VA Home Inspection Checklist: A Buyer’s Guide

We may earn commission from links on this page. Lead-form submissions are forwarded to local inspector partners. How we research and review.

Buyers using a VA loan face a point of confusion that costs some of them dearly: the VA appraisal is not a home inspection. The appraisal exists to protect the lender and confirm the home meets the VA’s minimum standards, while a private inspection exists to protect the buyer’s wallet. The two documents overlap in places but serve fundamentally different masters. A useful VA home inspection checklist tracks both — the items a VA appraiser will flag under Minimum Property Requirements, and the broader systems a private inspector evaluates so a veteran does not close on a house with a failing furnace or a cracked sewer line. This guide separates the two and gives a practical walkthrough list for Front Range buyers.

Part of our Home Inspections Explained guide — start there for the full picture →

What is on a VA home inspection checklist?

A VA home inspection checklist combines two layers. The first is the VA’s Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) — safety, soundness, and sanitation items the appraiser verifies, such as a working heating system, safe electrical, no exposed wiring, adequate roof life, working water and sewer, and no obvious lead paint hazards on pre-1978 homes. The second layer is a full private inspection covering structure, roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, appliances, and grading. The appraisal is mandatory; the private inspection is optional but strongly recommended.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is explicit that the appraisal does not guarantee the condition of the home. That is the gap a private inspection fills, and it is the same reason the broader process of hiring a home inspector matters just as much for VA buyers as for anyone else. A veteran who treats the appraisal as a substitute for an inspection is relying on a screen that was never designed to assess the true condition of the home’s systems.

VA Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs)

MPRs are the VA’s non-negotiable conditions. An appraiser will note them, and the loan generally cannot close until they are resolved. Core MPRs include:

• Mechanical systems: safe, functional heating that maintains at least 50°F in living areas, and working plumbing fixtures.
• Roof: remaining service life adequate to prevent leaks; no major deferred maintenance.
• Access and egress: safe entry, and a usable means of escape from sleeping areas.
• Water and sewer: a continuing supply of safe potable water and sanitary sewage disposal; private wells and septic must meet local code.
• Hazards: no lead-based paint hazards on pre-1978 homes, no defective conditions, and proper site drainage away from the foundation.
• Pests: no active wood-destroying insect infestation; a termite inspection may be required.

These are pass/fail screening items, not a detailed condition assessment. An appraiser confirms the furnace turns on; a private inspector tells the buyer the heat exchanger is cracked and the unit has two years left. That distinction is the whole reason the private inspection exists alongside the appraisal.

The private inspection checklist for VA buyers

A thorough buyer’s inspection goes far beyond MPRs. Veterans should expect the inspector to walk through these categories and photograph defects in each:

• Exterior and grading: siding, trim, drainage slope, retaining walls, decks.
• Roof and attic: shingle condition, flashing, ventilation, insulation depth, signs of leaks.
• Foundation and structure: cracks, settlement, crawlspace moisture — relevant on the Front Range’s expansive clay soils.
• Plumbing: supply lines, drains, water heater age, water pressure.
• Electrical: panel condition, GFCI protection, aluminum wiring, double-tapped breakers.
• HVAC: furnace and AC age, function, filter and duct condition.
• Interior: windows, doors, floors, ceilings, evidence of past water damage.

A detailed reference on what to look for in a home inspection expands each of these into specific defects buyers should ask about during the walkthrough. Veterans who attend the inspection in person — which most inspectors welcome — get the most value, because the inspector can explain findings on the spot and point out maintenance items the report only summarizes.

Colorado-specific add-ons

Front Range VA buyers should budget for a radon test — Colorado is one of the highest-radon states in the country — and a sewer scope on any home built before 1980, where clay sewer lines are prone to root intrusion. Neither is part of the VA appraisal, and neither is included in a standard general inspection unless requested. On rural properties in Douglas, Elbert, or Jefferson County, a well and septic evaluation is also worth scheduling, since MPRs require sanitary sewage disposal but the appraisal does not assess the system’s remaining capacity.

How the VA appraisal and inspection work together

The lender orders the VA appraisal after the contract is signed; the buyer schedules the private inspection during the inspection objection period. If the appraisal flags an MPR deficiency — say, a missing handrail or a roof at end of life — the seller, buyer, or sometimes the VA repair allowance must address it before funding. Private inspection findings, by contrast, become negotiation leverage: the buyer can request repairs, a price reduction, or a closing credit.

Timing matters. The inspection should happen early in the contract period so there is room to negotiate or, if needed, exercise the inspection contingency and walk away. Waiting until the appraisal comes back compresses the timeline and can leave a buyer with little room to act on what the private inspection reveals.

