VA hub
The VA appraisal and the home
The VA looks at the house as well as the buyer.
The appraisal
The lender orders a VA appraisal from an appraiser the VA assigns. It estimates the home's value and checks it against the VA's Minimum Property Requirements. If the home falls short, the lender may ask for repairs first.
Minimum Property Requirements
The VA wants a home to be safe, structurally sound and sanitary. Things like a working heating system, safe water and a sound roof matter. They protect you as the buyer.
Your own inspection
The appraisal is not an inspection. Book your own inspection and read the report before you commit.
The steps
Ask a lender for a pre-approval, which is a written look at what it may lend and not a promise. After an offer is accepted you receive a Loan Estimate and, a few days before closing, a Closing Disclosure. Compare the two line by line. At closing you pay what is due and an escrow account usually collects part of each payment for taxes and insurance.
What this rests on
Amounts and limits change and differ by lender and by county. Ask a lender, and read the official page. Read the official page.
More VA topics
- How a VA loan worksA regular loan from a regular lender, with a government guarantee behind it.
- Who may be eligibleThe VA decides, and it looks at service, not at a person's background.
- The Certificate of Eligibility (COE): a walk-throughThe COE is the VA's proof that you may use the home loan benefit. Most lenders ask for it. Here is how to get one.
- The funding feeA one-time cost that helps keep the VA loan program running.
- Down payment and entitlementTwo words that come up in every VA loan conversation.
Educational only. AskResi is not a lender.