A VA appraisal reconsideration of value is a formal request asking the VA to raise an appraised value that came in below your contract price, based on comparable sales the appraiser missed or factual errors in the report. You submit it in writing to your lender after the final Notice of Value is issued, the lender’s Staff Appraisal Reviewer looks at it first, and if the reviewer can’t resolve it the package goes to the VA Regional Loan Center for an independent decision. There is no VA fee to file one.
The reason this matters: on a VA-guaranteed purchase, your loan is capped at the appraised value or the purchase price, whichever is lower. A low appraisal opens a cash gap between what the VA will finance and what you agreed to pay. A reconsideration of value, usually shortened to ROV, is the mechanism for closing that gap by fixing the appraisal itself.
When You Can File an ROV
An ROV only becomes available after the final Notice of Value has been issued and the appraised figure is still below the contract price. Before that point, the VA’s Tidewater process gives the lender a two-working-day window to send additional comparable sales to the appraiser while the report is still open. Tidewater is the lender’s job and happens before the appraisal is finalized. The ROV is what comes after, and you cannot skip Tidewater to get there.
The borrower submits the ROV request in writing to the lender. Your agent or loan officer will usually help pull the evidence together, but the request itself flows from you to the lender, and then, if needed, from the lender to the VA. The VA does not charge a fee to process it, which makes an ROV a low-cost move compared with walking away and starting the search over.
Timing is the pressure point. A reconsideration takes days or weeks, and your purchase contract has its own deadlines. Before filing, check that your contract still gives you room, or negotiate an extension with the seller so the clock doesn’t run out mid-review.
What Evidence Actually Works
A reconsideration lives or dies on the evidence you put in front of the reviewer. A general complaint about the number will go nowhere. Your written request has to identify the specific items in the appraisal you believe are wrong, explain why, and back it up with documentation.
Better Comparable Sales
The strongest evidence is comparable sales the original appraiser did not use. For each comp, include the street address, sales price, date of sale, gross living area, and a copy of the listing with the descriptive details. Sales that closed more recently than the appraiser’s comps, or homes that more closely match the subject property in size, layout, and condition, carry the most weight.
There is no fixed rule on how many comps to submit, but one sale rarely moves the needle. Two or three strong comparables that the appraiser clearly overlooked make a much more compelling case. The point is to show the reviewer that better data existed and would have produced a different value.
Factual Errors in the Report
Sometimes the appraiser simply got the property wrong. Wrong bedroom count. Missed finished basement space. No credit for significant upgrades. Contractor invoices, building permits, floor plans, and photographs can be just as persuasive as new comps. If the report treats your home as 1,500 square feet when it’s actually 1,800, that single correction may close the gap on its own.
Organize the submission so the reviewer can put your evidence directly next to the original findings. Many lenders provide a grid that mirrors the standard appraisal layout. If yours doesn’t, a clear point-by-point written response works. For each new comparable, spell out why it is superior to the ones the appraiser used. For each factual dispute, spell out the correction and how it affects value.
How the Request Moves Through the Lender and the VA
The completed package goes to the lender, not directly to the VA. Under the Lender Appraisal Processing Program, the lender’s Staff Appraisal Reviewer (SAR) has authority to adjust the appraised value if the evidence supports it, without VA involvement. If the SAR agrees, a revised Notice of Value can be issued at that stage.
If the SAR can’t resolve it or the evidence is borderline, the lender forwards the whole package to the VA Regional Loan Center through the VA’s electronic portal, which typically returns a tracking number confirming receipt. Send everything as a single organized file. Piecemeal submissions slow the review and give the reviewer less reason to take the request seriously.
The Three Possible Outcomes
Once the VA has the package, a staff appraiser independently reviews both the new evidence and the original report, then issues one of three decisions:
- Full increase, raising the appraised value to match or come close to the contract price.
- Partial increase, adjusting the value upward but not enough to eliminate the entire gap.
- Denial, leaving the original value in place.
Decisions often arrive within one to two weeks of the VA receiving a complete package. If the value changes, a revised appraisal report is issued. The VA’s determination is generally final for that transaction, and further appeals on the same property are rarely allowed unless genuinely new evidence surfaces that wasn’t available during the first review.
If the ROV Is Denied
A denied reconsideration doesn’t have to end the deal. Which path fits depends on your cash, the seller’s motivation, and how much you want this specific home.
- Ask the seller to lower the price to the appraised value. Cleanest option because it eliminates the gap without costing you anything extra. Sellers with limited backup offers or a tight timeline are more likely to agree.
- Bring the difference in cash at closing. The VA will not let you finance the gap and it does not count as a down payment. This only makes sense if you’re confident in the property’s future value or you want the home enough to absorb the cost.
- Request a new appraisal. In some cases the lender can order a second one from a different VA-assigned appraiser. It costs extra, takes more time, and is a genuine gamble: the new appraiser could come in the same or lower.
- Walk away using the escape clause. Every VA purchase contract must contain a clause allowing you to exit without forfeiting your earnest money if the reasonable value falls below the contract price. It applies only to that scenario, not to buyer’s remorse.
The gap can also be split. A seller might agree to drop the price partway while you cover the rest in cash. Whichever route you take, keep your contract deadlines in view. The ROV has already used part of your timeline, and any renegotiation or second appraisal will use more.
Do Not Contact the Appraiser Directly
One boundary worth naming, because buyers and agents cross it every day: VA rules prohibit contacting the appraiser about the value. Fee appraisers cannot discuss valuation, conditions, or any other contents of a completed report with anyone except VA staff or the lender’s SAR. The only permitted contact from a party of interest is a status check on when the assignment will be finished.
If you or your agent call the appraiser to argue the number, the appraiser is instructed to decline the conversation and refer you back to the SAR or the VA. That rule holds during the Tidewater window and throughout the ROV process. Put your effort into the evidence package. That is the only channel that changes the value.1U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Fee Panel Appraiser’s Handbook