We are selling our home and recently went through the inspection. The buyers want some roof work done and upgrades on the electricity. We expected this so no problem there. However, it is a VA loan. What should we expect during the appraisal? What sort of things do they look at?

As long as the paint isn't pealing on the exterior and the roof is ok you should be fine.

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Bellingham Real Estate
Bellingham Condos
Bellingham MLS

It really depends on the individual appraiser that comes out. From my experience VA loans are pretty rare, but they should just be looking to make sure the house is in livable condition, i.e. no exposed wires, no broken glass, paint peeling etc. If you house is in reasonable condition you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

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Mike Taylor
Indianapolis Real Estate | Carmel Real Estate |My REW Blog

Okay, what a relief. We are already spending about $5000 towards repairs and a new cooler and I was really worried about the VA appraisal. The house was painted this year inside and out and the inside has been completely remodeled, so hopefully the appraisal will go well. Thank you very much.

I have to say from a seller's point of view, the VA process of selling a home to a buyer with a VA loan is a nightmare. Fortunately it is almost over!!! However, the money we have had to put out to get this deal to fruition is crazy. But in a buyer's market, we feel fortunate to be finally done. Thanks for the help and advise.

What happened? What kind of things did they require you to repair/replace?

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Mike Taylor
Indianapolis Real Estate | Carmel Real Estate |My REW Blog

There were the normal things that we anticipated - replacing fascia and painting it. Replacing a broken window. No biggie there. However, our carport hung over the fence by about 6 inches and they wanted us to get a survey to see where the lot line was and then possibly have a legal document drawn up for the buyers. However, they agreed to avoid that issue since they discovered the fence was inside our property by about 2 feet. Then, they wanted us to remove all the appliances from the kitchen in the mother in law quarters since the residence is listed as a single family residence and we are selling it as a residence with additional living quarters. So we have to pay someone who is a licensed contractor to remove the fridge, oven and sink and cap off all the lines before the VA inspector comes back. The buyers can then put everything back. Lastly, we have a fireplace in a room that is an addition. It more than adequately heats that room. However, since the addition has no vent, we have to install a wall mounted heater with a thermostat even though the buyers do not want that. All in all, it wasn't too bad, but after all the other repairs we had to make for the buyers and paying $4000 towards their closing costs and buying a home warranty, it was almost enough for us to say forget it. However, this is not the kind of market to say forget it, so we took it. Where we took it, I shall not mention, but we took it. Lol!

My husband and I are in escrow on a townhome. We are now waiting on the VA appraiser to come out. We already had our home inspection and everthing was in good working order, the only problems he found was things such as missing light bulbs and the flooring is a bit worn. How hard are the Va Appraiser when it comes to flooring?