VA Loan Home Requirements

The Department of Veterans Affairs urges veterans and active duty military personnel to use their VA loan benefit to purchase secure, well-maintained homes.

A property must fulfil particular requirements known as VA Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) in order to be eligible for a VA loan. VA minimum property criteria ensure that purchasers are getting move-in ready houses, protecting them from risk.

VA Loan Property Requirements

A residence must satisfy the minimum property standards established by the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to be eligible for VA loan funding. The following are things the VA wants to make sure the property you’re buying is:

Safe
Structurally sound
Sanitary

The three “S’s,” as they are sometimes referred as, must be satisfied before closure. Before your loan closes, a VA home appraiser will evaluate the property as part of the VA appraisal process to ensure that your new house satisfies the necessary standards. A regular home inspection is still advised in addition to the VA appraisal because there are numerous significant distinctions between the two. An appraiser for the VA will instead inspect the property to search for typical problems that don’t match the three S’s.

Core VA Home Requirement	Common Factors
Is the home safe?	Broken windows, Lead-based paint, Missing handrails
Is the home sanitary?	Unsafe drinking water, Rotting wood or mold
Is the home structurally sound?	Foundation issues, Roof in poor condition, Termites or Wood-Destroying Insects

The absence of any flaws cannot be guaranteed by the VA assessment or a regular home inspection. However, these evaluations assist in lowering your risk by identifying any potential flaws that are immediately apparent.

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VA Minimum Property Requirements

The following are just a few of the MPRs that VA appraisers have a complete list of that must be examined during the VA appraisal:

a functional electrical system
operating HVAC
a strong roof with some life remaining.
enough room for cooking, eating, sleeping, and living
a steady supply of clean water and sanitary amenities
No lead-based paint
No termites that eat wood
No dry rot or fungus
sewage disposal that is both clean and safe
Possibility of access from a year-round public or private street
Appropriate
topography to minimize rainwater accumulation on the property

When it’s time to request the VA loan appraisal, your lender will notify the VA. One of the final significant procedures before closing will be for the VA to choose an authorised VA appraiser to examine the property.

Common VA Loan Home Requirement Issues

Let’s look more closely at the problems that can potentially cause a VA inspection to fail now that we are aware of what VA appraisers are normally searching for on their MPR checklist.

Roof and Crawl Space

To comply with VA MPRs, homes don’t need new roofs. However, the roof must be in excellent condition with no significant leaks or damage. It must be in a state that will “provide reasonable future utility,” which requires that there be no signs that the roof will soon need to be replaced.

A roof assessment might be requested to determine how many more years the present roof will endure if the VA appraiser has reservations about it. The VA could demand that the roof be replaced before you buy the house if it has to be redone within the next several years.

The region under many homes’ floorboards is known as the crawl space. This area must be easily accessible, free of clutter, and properly ventilated. The wood support beams under the house may decay if there is no ventilation, which might cause structural problems.

Electricity and Heating (HVAC)

Electricity must be connected throughout the entire house in order to operate lights and equipment in each room. The electrical and HVAC systems don’t have to be brand new, like the roof, but they do need to be functional and should endure for several years after you move in.

To ensure resident comfort and avoid frozen pipes and potential bursts, heating systems must maintain temperatures of at least 50 degrees. Not everywhere need air conditioning. However, it must adhere to specific standards when it is present or required for local inhabitants.

For instance, even though an air conditioner is still operational, it doesn’t have enough life remaining if it is older than 25 years. Thus, replacing the AC unit would be necessary to comply with MPRs. VA regulations permit solar-powered HVAC and water heating systems, but they must be backed up by more traditional means.

Drinking Water

The house must have a working septic system, a water heater, and access to clean drinking water. This might be a septic tank or a city sewer connection. Except in the unlikely case of a widespread water table issue, homes connected to the public water system are considered to have access to clean drinking water.

If the house of your choice uses private well water, it could be necessary to do a water quality investigation to ensure that the water is fit for consumption. Additionally, if your preferred residence is located near a community well, you will need to demonstrate that the water supply satisfies the needs of the area it serves and that it is reasonably priced.

Water Damage or Poor Drainage

Water damage may erode flooring, walls, and ceilings. Mould development can result from poor drainage and cause health issues. Therefore, VA appraisers will be alert to any indication of water incursion.

To transport rainfall away from the structure, gutters, downspouts, and drain pipes must be correctly built and in excellent condition. To allow water to drain off the property, the earth should be appropriately graded around the home. Before you can close on the house, you must fix any drainage issues that are causing water to pool on the property.

Utilities and Multiunit Homes

One of the nicest aspects of a VA loan is that, as long as you live in one of the units, you may use it to buy a multiunit building with up to four apartments. However, there are extra MPR issues for multifamily houses.

