Veterans and VA Loans:
The Home Inspection Agent Guide
VA loans come with specific property requirements. Agents who understand how the VA appraisal and the home inspection work together, and what can go wrong when they don’t, serve their veteran clients a lot better.
Veteran buyers using VA financing are a significant part of the Portland metro real estate market. They’ve earned their benefits, and they deserve agents who understand how those benefits interact with the home inspection process.
The most important thing to know upfront: the VA appraisal and the home inspection are not the same. They serve different purposes. Agents who confuse the two, or whose clients confuse the two, set up veteran buyers for a worse outcome than they’d get with a little more preparation.
Russ Motyko is an active U.S. Army Reserve NCO and the owner of Trusted Home Inspections. He’s completed more than 3,000 inspections across the Portland metro and SW Washington. He’s also Oregon City’s only Certified Master Inspector®. He knows this market and he knows what veteran buyers are up against.
This post covers what agents need to understand about VA loan inspections, what MPRs actually require, and how to help veteran clients navigate the process well.
The VA Appraisal Is Not an Inspection
Get this one right and you will save yourself a lot of trouble.
The VA appraisal is conducted by a VA-approved appraiser. Its purpose is to establish the market value of the property and confirm it meets VA minimum property requirements (MPRs). The appraiser is checking that the home is worth what the buyer is paying and that it meets basic habitability standards. That is all.
A VA appraisal is not a home inspection. The appraiser is not:
- Testing mechanical systems
- Walking the roof or evaluating it beyond visible conditions from the ground or attic
- Running water through the plumbing to check drainage
- Evaluating the electrical panel in detail
- Using thermal imaging or moisture meters
- Assessing HVAC function and efficiency
- Checking for radon or mold
A home inspector covers most of that, and radon and mold testing are available as add-ons. The appraisal tells the lender the home is worth the sale price and has no obvious MPR deficiencies. The inspection tells the buyer about the home’s visible condition.
Veteran buyers who assume the appraisal informs them the way an inspection does are operating on a false assumption. Agents who let that assumption stand unchallenged aren’t serving their clients.
What VA Minimum Property Requirements Cover
MPRs are the floor, not the ceiling. They establish what a property must have at minimum to qualify for VA financing. They are not a quality standard. They are a basic habitability standard.
The core MPR requirements are:
- Water supply: The home must have a safe, adequate supply of potable water. Private wells are allowed but may require testing.
- Sewage: The home must have an adequate sewage disposal system.
- Structural soundness: No evidence of structural failure that would affect safety or soundness.
- Mechanical systems: Heating must be adequate. Electrical, plumbing, and other systems must be in working order.
- Roof: The roof must be in reasonable condition and have remaining useful life. Active leaks are a disqualifier.
- No hazards: No lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 without appropriate treatment. No excessive moisture, wood rot, or pest activity.
- Access: The property must have safe pedestrian and vehicle access from a public or private street.
These requirements sound thorough. In practice, they are minimum thresholds. A roof that barely has remaining useful life still meets MPR. A furnace that’s 25 years old and functioning still meets MPR. Galvanized plumbing with reduced flow still meets MPR. Outdated electrical that hasn’t tripped a breaker still meets MPR.
The inspection looks at much of what the MPR check leaves on the table.
What Happens When MPR Issues Surface
If the VA appraiser identifies an MPR deficiency, the loan cannot close until the issue is resolved. This creates a problem if the deficiency comes up late in the transaction.
Common late-breaking MPR issues that delay or derail VA transactions:
- Roof with active leaks or clearly insufficient remaining life
- Evidence of significant moisture intrusion or wood rot
- Electrical safety hazards visible during the appraisal
- Broken or non-functional HVAC in a climate where heating is required
- Well water that tests positive for contamination
For agents, the lesson is simple: a home inspection done early in the contingency period surfaces these conditions before the VA appraiser sees them. That gives the buyer and seller time to work through issues before the appraisal happens, rather than scrambling to address them under time pressure when the loan is already in process.
A pre-offer inspection is even better for properties where the agent suspects MPR issues are likely. A pre-listing inspection on the seller’s side can serve the same purpose, giving everyone accurate information before an offer is made.
The Military Discount
Trusted Home Inspections takes 10% off the inspection fee for military buyers and families. The discount applies to:
- Veterans
- Active duty service members
- Reserve and National Guard members
- Military spouses and family members
Russ is an active U.S. Army Reserve NCO. This isn’t marketing. It’s a real commitment to a community he’s part of.
To claim the discount, buyers enter the code MILITARY10 when booking. The military discount page has full details.
VA loan and inspection considerations in the Portland metro
- Many VA buyers are purchasing in suburban areas: Happy Valley, Gresham, Vancouver WA, Hillsboro, and Beaverton, where housing stock ranges from 1980s builds to new construction
- Older homes in inner Portland neighborhoods frequently have conditions that meet MPR minimums on paper but warrant closer evaluation: aging roofs, galvanized plumbing, older panels
- Radon is a consideration throughout the Portland metro, particularly for homes with crawlspaces or basements; it is not part of the VA appraisal or standard inspection
- Homes in Clark County, WA are inspected under Washington state licensing rules; Trusted Home Inspections is dual-licensed in Oregon (OCHI #1898) and Washington (DOL #1856)
How to Help Veteran Buyers Use the Inspection Well
Veteran buyers are not a monolith. Some have bought homes before. Some are first-time buyers. Some have been through deployments and want the transaction done fast. Some are very detail-oriented. The inspection process benefits all of them, but the conversation looks different depending on where each buyer is starting from.
Schedule early. VA transactions involve more parties: the lender, the VA appraiser, sometimes an ROV process if the appraisal comes in low. There are more moving parts than in a conventional transaction. Getting the inspection done in the first half of the contingency period protects the buyer’s ability to act on findings before things get complicated.
Encourage attendance. Veteran buyers who attend the inspection walk away better prepared to evaluate what they’ve found. The inspector explains systems, shows findings in person, and answers questions. That walkthrough is worth the time.
Discuss add-ons upfront. Radon testing and mold air sampling are available as add-ons, and a sewer scope for older homes can be arranged separately through a plumber. These decisions are best made before the inspection is scheduled, not after. A 48-hour radon test requires time to run. If the buyer decides they want it after the inspector has already left, a separate appointment is needed.
Let the inspector do their job. The inspector’s job is to document condition, not to protect the deal. Veteran buyers deserve a thorough inspection that gives them a clear picture of the home’s visible condition. Agents who rush the inspection or try to minimize findings to keep a VA transaction moving are not acting in the buyer’s interest.
The VA appraisal and the home inspection serve different purposes. Veteran buyers who understand that distinction, and who get both, make better-informed decisions about the biggest financial commitment of their lives.
Trusted Home Inspections is dual-licensed in Oregon and Washington. For veteran buyers purchasing on either side of the river, the same inspector, the same quality, and the same military discount apply. See the buyer’s home inspection page for a full overview. For Clark County, WA buyers, the Clark County home inspection page has relevant location context.
To schedule, use the online scheduler. Enter the code MILITARY10 when booking to apply the 10% discount to the inspection fee.
VA Loan Home Inspection FAQ
