with whatever...he didn't care if seller used caulk. Seller used wood filler and stained it so it would look better.
 
#9
#9
VolMax said:
VA appraisals aren't nearly as tough as they used to be. If a decent home inspector didn't point anything out, you should be ok. Last goofy one I had was on a $90K house in ER with some woodpecker holes in the siding. Appraiser said to just fill them with whatever...he didn't care if seller used caulk. Seller used wood filler and stained it so it would look better.
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Well that's the thing, he did point some things out. Some bad wood on the outside of the house and a couple of soft spots in the floor. We renegotiated the price of the home to give the buyers an allowance to fix these things, but from the horror stories I'm hearing the VA appraiser could completely deny the loan over things like that.

I wonder if there is some leeway if they can see that allowance in the contract.
 
#10
#10
chatt-townVOL said:
Well that's the thing, he did point some things out. Some bad wood on the outside of the house and a couple of soft spots in the floor. We renegotiated the price of the home to give the buyers an allowance to fix these things, but from the horror stories I'm hearing the VA appraiser could completely deny the loan over things like that.

I wonder if there is some leeway if they can see that allowance in the contract.
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No leeway on some things. VA, like FHA, certain repairs have to be made prior to closing. What part of town are you in? I could stop by this weekend and take a look at the report and the house. I'm in Apison. I've been a realtor in town for 14 years. Happy to help a bro out...unless you're in Sale Creek.
 
#11
#11
I haven't bought or sold prior to the 'brave new world of 2008 but please keep us apprised
as I might be selling soon.
 
#12
#12
VolMax said:
No leeway on some things. VA, like FHA, certain repairs have to be made prior to closing. What part of town are you in? I could stop by this weekend and take a look at the report and the house. I'm in Apison. I've been a realtor in town for 14 years. Happy to help a bro out...unless you're in Sale Creek.
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My name is misleading lol, I live in Knoxville. Moving to Powell.

Thank you for the offer though.
 
#15
#15
Just got the response in today actually. The exact response was "value looks good but we cannot release the appraisal or approve the loan until the fascia boards are replaced"

Good heavens man.

Could have been worse I guess. But that's annoying.
 
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#16
#16
chatt-townVOL said:
Just got the response in today actually. The exact response was "value looks good but we cannot release the appraisal or approve the loan until the fascia boards are replaced"

Good heavens man.

Could have been worse I guess. But that's annoying.
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How bad are they? I've seen some good looking fascia board repairs with bondo and paint.
 
#17
#17
Had to go through the same thing when I bought my house with a VA loan. They made the seller install a handrail above the 3' retaining wall out back but didn't care about lack of GFCIs in bathrooms and kitchen or the span between vertical handrail posts inside that a toddler could easily fall through. The inspections seem very disoragnized
 
#18
#18
I think the myth of the VA Loan appraisers being a PITA is just due to a lack of knowledge on the part of realtors. Especially if your realtor doesn't deal with a lot of VA loans. I had no issues using a VA jumbo loan to buy a 50+ yr old house.
 
#19
#19
chatt-townVOL said:
Just got the response in today actually. The exact response was "value looks good but we cannot release the appraisal or approve the loan until the fascia boards are replaced"

Good heavens man.

Could have been worse I guess. But that's annoying.
Click to expand...

You got lucky, if you have argon gas filled windows and some came unsealed somehow, you'd be pissed.
 
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