If you are planning on using your VA certificate of eligibility to buy a house, or even refinance your current mortgage, your homework should consist of VA Fixed Rate, Adjustable Rate and VA Hybrid reviews to ensure that you pick the right mortgage for your situation. But as great as the VA loan program is, there are still some areas to pay attention to as you look at a VA Home Purchase.

• Defects
• Inspections
• Negotiations

Defects

The VA, just like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot guarantee that the home you purchase is free of defects or that it will be free of defects in the future. When you work through the process of getting your mortgage you will have to get a VA appraisal. The VA appraisal is fairly rigid when it comes to what the appraiser is looking for when they evaluate the value of the home. But the appraiser and the appraisal are not an inspection of the home when it comes to safety, engineering, and pest related problems. The appraiser’s job is to determine the market value of the home.

Inspections

You are not stuck however because it is very customary for home buyers to order inspections of homes as they go through the home buying process. It is in your best interest to get at the very least a home inspection. You could also get a roof inspection, a termite/pest inspection, and engineering inspection, a heating and cooling unit inspection to name a few.

Negotiations

With it being customary for these types of inspections, most sellers will permit you to arrange and pay for a variety of inspections. Sellers in most cases will also be willing to negotiate price variances if your inspections discover repairs.

It’s Up To You

If it isn’t clear already, not only with a VA loan, but with all conventional loan programs it is your responsibility as a buyer to order some type of property home inspection to assure to yourself that the home you are buying is all that it is cracked up to be.