I have a house I am looking at that is within my range to be able to afford monthly payments. I don’t make a lot of money, but renting has been killing me. The house I am looking at is 25% cheaper per month than my rent, allowing me to pump more money in it to pay it off quicker. I’ve been trying for over two years to be in a situation where I am not turned down instantly. I can’t afford large down payments of conventional loans, and that really only leaves me with FHA or VA loans.
The problem is, the house I am looking at has some issues that the realtor believes might have the VA appraiser turn it down. The windows weren’t taken care of by the previous owners, the paint hasn’t been done on 5 year intervals so doesn’t look excellent, and there is some cracks and dips in the driveway. The previous owners also felt the need to punch a hole in every door on their way out.
I have a Degree in Architecture and Construction. I could deal with entire walls that need to be rebuilt. These small things aren’t really even worth considering as issues to me. The problem is, these apparently might get the VA appraiser to require the Bank to make changes to the house before they approve the loan, and my realtor says there is no way the bank would do that.
I was told by my lender that the current cost for VA appraisals is 0. This equals over %0.5 of the total cost of the house i am looking at. If I could afford such a thing just to get a rejection, I would be looking at houses significantly higher in value and therefore without the issues. I should be able to borrow enough for a single appraisal from family, but the moment I question for a repeat that would be the end of any family goodwill I could expect.
So…
My question is this: Given this situation, what kinds of options are available to me? Is it possible to appeal a negative choice by a VA appraiser, expecially when it holds up the loan due to trivial repair issues? Is it possible to get financial help from the government to cover the cost of being turned down due to some silly rules about basic repair issues?
To maintain proper protection of a house and ensure a excellent envelope, protected by weather, house exteriors that are not all siding should be repainted every 5 years. Certainly interior requires it less often, but for excellent maintence of your house, paint your exteriors every 5 years. That re-opens problem 3, but problem 3 was never a problem I have, just an issue that according to my realtor could be a repair issue that might end the loan.
For problem 2, I have no problem paying for it, I have a problem paying for it and then loosing out on what could be used for useful stuff on the basis of something that is downright trivial and cheap to fix, and with an hour and a piece of wood I could fix it.
So, I guess my question becomes, if the VA underwriter rejects the loan because of something that with 10 minutes and a piece of 8×4' slice of wood I could fix, can that be appealed?
I can afford an appraisal, I just can't afford one that rejects the house for me from trivial repair.
Please note, with the 0 of appraisal fee, I can fix every problem in the house. The "broken windows" aren't the window panes, instead it is the wood around the windows not properly caulked and showing in some places mild superficial weather hurt. At the most, this would cost me 150$ and a sunday to fix, because the hurt isn't terrible at all.
Unless the appraiser finds something I didn't see, any repair issue in the house is absolutly trivial and fixed over a weekend under 0. Some of these issues, such as the windows and doors, might be more than a minor repair issue for other people, but not for someone trained in doing just that. I want to know how to get around the catch 22 of the bank not allowing me to fix the stuff, and the underwriter not approving until the issues are fixed. Quibbling over 500$ is stupid and hurts me pretty terribly. There has to be a way to get people to look at this as the situation it is, rather than "unacceptable risk because the hinge is rusted!"
The first step is to get prequalified, once you are approved, you pick which property you like, you can move in right away for no money down, and when you are living in that property the credit repair is moving forward and once your credit ... When we go through the pre-approval, we are basically setting you up for financing ? so we ask all of the general questions as if you were to apply for a mortgage, BUT BETTER ? because we will help you fix all of the things that are ...