Property Condition Requirements of the VA Loan

Property Condition Requirements of the VA Loan

It's one thing for the VA loan borrower to qualify with enough income in relation to their debt.  It's another thing whether the home being purchased also qualifies to be lended upon using the VA loan. 

The Veteran's Administration (VA) has guidelines that must be met for it to approve a VA loan on the property.  Among those is that the home must be "move-in ready."  Here is a short video explaining the concept:

Here's a link in case the video embed does not show up in your RSS feed.

As always, if I can be of assistance, please feel free to email or call me.

Here's a basic list of what items would need to be fixed either (a) to get the VA loan approved ultimately, or (b) avoid having the VA appraiser note the needed fix in his/her report, necessitating an appraiser revisit which is costly in money (usually $100 or so in California) as well as time which can delay or derail the purchase.

1. Carpeting and flooring.
2. Baseboards have not been torn out; baseboards are not required to be there, but if they were there, they cannot appear to have been ripped out.
3. Holes in walls other than minor nail-type holes.
4. Paint on the walls.
5. Windows - if cracked, they must be replaced.
6. ANY water damage.
7. Appliances (dishwasher, oven) are in the home and in working condition.
8. Air Conditioner, and if there is heating, then it must function to heat.
9. Fascia boards (the boards that look like trim under the roof line) - if portions are missing, they must be replaced and painted to match the rest.

The seller and listing agent can save the revisit cost and well as the cost of delay in the transaction, by having these repairs done by a licensed contractor before the appraiser's visit.