Obtaining
a VA Loan
VA
Appraisal- Certificate of Reasonable Value
The
CRV (certificate of reasonable value) is
based on an appraiser's estimate of the
value of the property to be purchased. Because
the loan amount may not exceed the CRV,
the first step in getting a VA loan is usually
to request an appraisal. Anyone (buyer,
seller, real estate personnel or lender)
can request a VA appraisal by completing
VA Form 26-1805, Request for Determination
of Reasonable Value. After completing the
form, it can either be mailed to the Loan
Guaranty Division at the nearest VA office
for processing or an appraisal can be requested
by telephoning the Loan Guaranty Division
for assignment of an appraiser. The local
VA office may be contacted for information
concerning its assignment procedures. The
appraiser will send a bill for his or her
services to the requester according to a
fee schedule approved by VA. To simplify
things, VA and HUD/FHA (Department of Housing
and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration)
use the same appraisal forms. Also, if the
property was recently appraised under the
HUD procedure, under certain limited circumstances,
the HUD conditional commitment can be converted
to a VA CRV. The local VA office can explain
how this is done.
It
is important to recognize that while the
VA appraisal estimates the value of the
property, it is not an inspection and does
not guarantee that the house is free of
defects. Homebuyers should be encouraged
to carefully inspect the property themselves,
or to hire a reputable inspection firm to
help in this area. VA guarantees the loan,
not the condition of the property.
Application
The
application process for VA financing is
no different from any other type of loan.
In fact, the VA application form is the
same as that used for HUD/FHA and conventional
loans. The mortgage lender verifies the
applicant's income and assets, and obtains
a credit report to see that other obligations
are being paid on time. If all is well and
the appraised value of the property is enough
to cover the loan needed, the lender, in
most instances, can then close the loan
under VA's automatic procedure. Only about
10 percent of VA loan applications have
to be submitted to a VA office for approval
before closing
