When a VA appraiser flags problems with the home you’re buying, the lender required repairs on a VA loan must be completed before closing — the loan cannot fund until the property meets the VA’s Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) for safety, structural soundness, and sanitation. Who pays for those repairs isn’t dictated by the VA. It comes down to what you and the seller negotiate, with a few workarounds available when the timing or cost gets in the way.
What Triggers a Required Repair
Every home financed with a VA-guaranteed loan has to meet the Minimum Property Requirements set out in VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 12.1Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Pamphlet VAP26-7 Chapter 12 Minimum Property Requirement Overview The VA appraiser walks the property, determines market value, and flags anything that violates those standards. Whatever ends up on that list appears on the Notice of Value, and the lender treats each item as a condition of the loan.
One important boundary: a VA appraisal is not a home inspection. The appraiser is checking for MPR deficiencies visible from a standard walkthrough, not testing every appliance or opening walls. You should still hire an independent inspector. Problems the appraiser misses are not the lender’s problem to solve, but they will be yours after closing.
The Problems Appraisers Flag Most Often
Structural Issues
Anything that impairs the structural soundness of the dwelling makes the property unacceptable until fixed. Foundation settling with major cracks, load-bearing wall damage, and failing roofs all qualify. Crawl spaces get scrutinized for ventilation, standing water, and clearance between floor joists and the ground.2U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Basic MPR Checklist Evidence of dry rot, fungus, or wood decay in attics and crawl spaces has to be professionally remediated before closing. Moisture problems are where deals slow down most, because they rarely have quick fixes.
Heating, Plumbing, and Electrical
The heating system must be permanently installed and capable of maintaining at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit in all areas with plumbing. Portable space heaters do not count. Air conditioning isn’t required, but a visibly broken installed system will trigger a repair call by a licensed contractor.
Plumbing must deliver a continuous supply of safe, potable water plus hot water, and the home needs functional sanitary facilities with a safe method of sewage disposal. No hot water is a failing condition. Water heaters need a temperature and pressure relief valve.
Electrical systems must be safe and adequate for the home. The VA follows local building codes, or National Fire Protection Association standards where no local code exists. Exposed wiring, smoking fuses, and frequently tripping breakers all draw repair demands. Flickering lights or dead outlets may prompt the appraiser to require a professional electrical inspection before clearing the property.
Private Wells and Septic Systems
Homes on private water face extra work. The water must meet local health authority standards, or state guidelines or EPA federal standards where no local rule applies. You cannot collect the sample yourself — testing must come from a local health authority, commercial lab, or other independent third party, and results are valid for 90 days. A failed test means treating the source and retesting; installing a purification system without a fresh test isn’t enough.
Septic systems must dispose of domestic waste in a sanitary manner without creating a nuisance or endangering public health. A backed-up or failing septic system stops the deal until it’s repaired or replaced.
Lead Paint and Drainage
For homes built before 1978, the VA presumes lead-based paint is present. The appraiser doesn’t test. What matters is condition: any chipping, peeling, flaking, or deteriorated paint, inside or out, has to be corrected. The fix is scraping loose paint, cleaning, and applying two coats of non-lead paint. The VA will not grant a waiver for lead paint repairs on the basis of cost.3Department of Veterans Affairs. Requirements for Notification, Evaluation, and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in VA-Acquired Properties For larger deteriorated areas, EPA rules may require lead-safe certified workers.
Site drainage matters more than most buyers expect. The lot must be graded so water drains rapidly away from the foundation and does not pool anywhere on the property. Water flowing toward the foundation means the grading has to be corrected. The home also needs safe access from a public or private street with an all-weather surface.
Beyond specific items, the property has to be free of any hazard affecting occupant health and safety. Mold, unsecured entry points, and other environmental threats fall under this catch-all.
Wood-Destroying Insect Inspections
Termite and wood-destroying insect inspections are required based on where the property sits. In roughly 35 states and territories, including Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, and Virginia, inspection is required for every VA purchase.4U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Local Requirements – VA Home Loans In states like Colorado, New York, and Pennsylvania, only certain counties require it. Elsewhere, an inspection kicks in only if the appraiser sees evidence of insect damage. Active infestations must be treated before closing.
Who Pays for the Repairs
The most common misunderstanding on a VA purchase: sellers are not automatically required to pay for MPR repairs. The VA doesn’t dictate who covers the cost. Buyer and seller negotiate it as part of the purchase agreement.5U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Appraisal Requirements on Foreclosed Properties Most buyers start by asking the seller to handle repairs. If the seller refuses, you can pay for them yourself.
When the seller does contribute, remember that VA rules cap seller concessions at 4% of the home’s reasonable value as shown on the Notice of Value.6Veterans Affairs. VA Funding Fee And Loan Closing Costs Concessions include things like credits toward the funding fee, debt payoff, and prepaid insurance. Credits applied specifically to closing costs are not capped, so how a repair credit is structured can matter on a bigger repair bill.
If the seller won’t move and the repair costs are more than you want to absorb, your remaining options are to renegotiate the sale price, ask for a closing credit instead of completed repairs, or use the appraisal contingency to walk away.
When You Can Skip a Repair: Waivers
Not every deficiency is an automatic deal-killer. You can request a waiver of specific repairs on the Notice of Value, but your mortgage lender has to agree.7Veterans Benefits Administration. VA Appraisal Policies The property still has to be habitable — safe, structurally sound, and sanitary. A waiver won’t cover a caved-in roof or a broken sewer line. For more marginal items, such as cosmetic conditions that don’t pose an immediate safety risk, a waiver can keep the deal alive.
To start, contact your lender and explain the request. The lender evaluates the risk and decides. Lead-based paint repairs cannot be waived on the grounds of cost. Many lenders are conservative on waivers generally, because they carry the risk if the property has problems later.
When Repairs Can Wait: Escrow Holdbacks
Sometimes a repair genuinely can’t be finished before closing. Weather delays on exterior work are the classic case. The lender can set up an escrow holdback, holding back 1.5 times the estimated repair cost from the seller’s proceeds at closing, with funds released once the work is done.
The limits matter. The property has to be move-in ready despite the unfinished repair, so a gutted kitchen or missing plumbing won’t qualify. Major repairs to critical systems — roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or septic — generally must be completed before closing rather than deferred. The typical repair window is 90 to 120 days, and the delay must come from circumstances genuinely outside the seller’s control. Repairs under $500, or those consisting only of landscaping, generally don’t require an escrow arrangement at all.
Getting Repairs Verified and Cleared
Once the work is finished, the VA-assigned appraiser typically returns to confirm everything meets MPRs and documents the completed repairs on an Appraisal Update and/or Completion Report, Fannie Mae Form 1004D or Freddie Mac Form 442.8Fannie Mae. Submitting Appraisal Update and/or Completion Report That form is what the lender uses to clear the remaining loan conditions.
Plan for delay. The re-inspection has to be scheduled with the original appraiser, who may not be available quickly. Between finishing repairs, getting re-inspected, and waiting for the lender to process the updated paperwork, expect the timeline to stretch two to four weeks beyond your original closing date. Building that buffer into the purchase contract from the start saves a lot of stress if repairs land on the table.