Appeal a VA Appraisal Value
If a VA appraisal value comes in below your contract price, you can challenge it, but you have to do it the VA way. The fastest path is Tidewater, which happens before the final value is issued. After the final Notice of Value, the formal path is a Reconsideration of Value request through your lender, and sometimes the VA Regional Loan Center.
Tidewater is the early warning window
- Triggered before the final value: If the appraiser believes the value will fall short, Tidewater can be initiated so pricing support is reviewed before the report is finalized.
- Two business days to submit comps: Your lender gets a short window to provide additional comparable sales and data, so speed matters more than perfect packaging.
- Use at least three strong comps: Pick recent closed sales that match location, size, condition, and features. The goal is objective support, not opinions about the neighborhood.
- Best outcome is an adjusted value: When the new data is convincing, the appraiser can raise the value before the Notice of Value is issued, which keeps the deal moving.
ROV is the formal appeal after the report
- Lender led first: Your lender and their Staff Appraisal Reviewer usually assemble the request and check for clear errors, missing comps, or overlooked adjustments.
- Submit a clean evidence packet: Include a brief letter naming the specific issue, three or more better sales, and photos or documents that prove upgrades, condition, or square footage.
- Bigger changes can go to the VA: When the change needed is substantial, or the lender cannot justify it, the file may be reviewed by the VA through the Regional Loan Center process.
- Expect a process, not a debate: A strong ROV is factual and organized. Emotional arguments about what the home is worth usually fail.
Disputing MPR repairs is different
- MPR issues are about safety: If the appraiser calls out an MPR repair, the concern is safe, sound, sanitary. Value arguments do not override a real hazard.
- Waiver requests can exist: For minor items that do not affect safety or structural integrity, a waiver may be requested through the proper VA channel, depending on the defect and context.
- Lender review can remove noise: Some small conditions are clarified during lender review when the issue is misinterpreted, duplicated, or not supported by the report details.
- Repairs are often the fastest answer: If the fix is inexpensive and clear, repairing can be quicker than arguing, especially when contract deadlines are tight.
What actually wins an appraisal appeal
- Objective errors beat opinions: Wrong bedroom count, wrong gross living area, missed basement finish, or incorrect lot size are the kinds of issues that can move value.
- Better comps, not more comps: Three excellent sales that truly match usually beat a long list of weaker ones. Quality and similarity drive credibility.
- Show what the appraiser could not see: Permits, invoices, and clear photos help when upgrades were overlooked. Prove the feature, then connect it to market support.
- Know the limits of the fight: If the market data supports the lower value, the realistic paths are renegotiation, seller credits, or walking away, not forcing a number.
FAQs
How do I challenge a VA appraisal that is too low?
Use Tidewater if it is triggered, since it happens before the final value and gives a short window to submit stronger comps. After the report, request a Reconsideration of Value through your lender with better sales and documented errors.
What comps should I submit during Tidewater?
Can I appeal a VA MPR repair requirement?
A low VA home appraisal does not automatically kill a deal, but it forces you into a short decision window where evidence and speed matter. The only levers that reliably move outcomes are better comparable sales, objective factual corrections, and a clear repair plan when minimum property requirements are involved. This guide explains how Tidewater works before the report is final, how a Reconsideration of Value works after the report is issued, and how to separate value disputes from repair disputes so you do not fight the wrong battle.
What Happens When a VA Appraisal Comes in Low?
A low VA appraisal means the value opinion is below the contract price. The lender will base the loan on the appraised value unless the price changes or you bring additional cash. The key is choosing the right path fast: negotiate, submit evidence during Tidewater, or prepare a formal value appeal after the report is issued.
- A low value triggers three practical options: reduce the price, pay the gap in cash, or challenge the value with stronger sales data and clear corrections, with your contract contingencies determining leverage.
- Tidewater can happen before the report is final and gives a narrow window to submit better comps, so your agent should already have a comp pack ready for the neighborhood and property type.
- Appraisal value and repair conditions are separate issues, so you must identify whether the problem is price support, safety repairs, or both, because each requires different evidence and different decision timing.
- Ask the lender whether Tidewater was initiated and what the deadline is for submissions, then decide who is assembling comps and who is writing the brief so time is not wasted.
