Will a Georgia Home Pass a VA Appraisal? Seven Property Issues That Could Delay Closing

Written by Kevin Thomas

A VA appraisal does two jobs at once: it confirms the home's value, and it checks the property against the VA's Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) — a baseline safety and livability standard that has nothing to do with your home inspection. A home can sail through a buyer's inspection and still hit a wall at appraisal if it fails one of these MPR items, and the fix almost always has to happen before closing, not after.

👉 A VA appraisal is not the same thing as a home inspection — it's a value opinion plus a pass/fail check against VA property standards, and even one failed item can stall your closing date until it's resolved.

Here are the seven issues that most often trip up a VA appraisal in this market.

What a VA Appraisal Actually Checks

The VA appraiser is not doing a full inspection — they're not testing every outlet or running every appliance. They're confirming the home's value and doing a visual walk-through against MPR standards: safety, soundness, and basic livability. This is exactly why a clean inspection report doesn't guarantee a clean appraisal, and why sellers and buyers both benefit from knowing what the appraiser is specifically looking for.

Seven Property Issues That Could Delay Closing

1. Peeling, Chipping, or Flaking Exterior Paint

This is the single most commonly cited MPR issue in this region. Coastal Georgia's humidity accelerates paint deterioration, and any peeling, chipping, or flaking paint — regardless of the home's age — will be flagged. This is a straightforward, usually inexpensive fix, but it has to happen before the appraisal clears.

2. A Roof With Insufficient Remaining Life

VA appraisers assess whether a roof has a reasonable remaining service life, generally three years or more. A roof that looks near the end of its life will be flagged, and the appraiser may require a roofer's written condition report — or a full replacement — before the loan can close.

3. A Heating System That Can't Maintain 50°F

This is a specific, hard requirement: a permanently installed heating system must be able to maintain at least 50°F in every room with plumbing, protecting pipes from freezing and bursting. Space heaters and portable units don't count. A home with a wood-burning stove as its only heat source needs a qualifying backup system to meet this standard.

4. Water Intrusion or Crawl Space Moisture

Given how common crawl space moisture is in this region's humidity, active water intrusion, standing water, or visible fungal growth under the home is a frequent appraisal flag — not just a home inspection issue. Left unaddressed, it can hold up closing just as easily as a structural defect.

5. Active Wood-Destroying Organism (WDO) Damage Without a Current Bond

Georgia's termite activity makes a current termite bond and WDO inspection standard practice on VA transactions here. Active, undocumented termite damage — or a lapsed bond — is one of the more common reasons a Georgia VA appraisal gets held up, and it typically needs to be resolved with treatment and documentation before closing.

6. Broken Glass, Missing Screens, or Missing Handrails

Individually minor, but collectively one of the most frequent categories of flagged items: broken window panes, missing screens on operable windows, and missing handrails on stairways with more than a few steps. These are quick fixes, but they still have to be corrected and often re-verified before the loan can close.

7. Non-Functioning Well or Septic Systems

For the more rural parts of this market — Ludowici, Midway, and outlying areas around Guyton — a well or septic system that isn't functioning properly, or lacks documentation of a recent inspection, is a common appraisal holdup. VA requires these systems to be in proper working order, and testing or pump-out documentation is often required as part of clearing the appraisal.

What Happens When an Issue Is Found

The appraiser notes the deficiency, and the issue typically has to be repaired and re-inspected before the loan can close — the VA doesn't allow these specific MPR items to simply be waived or credited in lieu of repair the way some other negotiated items can be. Who pays for the repair is a negotiation between buyer and seller, but in this market, sellers commonly handle MPR repairs as a condition of moving the sale forward, since the alternative is a stalled closing that serves no one.

How to Get Ahead of This Before You Even Make an Offer

Buyers: walk the property with your agent, looking specifically for these seven categories, before you write an offer — catching a likely MPR issue early lets you negotiate repairs into the contract rather than discovering them mid-transaction.

Sellers: a pre-listing walk-through focused on these exact items — paint condition, roof life, heating function, crawl space moisture, termite bond status, window and handrail condition, and well/septic function — can prevent a surprise delay once you're already under contract with a VA buyer.

Why Work With Kevin Thomas

Knowing what a VA appraiser is actually looking for — separate from what a home inspector checks — helps you avoid a closing delay that catches everyone off guard. Kevin Thomas is a trusted buyer's agent and marketing strategist serving Coastal Georgia, with deep experience helping military families navigate VA appraisals, MPR issues, and the negotiations that come with them throughout Hinesville, Richmond Hill, Savannah, and the surrounding region.

Working with Kevin means:

✔️ A pre-offer walk-through focused on the exact issues that hold up VA appraisals in this market ✔️ Negotiation support to get MPR repairs addressed without derailing your closing timeline ✔️ Guidance specific to rural properties on well and septic documentation requirements ✔️ Straight answers on what's fixable quickly versus what genuinely threatens your closing date ✔️ An advocate who knows the difference between a home inspection finding and a real appraisal blocker

Your Next Step

Call or text Kevin Thomas: (912) 980-6153 Before you write an offer — or accept one — make sure the property is set up to clear a VA appraisal without surprises.

Kevin Thomas with Level 10 Real Estate Group helps Coastal Georgia buyers and sellers get ahead of VA appraisal issues before they threaten a closing date.