VA Home Inspection in Florida: What the Appraiser Actually Checks

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There is no such thing as a required VA home inspection. What the VA requires is an appraisal, and that appraisal checks condition as well as value.

A separate home inspection is optional and strongly worth paying for. The two look for different things. Our VA loan page covers where each fits.

What the VA appraisal checks

Value first. The appraiser confirms the home is worth what you agreed to pay.

Then Minimum Property Requirements, which cover safety, soundness and sanitation.

Working heat. Safe electrical. No exposed wiring. Handrails on stairs. A roof with remaining life. No standing water or active leaks.

It is a condition screen, not a systems inspection. The appraiser does not test the air conditioning or check the plumbing under the sink.

Where Florida homes fail

Roof life is the most common finding by a wide margin.

An appraiser who sees under three years of remaining life will call for repair. Separately, most Florida carriers decline to write a policy on that roof.

Those two problems arrive together and end more Florida VA deals than anything else.

Peeling paint on a pre-1978 home triggers lead-based paint requirements. Pools need working safety equipment.

Unpermitted work

Older South Florida homes frequently carry an enclosed patio, a converted garage or an added bathroom without permits.

The appraiser may flag it, and the lender may require it permitted or removed before closing.

Retroactive permitting takes weeks and sometimes reveals code issues that cost real money.

Ask the seller for permit history during your inspection period rather than discovering it at appraisal.

Why you still want a real inspection

A home inspector tests systems the appraiser never touches. Air conditioning, water heater, plumbing, electrical panel, appliances.

In Florida the air conditioning matters enormously and a failing unit costs thousands to replace.

An inspector also checks for moisture intrusion and evidence of past water damage, which is common near the coast.

It costs a few hundred dollars against a purchase in the hundreds of thousands. Take it.

Wind mitigation and four-point inspections

These are insurance inspections, not lender ones, and Florida buyers need them.

A wind mitigation inspection documents roof attachment, shape and openings. It frequently cuts your premium substantially.

A four-point inspection covers roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and insurers require it on older homes.

Order both early. Insurance is the line that most often derails a Florida closing, and these reports are what price it.

If the appraisal comes back with repairs

The seller can complete them. That is the usual outcome.

You can complete them with written permission, though you are spending money on a house you do not own yet.

You can renegotiate the price, or walk if your contingency allows.

The VA does not permit financing repairs into a standard purchase loan. For a home needing real work, look at renovation loans.

If the value comes in low

VA contracts usually include an escape clause letting you walk without losing your deposit.

You can also request a reconsideration of value with better comparable sales, though those succeed less often than buyers hope.

Or pay the difference in cash, since the VA will only finance to the appraised value.

The VA housing assistance page sets out the appraisal process in detail.

Termites and the wood-destroying organism report

Florida lenders frequently require a wood-destroying organism inspection, and on VA loans it is common.

Subterranean termites are endemic here. Active infestation means treatment before closing.

The report also covers wood rot, which coastal humidity produces readily.

The seller usually pays for treatment. Agree who pays before the report comes back, not after.

Flood zone and elevation

Check the FEMA flood zone for any Florida address before you commit.

A property in a high-risk zone requires flood insurance, which is separate from homeowners and often expensive.

An elevation certificate can lower that premium substantially and is worth obtaining.

The lender will require flood coverage where the zone demands it, and the premium sits inside your debt ratio.

What to do with the inspection report

Prioritise safety and systems over cosmetics. A failing air conditioner matters; a scuffed wall does not.

Ask for repairs or a credit, not both, and be specific about which.

In a competitive market a credit often lands better than a repair request.

Use your inspection period fully. In Florida contracts it is frequently an unrestricted right to cancel.

Sinkholes and structural reporting

Parts of central and west-central Florida sit in karst terrain where sinkhole activity is documented.

Sellers must disclose known sinkhole claims, and insurers ask about them.

South Florida risk is far lower than the Tampa corridor, but a prior claim on the property still affects insurability.

Ask for the claims history early. An uninsurable house is an unfinanceable house.

Practical sequence

Go under contract. Order your home inspection immediately.

Order insurance quotes the same week, with wind mitigation if the home qualifies.

Let the appraisal follow. By then you already know what it is likely to find.

Start with a pre-approval so the timeline holds together.