- Run the numbers immediately: contract price minus appraised value, plus closing costs and reserves, then decide whether paying any gap keeps you financially stable after closing and repairs.
- If the seller will not move on price and the gap is too large, set a walk away line based on your budget and contingencies, because forcing a high gap can create a fragile start.
VA Loan Resources
- Complete VA Loan Guide – Eligibility, core benefits, and how VA mortgages work.
- VA Loan Requirements – Credit, income, and service rules you need to qualify.
- VA Funding Fee Explained – Rates, exemptions, and how to roll it into your loan.
- VA Loan Closing Costs – Typical fees and how sellers can help pay them.
- VA Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) – What homes must have to pass the VA appraisal.
- Compare 2–3 VA Lenders – Get personalized rate quotes from vetted VA-approved lenders.
How Does the Tidewater Initiative Work?
Tidewater is the early warning step that happens before the appraiser finalizes a low value. It gives the lender a short window to provide additional market data for the appraiser to consider. The win condition is simple: provide a small set of superior closed sales and clean explanations that directly support the contract price.
- Tidewater begins when the appraiser believes value will fall short, and the lender then has a limited business day window to submit additional data, so your response speed can decide the outcome.
- The best Tidewater evidence is closed sales, not listings or pendings, and the comps must be highly similar in location, size, condition, and features, because weak comps waste the window.
- Tidewater is not a negotiation tactic, it is a data review step, so emotional arguments do nothing; the appraiser needs market evidence that is more relevant than the comps already used.
- Ask your agent for three to five closed comps sold recently that are more similar than the appraiser’s likely comp set, then include notes on why each comp is superior in distance, age, layout, and finish level.
- Include a short bullet summary of material upgrades with dates and receipts when available, because unsupported upgrade claims are often ignored, especially when the neighborhood has mixed renovation levels.
- Submit one clean packet through the lender channel, then confirm receipt and deadline compliance, because late or fragmented submissions frequently get excluded from consideration.
How Do You Build a Comp Package That Actually Moves Value?
A comp package works only when it is tighter than the appraiser’s initial data set. Your goal is to deliver three to five superior closed sales with clean adjustment logic, not a stack of random sales in the same zip code. This section shows what makes comps persuasive and how to structure the packet so the appraiser can use it quickly.
- Use comps that match the same micro market, meaning the same subdivision or a directly competing pocket, because school zone, subdivision reputation, and HOA amenities can change value more than distance on a map.
- Prioritize similarity over price, so match gross living area, bed and bath count, lot style, condition level, and garage, because high dollar comps with different features are easy to dismiss as non comparable.
- Include concession context, such as seller credits or rate buydowns, because concessions can inflate recorded sale prices, and showing net price reality can clarify which comps truly support your contract.
- Pick three to five closed comps within a tight distance and recent time frame, then exclude outliers, flips with extreme upgrades, and sales that are not truly competing inventory for your buyer pool.
- Write one sentence per comp explaining the match, such as same model and same school zone or same lot type and similar finish level, then note the single biggest difference that supports your contract price.
- Attach upgrade documentation for your subject property and include clear photos, because appraisers can only credit what they can verify, and vague upgrade claims rarely change value.
When Should You Request a Reconsideration of Value?
Request a Reconsideration of Value after the appraisal is final and you have new, stronger evidence than what the report used. A ROV is not a complaint letter and it is not a re appraisal request on demand. It is a structured submission that highlights objective errors, missing comps, and better market data that supports a different value conclusion.
| Tool | When it happens | What you submit | Best use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidewater | Before report is finalized | Three to five superior closed comps and brief notes | Appraiser is trending low and you have stronger nearby sales support |
| ROV | After value is issued | New comps, factual corrections, upgrade evidence, brief rationale | Final value is low and the report missed key sales or contains clear errors |
| Renegotiation | After value is known | Appraisal results and contract strategy | Seller will move on price to match supported market value |
| Walk away | When gap is too large | Contingency based decision | Price cannot be supported and paying the gap would create a fragile budget |
- A ROV makes sense when you can point to objective mistakes like incorrect square footage, missing permitted features, or the use of inferior comps while better closed sales exist and were not considered.
- A ROV is less likely to succeed when the argument is purely subjective, such as the home feels nicer, because appraisers and reviewers need documented market evidence, not preference statements.