Why VA buyers should not waive the inspection

In competitive markets, some buyers waive the inspection to make an offer more attractive. For a VA buyer, this is a high-risk move. The VA’s MPR screen is a floor, not a guarantee of move-in readiness — it confirms the home is safe, sound, and sanitary at a basic level, nothing more. A waived inspection can leave a veteran responsible for a $15,000 foundation repair or a $7,000 sewer line the appraisal never looked at.

A better approach in a hot market is to keep the inspection but shorten the objection window or limit requests to major safety and structural items. That preserves the buyer’s protection while still presenting a competitive offer. The inspection fee of a few hundred dollars is trivial against the cost of an undisclosed major defect.

Common MPR repair items and how they get resolved

Certain MPR deficiencies show up repeatedly on VA appraisals, and knowing them helps a buyer anticipate the process. Chipping or peeling paint on a pre-1978 home is a frequent flag, because the VA treats it as a potential lead hazard that must be scraped and repainted before closing. Missing or loose handrails on stairs, broken windows, an inoperable furnace, a roof at the end of its life, and exposed wiring are other recurring items.

When the appraiser notes a deficiency, the parties have a few paths. The seller can complete the repair before closing, which is the most common resolution. The buyer can sometimes pay for the repair if the seller refuses, though this is less attractive. In some situations an escrow holdback or a VA-approved repair arrangement covers work that cannot be finished before the closing date. The key is that the loan generally cannot fund until the MPR item is resolved, so addressing it early keeps the timeline on track.

This is precisely where the private inspection earns its keep, and the broader category of types of home inspections helps a VA buyer decide which ancillary services to add. A buyer who has already had a thorough inspection knows about the failing furnace or the worn roof before the appraiser flags it, and can build the conversation into the offer or the inspection-objection negotiation rather than scrambling at the last minute. The two reports, used together, give the buyer both the regulatory floor and the full condition picture, leaving far fewer surprises between contract and closing.

Pest, well, and septic checks for VA buyers

Two categories of inspection deserve special mention for VA buyers because they tie directly to MPRs. The first is the wood-destroying-organism (termite) inspection. In many areas the VA requires it, and the buyer cannot pay for it in some states, so the seller or another party covers the cost. An active termite infestation or existing structural damage from past infestation is an MPR issue that must be addressed before the loan funds. Even where the climate makes termites less common, the inspection screens for other wood-destroying organisms and moisture-driven decay.

The second is the well and septic evaluation on rural properties. MPRs require a continuing supply of safe potable water and sanitary sewage disposal, so a home on a private well needs a water-quality test confirming the supply is safe to drink, and a septic system needs to be functional and code-compliant. On Front Range acreage in Douglas, Elbert, or Jefferson County, these evaluations are routine and should be scheduled early, because lab turnaround on a water test can take days the contract timeline may not easily absorb.

A VA buyer assembling their checklist should therefore think in layers: the appraisal’s MPR screen, the private general inspection, and the targeted evaluations — termite, well, septic, radon, and sewer scope — that the property’s age and location call for. The combination is what turns a basic minimum-standards pass into a full understanding of the home, and it leaves the buyer negotiating from knowledge rather than hope.

When to bring in a specialist

If the general inspector flags a structural crack, a suspect furnace, or evidence of significant water intrusion, the next step is a licensed specialist — a structural engineer, an HVAC contractor, or a radon professional. The inspection report’s “recommend further evaluation” language is a signal to spend a little more before closing, not a formality to ignore. For pre-1978 homes, confirm whether lead testing is warranted, since MPRs require defective paint surfaces to be addressed. Each specialist costs more than the general inspection, but each closes a knowledge gap on what is likely the largest purchase the buyer will ever make. The few hundred dollars spent on targeted evaluations is trivial against the cost of inheriting an undisclosed major defect after the keys change hands.

A final word on timing and mindset for VA buyers. The VA loan process already has more moving parts than a conventional purchase — the appraisal, the MPR review, sometimes a termite inspection — so coordinating the private inspection and any specialist evaluations early keeps the whole transaction on schedule. A buyer who waits until the appraisal comes back to think about inspections compresses everything into a narrow window and risks missing the inspection objection deadline.

The healthiest way to view the two documents is as complementary layers, not redundant ones. The appraisal protects the lender and confirms the home clears the VA’s safety, soundness, and sanitation floor. The private inspection protects the buyer and reveals the true condition behind that floor. A veteran who treats both as essential, schedules them promptly, and follows through on every “recommend further evaluation” flag walks into closing knowing exactly what they are buying — which is precisely the position the VA loan benefit is meant to put them in.

References

• ASHI Standard of Practice — American Society of Home Inspectors
• InterNACHI Standards of Practice — International Association of Certified Home Inspectors
• International Residential Code reference — International Code Council