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I hope that somebody can point me in the right direction, or at least tell me that this is normal.
We are selling our house. My husband was transferred across the country and we have quite a good relocation deal. Because of this we priced our house to sell. And it did. Within 2 days. Unfortunately, the buyer has a VA loan. (We should have RUN away!) They actually had three offers rejected because of this, our realtor told us that VA loans were common and no trouble at all. I think that she was wrong. Which is sad, because it seems like a good program.
We have a 60-day closing. The buyers financing is 100% approved, the inspection was completed and all requested repairs were taken care of and they waived that contingency. Now we just wait for the VA appraiser. Still. 3 weeks ago the lender requested a VA appraisal. Never happened. Last Friday the lender requested another VA appraisal because the original appraiser was "unresponsive." The lender says that the VA appraiser has 10 business days to come here. Ugh.
We heard that the request was accepted and assigned on Friday. Now, 2 days later, still no phone call to arrange a date/time for the appraisal.
I am so frustrated, because there is nothing to do but wait until 12/2 when we can back out. If we do, I can tell you this - - we will not accept another VA loan. And I feel badly for the buyers. They LOVE our house (we priced to sell in a big way, at least we don't have to worry about an appraisal coming back under value...).
I hope that somebody can point me in the right direction, or at least tell me that this is normal.
We are selling our house. My husband was transferred across the country and we have quite a good relocation deal. Because of this we priced our house to sell. And it did. Within 2 days. Unfortunately, the buyer has a VA loan. (We should have RUN away!) They actually had three offers rejected because of this, our realtor told us that VA loans were common and no trouble at all. I think that she was wrong. Which is sad, because it seems like a good program.
We have a 60-day closing. The buyers financing is 100% approved, the inspection was completed and all requested repairs were taken care of and they waived that contingency. Now we just wait for the VA appraiser. Still. 3 weeks ago the lender requested a VA appraisal. Never happened. Last Friday the lender requested another VA appraisal because the original appraiser was "unresponsive." The lender says that the VA appraiser has 10 business days to come here. Ugh.
We heard that the request was accepted and assigned on Friday. Now, 2 days later, still no phone call to arrange a date/time for the appraisal.
I am so frustrated, because there is nothing to do but wait until 12/2 when we can back out. If we do, I can tell you this - - we will not accept another VA loan. And I feel badly for the buyers. They LOVE our house (we priced to sell in a big way, at least we don't have to worry about an appraisal coming back under value...).
Can we speed this along? Is this common?
Maybe I just needed to vent.
Hi Camps2002,
I know you're frustrated but you need to step back and take a deep breath. The buyer is 100% approved according to you so count your blessings that you're only dealing with a delayed appraisal. I'm sure the buyer and their lender isn't happy about the delay either.
You can try contacting the regional VA service center (Regional Loan Centers - Loan Guaranty Home Loan Program) and see if they can help. Also encourage the buyer to do the same. It's going to carry more weight coming from the veteran.
Last thing from me. Please don't disparage VA loans, it's really unfair to the veterans and military personnel who have made tremendous sacrifices for ALL of us.
You have saved yourself sometime already by having the inspection done, and repairs made, that will help you with the appraisal. To help out the appraiser he/she will need a list of all improvements you have made to the home. And in many areas now if you have done add ons or improvements the appraiser will have to have proof of building permits for the improvements to be included in the appraisal. If you get these things together it will save you turnaround time once he ever shows up.
I know personally that appraisers are extremely busy right now, the ones I know are doing all they can possible do, and even though they don't want to they are turning down work.
Based on the info you've provided, I suspect there's more to your problem than the buyer's loan being a VA loan. More like the buyer's lender may not have it's act together.
It's true, a VA appraisal is the most intense out there, but I do believe it continually gets a bad rap. I have yet to see one appraisal with conditions that aren't warrantable. Did you know the VA appraiser must call both agents involved in the transaction before turning in a low appraisal? They must reach out to make sure there aren't any comps that contribute more to value than the comps they found.
Again, I'm willing to bet your problem is not with the VA, but more likely the lender.
Please don't disparage VA loans, it's really unfair to the veterans and military personnel who have made tremendous sacrifices for ALL of us.
^This. As others have already said it sounds like there may be a problem with the lender. I bought my current home using a VA loan and we were able to close in 28 days. We were in several multiple offer situations and no one wanted to deal with me because I was using a VA loan. One even asked if we would switch to a conventional loan because we had a better offer. I think we only got this house (also multiple offers) because their SIL was also a veteran.
It may not be the lender. The VA appraiser is assigned by the VA. It is out of the lender's hands. If I remember right, the lender does not even know who the appriaser is.
It may not be the lender. The VA appraiser is assigned by the VA. It is out of the lender's hands. If I remember right, the lender does not even know who the appriaser is.
We not only know who it is, but their telephone number and email. Once the case number is issued, they have so many days to do the spection, and then again, a certain number of days to complete. If not complete on time. They must account for any variances to the timeline. Examples would include messages left for sell, listing agent and agents involved in the comps.
The only thing the appraiser will be interested in is the current condition of the house, not the specific improvements that have been made.
Sssshhhhhh......
It makes them feel better to give us a list.
Seriously, giving a list of recent improvements is sometimes helpful when the appraiser is trying to estimate accrued depreciation of short-lived building components in the Cost Approach. In other words.....it MIGHT make a little difference, you never know. If your home has a new roof, new carpet, new fence, remodeled kitchen, new water heater, new HVAC system, etc., it might be "above average" in condition compared to the market comparables used for comparison.
Did you know the VA appraiser must call both agents involved in the transaction before turning in a low appraisal? They must reach out to make sure there aren't any comps that contribute more to value than the comps they found.
Really? This never happens! We get a call from the lender or the other agent in an extremely foul mood screaming about the appraisal being turned in low.
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