- A ROV should be treated as a timeline task, because contracts and rate locks do not pause automatically, and the best submissions are delivered quickly and cleanly through the lender channel.
- Confirm Tidewater status first, then decide whether you have a better evidence pack than what was likely used, because repeating the same comps usually produces the same answer.
- Submit only the strongest new comps and a short correction list, because reviewers ignore noise, and a tight packet is easier to validate than a large unfocused submission.
- Prepare a parallel plan with the seller, price reduction, credit, or exit, because even strong ROVs are not guaranteed, and you should not stall negotiations while waiting.
What Evidence Actually Moves a VA ROV Outcome?
ROVs succeed when the evidence is measurable and clearly better than the original data set. That usually means factual corrections plus superior closed sales that the appraiser did not use. The most persuasive packets are short, specific, and supported by photos, permits, receipts, and a clean comp grid.
- Factual corrections carry weight because they are not subjective, so errors in bedroom count, gross living area, lot size, and permitted additions can justify a value change when documented and verified.
- Superior comps matter most when they are closer, newer, more similar, or reflect the same micro market, and they close before the appraisal effective date so they are eligible market evidence.
- Upgrade support matters when it is verifiable, so invoices, permits, and dated photos are stronger than verbal claims, especially for roof, HVAC, windows, major kitchens, and structural improvements.
- Create a one page ROV narrative that lists two to four objective issues, then attach evidence for each issue, because a long narrative without proof is usually ignored by reviewers.
- Include a comp grid with three comps and concise notes, then explain why each is superior to the comps used, because reviewers want a direct substitution logic, not a list of unrelated sales.
- Address concessions and condition differences explicitly, because sales prices can be inflated by credits, and condition mismatches are the easiest reason for a reviewer to reject your comps.
Can a Lender SAR Adjust the Value Without Sending It Back to VA?
Sometimes a lender Staff Appraisal Reviewer can support a limited value adjustment when the evidence is clear and the change is small. This is not an automatic option and not every file is processed under the same workflow. The practical advantage is speed, but the same evidence rules apply, objective corrections and superior market data.
- SAR adjustments are most realistic when the issue is a clear report error or a comp selection mistake that can be corrected without changing the entire valuation framework, because reviewers need a defensible basis for revision.
- Small changes can still fail when documentation is thin, so the same comp quality and proof standards apply, which means better closed sales and clear corrections remain the core levers.
- If the needed change is large, negotiation often beats appeal, because raising value materially is harder than aligning price to supported market evidence within a contract timeline.
- Ask the lender who will review the appraisal and what their revision authority is, then match your submission to that process so you are not sending the wrong format to the wrong decision maker.
- Keep the request narrow and evidence heavy, because a focused correction is easier to approve than a broad re argument of value, and reviewers often ignore packets that attempt to relitigate everything.
- Do not pause seller negotiations while waiting, because a short closing calendar can expire before the appeal process finishes, and a parallel negotiation plan protects your leverage.
Can You Appeal VA Repair Requirements and MPR Calls?
Yes, but only in limited situations. VA Minimum Property Requirements are safety and habitability rules, so many repair calls are not negotiable. The realistic path is either completing repairs, requesting a repair waiver when the issue is minor and does not affect safety, or choosing a different property when the seller will not cooperate.
- Core habitability issues like non functioning heat, unsafe electrical, active leaks, and structural safety concerns are usually non waivable because they directly affect livability and can create immediate risk after move in.
- Minor items may be waiver candidates when they do not materially affect safety or structural integrity, but the lender must agree and the VA office must be willing to accept the risk profile of the defect.
- Disputing an MPR call works best when you can show the condition is already compliant, such as when the appraiser missed a working heat source or overlooked a repaired hazard, because corrected evidence can clear the condition.
- Ask the lender which items are strict MPR and which are lender overlays, because sometimes the strictest conditions are lender policy, not VA requirements, and that changes the negotiation strategy.
- Provide clear photos, invoices, and permits that prove the issue is resolved or was misidentified, because verbal explanations rarely remove repair conditions without evidence.
- If the seller will not repair and the item is truly required, decide early whether you can repair after closing is not allowed, because many MPR items must be cleared before funding.