First, all apartments must have access to communal storage areas and washing facilities. Instead of putting each unit on its own metre, it is acceptable for utilities (including water, gas, sewage and/or electricity) to be shared across a number of units. A key criterion of the VA is that each unit have a shut-off system that is independent of the other unit(s).

Direct Access

The house must have year-found accessibility from a public or private street, by foot or car. This means that mountain cabins, for example, where roads are impassable during the winter season, cannot qualify for a VA loan.

Additionally, if you are considering a multiunit property, each unit must have separate access to the street. Properties that require the resident of one unit to cut through another unit’s private space don’t qualify for a VA loan.

Lead-Based Paint

It is expected that homes constructed before 1978 had lead-based paint because it was common at the period. We now understand that lead-based paint poses a risk to health. Thus, there are tight restrictions for paint in VA loan homes.

Any paint that is flaking or peeling that may indicate the presence of leadbased paint has to be corrected to prevent lead poisoning. Most of the time, this item repair is quick, simple, and inexpensive. Simply scrape off the damaged area, prime it, and repaint it.

The painted surface could potentially be harmed and require replacement. For instance, if a home’s painted and wooden siding is damaged, the siding may need to be rebuilt in order for the property to comply with VA MPRs.

Interior Mold

Since mould poses a significant health risk, the VA appraiser will be on the watch for any indication of active mould. The appraiser will visually assess the ceilings for potential roof leaks, the spaces surrounding doors and windows for inadequate sealing, and the walls for potential leaking pipes in order to look for evidence of water infiltration.

The VA appraiser will also make sure that there are no leaks in the pipes under the cabinets. If the space is accessible and the infestation is contained, mould removal may be straightforward. But if the damage is severe, it may also be a challenging, intrusive process that necessitates tearing out plasterboard and replacing weakened studs.

Manufactured Homes

Prefabricated manufactured houses are mostly put together off-site before being transported to the property they will occupy. With a few extra house standards, prefabricated homes are eligible for VA financing. For instance, VA MPRs demand that the building be firmly anchored to the proper base. Additionally, a continuous, water-resistant enclosure must be “skirted” around the connection to the foundation. Depending on the area, manufactured homes can also need extra precautions taken to safeguard the building in the event of a natural catastrophe like a hurricane or earthquake.

Termites and Pests

The structural integrity of a house can be compromised by rot, fungi, and wood-destroying insects (like termites). The VA assessor will look for any indication of termites, rot, or other potentially dangerous pests. The VA appraiser may request a second pest examination to determine the degree of the infestation and damage if there is obvious evidence of harm.

Before you proceed with the purchase, pest control will need to eliminate any active infestations. Before the VA loan can be completed and the purchase can be made, any material damage brought on by the infestation must also be remedied.

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Failing the MPRs

You have three choices if a house doesn’t satisfy the qualifications for VA loans:

1. Make Repairs so the House Meets VA MPRs

For homes that don’t initially fulfil VA loan property standards, this is typically the best choice. The home could just need a few minor fixes to fulfil the MPRs, enabling you to qualify for your VA loan and close on your new property. Most of the time, repairs are required before the loan may be funded.

2. Get a Waiver from the VA

In rare cases, the VA can waive an MPR, allowing you to close on the house. But your lender would also have to approve this waiver. Getting the waiver and the lender approval is a process, and there is no guarantee that it would be granted or approved. Even with an approved waiver, this process would likely delay your closing.

3. Delay the Repairs with a Bridge Loan

Even if the property doesn’t fit the standards for a VA loan, you can move in right away by getting a temporary bridging loan to buy the house. Once the property meets the minimal requirements for a VA loan, you would then switch out this bridge loan for a VA loan. As you may expect, this adds a lot of extra steps because you have to meet the requirements for another loan type first, then subsequently switch that funding for a VA loan.

Who pays for repairs?

To decide who will pay for repairs, you can bargain with the vendors. But if sellers agree to pay, it will be much simpler for everyone. If the real estate market is sluggish where you are, you will have more negotiating power with the sellers when it comes to repairs. However, as a gesture of gratitude for their service to the nation, several vendors are prepared to pay for repairs for VA purchasers. Don’t be afraid to ask the sellers to cover the cost of the repairs. Are you able to cover any repairs? While some lenders forbid it, others do let Veteran borrowers to pay for repairs. However, this approach necessitates more paperwork, which can cause the closure to be delayed.

Why do minimum property requirements exist?

MPRs could appear to be an additional nuisance in the already challenging house buying process. However, the purpose of the VA loan house standards is to offer military personnel and veterans secure homes and wise real estate investments. MPRs aid in ensuring that borrowers who seek for VA-backed loans receive habitable homes in excellent shape.