VA Lender’s Handbook Chapter 12 Minimum Property Requirements.
How Do Repair Waivers Work and When Are They Worth Requesting?
A repair waiver request is a formal ask to remove a specific repair condition when the defect is minor and does not affect safety, soundness, or sanitation. It is not a way to bypass major habitability issues. The key is making a narrow request with clear supporting evidence and a credible explanation of why the home is still safe to occupy.
- Waivers are most realistic for minor conditions that do not create immediate risk, and they are least realistic for items tied to structural integrity, electrical hazards, active leaks, or missing essential utilities.
- Both borrower and lender participation matters, because the lender is taking collateral risk, so a waiver request without lender support usually goes nowhere and wastes valuable closing time.
- Even when a waiver is granted, value impact can still exist, because removing a repair condition does not magically remove the defect’s market reaction, so buyers should not assume the value will remain unchanged.
- Identify the specific item and why it is minor, then attach photos and any contractor opinions that show the issue does not affect safety or structural integrity, because vague waiver requests are usually denied.
- Ask the lender whether they will support the waiver before you submit, because lender refusal ends the option, and your plan should shift to repairs or renegotiation immediately.
- Set a firm timeline for the waiver decision and keep the seller negotiation active, because a waiver request that drifts can consume the contract calendar and force an extension.
The Bottom Line
Appealing a VA appraisal is a structured evidence exercise, not a debate. Use Tidewater when it is triggered, submit three to five superior closed comps fast, and keep the packet tight. If the value is still low, move to a Reconsideration of Value only when you have better sales data or objective errors, then keep seller negotiation running in parallel so time does not beat you. Separate value disputes from repair disputes, because MPR conditions require a repair plan or a narrow waiver request, not a value argument. The strongest strategy is prevention: choose homes with low repair risk, keep a comp pack ready, and set a walk away line that protects your budget. If paying a gap drains reserves or creates a thin monthly cushion, walking is often the smartest financial decision.
References Used
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to respond to Tidewater?
The window is short, so treat it as an immediate action item. Your lender receives the notice and must submit additional market data quickly. Have your agent ready with three to five closed comps and a short upgrade summary.
Can a buyer contact the VA appraiser directly?
Usually no. Communication is generally routed through the lender and agent channels to keep the process controlled. Focus on submitting better comps and factual corrections through the lender rather than trying to persuade the appraiser directly.
What comps work best for Tidewater and ROV?
Closed sales that are recent, nearby, and highly similar in size, condition, and features work best. Listings and pendings are weaker. Comps in the same micro market, such as the same subdivision and school zone, usually carry the most weight.
Can upgrades force an appraiser to increase value?
Upgrades help only when they are documented and when the market pays for them. Provide permits, receipts, and photos. Appraisers still rely on comparable sales, so upgrades are strongest when the comps also reflect similar finish levels.
What is the difference between Tidewater and a Reconsideration of Value?
Tidewater happens before the report is finalized and gives a short window to submit better data. A Reconsideration of Value happens after the value is issued and requires a formal evidence packet that shows errors or better comps.
Can a VA buyer pay the appraisal gap in cash?
Yes, but it is a personal risk decision. Paying the gap can drain reserves and reduce your safety cushion after closing. If the gap is large, renegotiation or walking can be financially safer than starting with thin liquidity.
Do repair conditions change the appraised value?
Sometimes. Required repairs can affect value if the defect impacts marketability or if the appraiser assumes the condition is unresolved. Repairs also affect timing, because many MPR items must be corrected and verified before closing can occur.
Can a buyer request a waiver for VA repair requirements?
Sometimes, but only for minor items that do not affect safety, soundness, or sanitation, and only when the lender supports the request. Major issues like unsafe electrical or non functioning heat are rarely waived.
What is the most common reason appraisal appeals fail?
The packet lacks objective evidence. Appeals fail when the comps are not truly comparable, when listings are used instead of closed sales, or when the argument is emotional rather than factual. Fixing measurable errors and using superior closed comps is the winning approach.
Should I still get a home inspection if I have a VA appraisal?
Yes. The VA appraisal is not a full condition inspection. A home inspection can find expensive defects that do not show up in appraisal, such as aging HVAC, plumbing issues, or hidden moisture. Inspection helps you decide and negotiate.
